How would the game of poker change if the King and the Queen were equal but distinct cards?
The game of poker is one of the most popular card games in the world, but it’s not exactly perfect. There are some parts of the game that could use improvement, and as a veteran player who has spent many hours studying my hand histories and doing calculations on paper, I’ve come up with a few ideas for how to make poker better. One idea I have is to change the value of certain cards based on whether they’re distinct or equal. This change would mean that all pairs would be worth twice as much as they currently are (because you can make two pair out of two separate cards), while all threes-of-a-kind would be worth three times as much (since you could make three different threes). Below we’ll go over what would happen if this change were made so you can decide if it seems like an improvement—or if maybe it makes things worse!
How would the game of poker change if the King and the Queen were equal but distinct cards?
The value of a pair would be multiplied by 2.
You would have a pair.
When you are dealt two cards of equal value, your hand is worth more than it was before. The game of poker would become more strategic and less reliant on luck, which is good news for everyone (except gamblers).
The value of a three-of-a-kind would be multiplied by 3.
If you were dealt a two-pair, your hand would now have a value of six. Additionally, the value of a three-of-a-kind would be multiplied by three, so if you had three Kings and an Ace and another player had four Queens plus another Ace, that player would win. The same goes for straights (5+) or flushes (X+Y) as well: they’re all worth more now than before.
The value of a full house (three-of-a-kind plus a pair) would be the same as the value of three-of-a-kind plus the value of a pair, because you can make both in this game with distinct cards.
In this game, a full house (three-of-a-kind plus a pair) would be the same as the value of three-of-a-kind plus the value of a pair. That’s because you can make both with distinct cards.
So if you have three jacks, and also an ace and two queens, you have four jacks as well as a pair of kings. That’s five pairs in total – which makes it a “five pair” hand where all five are different cards!
Four-of-a-kind would have to include all four cards, because you could make three of one kind and two of another kind with distinct cards. That means that four-of-a-kind is no stronger than a full house.
If the King and Queen were equal but distinct cards, then four-of-a-kind would have to include all four cards, because you could make three of one kind and two of another kind with distinct cards. That means that four-of-a-kind is no stronger than a full house.
The strength of some hands changes a lot, but others are pretty similar in this version of poker.
In this version of poker, the strength of some hands changed a lot. For example, the hand 7♥4♥ is much stronger than 6♥5♥ because it contains both two sevens and two fours. However, other hands are pretty similar in this version of poker: for example 5♦3♦ (a pair of threes) is exactly as strong as 5♣3♣ (a pair of twos). In fact, the only hand that is unchanged in this version is A♠A♦ (aces).
Conclusion
So, would this game be more or less fun than regular poker? I think it would be slightly less fun, because it’s harder to get some hands. For example, if you’re playing against someone who has two pairs in their hand and one card that isn’t making either pair (say a king or queen), then you might not want to bet big unless you have something like four of a kind yourself. In regular poker, there are lots of different ways that someone could make three-of-a-kind with just one card left over from a pair, so you could still bet big even if your opponent had two pairs already.
