1. 2009-01-07 20:50:54

   Solution For How To Play In-Between (Acey Deucey)

   I was co-chilling with my poker-playing cousin and the rest of his family shortly after Christmas when an opportunity to play some cards with his neighbors came up. Never one to pass up such an opportunity, I made the short trip to the neighbors and once introductions were complete, we were gambling it up.

   And I mean gambling... we first played 7-Card No-Peek Baseball. In this house, five-of-a-kind beats straight flushes, and I skillfully flipped over quad queens with my first 5 cards, only to be outdone by quad kings. Of course, I had 2 cards to go and one was a wild. Thank you for the 5-of-a-kind hours rule! :) After a couple cracks at follow the queen (the variant where the queens are always wild, of course) we settled in for a long game of Acey Deucey.

   The Game

   If you don't know the rules, here it is. Everybody antes into the pot. Each player takes a turn, starting with the left of the dealer until there is no money left in the pot. A turn consists of two cards being dealt face up and the player betting an amount of money whether or not the third card will fall in between the first two (thus, the name "In-Between"). A player may bet anything from zero to the pot. If the third card is in between, the player wins from the pot the amount that was bet. If the card is outside the first two cards, the player has to add the bet into the pot. If the third card matches one of the first two, the player must pay twice the bet into the pot.

   The best possible two-card combination is an ace and a two: you only lose if an ace or a two comes up. Thus the other name "Acey Deucey".

   Some variants include:

   • You can only bet up to half the pot until everybody has a turn (so the game can't be over right away)
   • As the first two cards are dealt out, if the first card is an ace, the player can call it to be high or low. The second ace is always high
   • If the first two cards dealt out are the same, you can get two new cards or you can bet if the third card is higher or lower instead of in between
   • You can bet an amount and call "inside" or "outside". This creates more action (people will make bets when a six and and an eight come out instead of just passing
   • You must bet some minimum, regardless of the two cards

   What Happened

   So all seven of us anted $1 and I was first. I saw the and and thought "jackpot". I bet the pot, and my cousin promptly dealt the off the deck. Nice! I'm in for $14 more. It goes around a few times and the host graciously only bets about half the pot both times he's dealt so the game can keep going. I get dealt another great pair: and bet the pot again only to see a . Wow. I run out of money and go meet my friends for dinner.

   The good news is I'll be invited to future games after dropping $30. To them, I was a gambling fool who didn't care about losing $30. To me, I maximized my value by betting the pot whenever it was the right move. Which got me thinking...

   The Solution

   Disclaimers: This solution assumes:

   • Your bankroll is large enough that you can handle some crazy swings!
   • You aren't counting cards in order to calculate your exact outs (it's as if the deck is reshuffled each time)
   • The rules are as above with no variants (most importantly, you have to pay double your pot when the third card matches and you can pass or bet zero)
   • The Ace will always be high

   Bet the Pot when there are 8 ranks in between your cards: or better, or better, or better, or better.

   Pass or Bet Zero all other times

   With only 7 ranks in between, the bet is completely even money. You have 28 outs to win your bet, there are 16 cards that cause you to lose your bet, and 6 cards cause you to lose twice your bet.

   With 6 or less ranks in between, it's a losing bet.

   Considerations

   You probably aren't playing this game solely to make a profit. Sometimes it's fun to bet $1 that you can hit that one-outer. Or at least the minimum bet just to juice the pot a bit and seem friendly.

   If your bankroll is not big enough to handle losing $40 at a time, you may want to only bet the pot when you have 6 or 10 ways to lose instead of 18 ways as the solution suggests.

   Also

   If you like to be nasty, you can also call this game "Between the Sheets". LOL.

   Posted by Jason M at 2009-01-07 20:50:54

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Comments on “Solution For How To Play In-Between (Acey Deucey)”

1. • Posted by Jason M g 2010-01-14 21:21:23
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   • Hi JLAW, thanks for the comments. Good luck :)

2. • Posted by JLAW (unverified) g 2010-01-09 16:26:39
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   • Thanks Jason, this game has regained its popularity in my family recently. I learned to play as a youngster and I am half way there now. It was funny to here my children say Hey Ma we got this new game we want to teach you and to see the look of surprise on their faces when I already knew the rules.

     They, of course, have their version and rules, Googling always impresses me, put in Play In-Between, and up pops your blog with a complete explanation of the game, just as I remembered. I will be sharing your blog with those who think they "want some of this!" Keep gambling entertainment and never let it get "In-Bwtween" you and yours.