Quiz Texas Hold'en -- another way to change up the winners

Every good trivia package should have elements to add unpredictability to who will win the night.

Double point rounds are a good way of keeping interest in the night to the very end. If a team has a bad start they always have the chance of getting back in the game if they have a good couple of double points rounds. However double points can work in the favor of the better teams in that they get more distance between themselves and the competition in their nominated double points rounds. That said it is still better to have this component included than not.

Quiz Bingo and Quiz Texas Hold'em add a mixture of chance to the skill giving the chance for teams who otherwise may not have won the chance of getting a

prize. Remember its not winning a prize that keeps teams coming back, it's the

feeling that they have a fair chance of winning a prize. And with Quiz Bingo and Quiz Texas Hold'em they feel their chance increase against otherwise better teams is better.

While the winner of a Quiz Bingo round relies on a great deal of chance with Quiz Texas Hold'em there is some skill required.

So how does Quiz Texas Hold'em work?

This explanation covers one round of ten questions, but it could easily be expanded to cover a whole quiz.

Each team plays against the dealer.

At the beginning of the night each team is given two cards. In our trivia packs we have 6 rounds of 10 questions. Teams get to bet the points from one round that they choose. At the end of each round, before the rounds are marked, the teams decide whether they will gamble the points from that round or not. If they haven't decided by the 6th round then it is automatically assumed they are betting their 6th round points. Once a team makes its choice it can't be changed.

A team will decide what round to pick partly on the cards and partly on how well they think they did in the round. If they have good cards they will want to bet on a high scoring round. If they think they have bad cards they will want to bet on a low scoring round.

Their initial bet is the amount of points they get in their nominated round.

Next, three more cards are revealed (the flop). A vote is then cast by all the teams in the quiz whether to double the bet or keep it the same. Each team gets one vote. You can ask one member from each team to stand up if they want to double their teams bet. If there is a draw in the vote then the vote is passed. To stay in the game teams must double their bet. If they decide to fold they lose all the wagered points.

Finally the last two cards are turned. (The turn and the river card are normally played separately but here are played together.) The dealer reveals his cards and makes his best hand. If any team still in the game has a better hand they win the additional points. Any team still in the game has a lesser hand they lose the gambled points.

Teams that feel they are out of the game will want to double their points, they have nothing to lose. Teams that are in a good position will be less willing to gamble.

Quiz Poker Scoring Example

During the game Team 1 selected Round 3 as their gamble points, Team 2 selected Round 6 and Team 3 selected Round 4. (The scores are circled with red pen.)

After Round 6 the flop cards were dealt and the teams decided to double the bid points. (As denoted by the D at the top of the Texas Hold'em column.) At this time Team 1 decided it was too risky to lose points and folded forfeiting any additional points but not risking any of their existing points. (Its worth noting that if the teams vote not to double up then there is no point in teams folding as the worst scenario is they will lose the bonus points the same as if they folded.)

Team 2 stayed in the game put when the turn and river card were revealed they lost to the dealers hand. Because the bet was doubled they actually lose 9 points. (they lose the 9 bonus points plus another 9.) Team 3 beat the dealers hand so they are rewarded with double their bet of 7 points taking them to the lead.

The above scoresheet is available in pdf format from the download area.

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