Vegas Poker Blog

NAPALM is a regional poker game from the Northeast U.S. Although its exact origin isnt known, it became popular at Brandeis University (Massachusetts) but has now filtered down the coast to the Maryland and Virginia areas as well. How it came by the name, Napalm, isnt known either and its sometimes referred to as Whipsaw, but there are differences in the two.

This unusual game calls for frequent bluffing and moves a lot of money very quickly.

If youve got some timid players in your weekly game, this is a sure fire way to get them moving!

Its played with a standard 52 card deck and chips, but you also need something to use for tokens. Although the tokens have no monetary value, they do determine the winner and are kept in a central store for allotments and awards for specific circumstances. First person to collect five of the tokens wins the pot.

The objective of this variation is to win the most number of tokens, and to also win side bets (which match the pot amount). The game is played in three stages.

First stage: After an ante, two cards are dealt to each player. Starting at the dealers left, each player must declare œyes� or œno� as an indication of whether they think theyre holding the best hand. Standard ranking is used but, of course, flushes and straights have no value in a two card hand. This is a one shot call unless everyone at the table has said œno� and the dealer says œyes�. Then everyone is allowed a second turn to declare.

At this point, four things can happen. One, if only one player says œyes�, they are awarded a token. Two, two players have said œyes�, and they privately show their hands to one another with the best hand taking a side pot. The table pot is unaffected. Three, in the case of a two or three way tie, the loser(s) pays into the side pot. Or fourthly, if theres no œyes� at the table, no chips or tokens change hands.

Second stage: Players are dealt three additional cards. This time the declarations are based on having the lowest hand. Aces still count as high, and now flushes and straights count. Example: the best lowest possible hand would be 2-3-4-5-7. At this end of this stage, tokens are awarded and side bets resolved exactly as in stage one.

Third stage: Each player is dealt two more cards, and this time the declarations are made based on the best five-card poker hand. The game is handled the same as in the other stages with tokens awarded and side bets settled.

With every new dealer, players add a chip to the pot and as soon as one player has collected five tokens, they win the table pot.

This sounds more complicated than it really is, and its a great way to give some new interest to your weekly game. Just round up some tokens!