SCARNEY

Overview

Scarney is a high-octane poker variant where each player starts with SIX hole cards and two separate community boards are dealt simultaneously. The catch: the Bottom Board acts as a discard trigger — whenever a Bottom Board card is revealed, any player holding a hole card of the same rank must immediately discard it face-up onto the Bottom Board. Failure to discard voids your hand. The resulting chaos of forced discards shapes which hole cards survive to showdown, where the pot splits between the best high hand (using remaining hole cards + Top Board) and the player with the lowest total value of remaining hole cards.

Key Rules

• Up to 6 players; each player receives 6 hole cards face down
• Two community boards are dealt: the Top Board (used for high hand) and the Bottom Board (discard triggers)
• Both boards follow a flop (3 cards) / turn (1 card) / river (1 card) structure, revealed simultaneously each street
• Whenever a Bottom Board card is revealed, any player holding a hole card of that same rank must immediately discard it — failure to discard voids your hand
• After all discards, you use your remaining hole cards (minimum 1) + the Top Board to make the best high hand
• Low winner: the player whose remaining hole cards have the lowest total point value (A=1, 2-9=face value, T/J/Q/K=10); at least 1 card must remain
• Pot splits: High hand / Lowest total card value

Betting Sequence

1. Deal: Six hole cards each, round-robin (18 cards total)
2. Pre-Flop Betting
3. Flop: Reveal Top Board cards 1-3 AND Bottom Board cards 1-3 simultaneously; resolve all forced discards immediately
4. Flop Betting
5. Turn: Reveal Top Board card 4 AND Bottom Board card 4; resolve forced discards
6. Turn Betting
7. River: Reveal Top Board card 5 AND Bottom Board card 5; resolve forced discards
8. River Betting
9. Showdown: High hand + lowest total value split the pot

How Discards Work

The Bottom Board is the engine of Scarney. As each Bottom Board card is revealed:

• Examine every player's hole cards for any card matching the rank of the Bottom Board card (suit does not matter)
• Any matching hole cards are discarded face-up immediately — placed visibly so all players can see
• Multiple cards can be discarded from the same player on a single Bottom Board reveal (if they hold two cards of that rank)
• A player who forgets to discard and it is discovered later has their hand voided — they cannot win any part of the pot
• Players may end up with as few as zero hole cards remaining; if so, their hand is dead (they cannot win)
• The discard is mandatory and non-optional — this is what makes Scarney uniquely unpredictable

Split Pot — High vs. Lowest Total Value

At showdown two independent pots are awarded:

• High hand: Best five-card poker hand using any combination of remaining hole cards and the Top Board. Standard hand rankings apply.
• Lowest total value: Each player adds up the point values of their remaining hole cards (A=1, 2-9=face value, T/J/Q/K=10). The player with the lowest total wins the low half. At least 1 hole card must remain for a player to compete for low. Ties split that half equally.

A player who wins both halves scoops the entire pot.

Strategy Tips

• Six hole cards is an enormous starting advantage — but the Bottom Board can strip them away rapidly
• Avoid holding multiple cards of the same rank as bottom-board-likely cards — they will be forced out together
• Low cards (2-6) are doubly valuable: they contribute minimally to your low total AND are less likely to appear on the Bottom Board in most decks
• The Ace is uniquely powerful: counts as 1 for the lowest-total calculation yet contributes to top-board high hands
• Track what the Bottom Board has shown — eliminated ranks cannot trigger future forced discards
• When going for low, hold onto your lowest-value cards tightly and cross your fingers they don't appear on the Bottom Board
• Going for high? Load up on connected and suited cards that work together with the Top Board texture