How to Play Archie 99

What It Is

Archie 99 is five-card triple draw where the pot is split between the best high hand and the best low hand, and both must qualify.

The 99 is the high qualifier: a pair of nines or better. Apart from that, it is the same game as Archie 66.

How a Hand Goes

face down, only you see it

1. 1Your Cards

   Five cards each, face down.

   Betting round · small bet
2. 2First Draw⇄

   You may discard as many cards as you like, or none. The dealer gives you the same number of new cards.

   Betting round · small bet
3. 3Second Draw⇄

   You may discard as many cards as you like, or none. The dealer gives you the same number of new cards.

   Betting round · big bet
4. 4Third Draw⇄

   You may discard as many cards as you like, or none. The dealer gives you the same number of new cards.

   Betting round · big bet
5. 5Showdown

   The players still in show their cards.

• All your cards stay hidden. Nobody sees them until the showdown.
• At each draw, the first player still in to the left of the button goes first. Everyone says how many cards they want, and the dealer gives them the cards.
• Keeping all your cards is called standing pat.
• If the deck runs out during a draw, the dealer shuffles the earlier discards into a new deck. You never get your own discards back.
• The two players to the left of the button post the blinds.

How the Betting Works

This guide shows the limit that clubs usually play. The other limits are at the end of the page.

Fixed Limit

• Every bet and every raise is one fixed amount: you cannot choose the size.
• The small bet applies in the early betting rounds. The big bet applies in the later rounds.
• In games with a flop, the big bet starts on the turn. In stud, it starts on 5th street. In triple draw, it starts after the second draw.
• Each betting round allows one bet and three or four raises. This limit is called the cap. The club decides the cap. Ask the dealer what the cap is.

Blinds and Who Acts First

• The small blind and the big blind are forced bets. The two players to the left of the dealer button post them before the deal.
• Heads-up, the player on the button posts the small blind. The other player posts the big blind.
• In the first betting round the player to the left of the big blind acts first. In the later rounds, the first player still in to the left of the button acts first.
• If nobody raises, the big blind can check at the end of the first round.
• The button moves one seat to the left after every hand.

How to Win

• The pot is split in two: half for the best high hand and half for the best low hand.
• The high must be a pair of nines or better to qualify.
• The low must be 8 or better: five cards of different ranks, all 8 or lower. Aces are low for the low, and straights and flushes do not spoil it, so 5-4-3-2-A is the best low.
• If only one half qualifies, that hand wins the whole pot. If nobody qualifies for either half, the pot is usually split evenly among all the players at the showdown. Rooms differ, so ask the dealer.
• One player can win both halves, a scoop, for example with the wheel, which is also a straight for the high.

Starting Hands

Tips

• Fold often. Play hands that already qualify, or strong draws that can go both ways.
• A pair of nines or better means you can win the high even when the others miss.
• The high is harder to make than in Archie 66, so a qualified low wins the whole pot more often.
• Low straight draws, such as A-2-3-4, are the best draws: they can win both halves.
• Drawing three cards to a low is a common mistake.