So of course with a name like Pick a Partner Poker, the title had to be a serious alliteration, but despite the name, and how great it is to say aloud, the game itself actually holds an intriguing premise and can be quite a lot of fun to play.
Obviously a variation of the broad spectrum casino game of poker. This means that the card and hand rankings are the classic poker ones and that despite all else this variation hinges upon some solid roots. Essentially the remarkable feature of this poker game is that like the title suggests the game is played through partnering up with other players. This makes for some pretty cool possibilities.
Pick a Partner Poker Rulings and Gameplay
The game of Pick a Partner Poker, as established above, requires players to form partnerships and then place wagers based on their mutual hand. The game is played with a standard French deck of 52 cards and must be played with an even number of players for obvious reasons. At the start of the game the dealer deals 5 cards face down to the players. Players may look at their cards and then must turn one of them face up.
The player with the highest card face up begins the selection of partners by picking one of the other players. This rotates round until all players are partnered up. At this point the pairs each have 8 face down cards and 2 face up, they must then choose 5 of these face down cards to discard. This leaves the final 5 cards, 2 still face up.
The betting phase begins at this point and player pairs bet based on their combined 5 cards. The betting is quite strategic and exciting in Pick a Partner Poker as after the initial betting round the pairs must reveal one of their face down cards alongside their bets. This continues until all the cards are revealed, so consisting of 4 rounds.
The strongest hand obviously wins, but the strategy involved is quite elaborate, as players can throughout the game select the cards they must reveal, and so bluffing and misleading the other partners is a large factor of the game.
General Poker Information and Hand Rankings
Poker, throughout its history and wide variation has stuck ardently to its hand rankings system and in so doing has come to be known through it. However in a game like Pick a Partner Poker, where the rankings and the knowledge thereof can be absolutely crucial, a refresher in the course of poker can be useful.
The rankings go as follows, with the lowest first. High card, then a pair and 2 pair. This is followed by 3 of a kind and then a straight and a flush. These are all beaten by a 4 of a kind, and this is only beaten by a straight flush. The straight flush is the strongest hand in poker, culminating in the famous royal flush.
By 
