How to Play the Red Dog Card Game

The Red Dog card game is a great party game and perfect when you want the look and feel of a Poker game without needing to know all the Poker rules. You can play with any number of players, but we find that it’s the most fun with a group. As long as you’re okay with gambling, kids can enjoy this game, and adults will find it fun and easy. Other names for this game are Yablon and Scottish Foghorn.

Games with a similar feel to Red Dog are Blind Poker (very silly), Play or Pay (as the name says you need the right card or you’ll have to pay), and GOPS (easy to play but hard to master).

In this post we’ll cover how to play, the rules, variations and how to win the Red Dog Card Game as well as the variations of Red Dog Poker, Shoot and Slippery Sam. Let’s get to it.

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What Do I Need For the Red Dog Card Game?

To start, you will need a deck of cards with the jokers removed. If you are playing with more than 8 players, a second deck is suggested. You will also need something to bet with like Poker chips. We love to play this kind of game with candy, it puts a fun twist on it and can add a seasonal flavor to it too. You can see this Big List of Games to Play with Candy here.

If you need some new cards (and who doesn’t?) you can shop here; Canadians here. 

How Do I Play the Red Dog Card Game?

To start, pick a dealer who will deal out 5 cards to all the players including himself. Everyone will anti up by putting one (or more) chips into the middle of the playing area to form the pot.

Now, the player to the left of the dealer gets to decide what to bet. First, she can bet up to the amount of chips in the pot. She places her bet on the table in front of her. She is betting that she has a card in her hand that is the same suit and higher than the top card of the deck.

Aces are high.

When she has made her bet, the dealer flips over the top card of the deck.

If she does have a card that is the same suit and at least one higher than the flipped over card, she places the card in front of her with the flipped over card. She now gets to move the chips she bet and the same amount of chips from the pot to her stock.

On the other hand, if she doesn’t have a card that is higher of the same suit, she busts. Her chips are placed into the pot and she places her whole hand face up on the table.

It is now the next player’s turn. Again, he chooses what to bet and places the chips in front of him. Again, the dealer flips over the top card of the deck and the player either wins the bet or looses.

Once every player, including the dealer, has had a chance to bet, the cards are collected and a new round starts with a new dealer, a fresh shuffle and new hands for everyone. Players will also need to put in a new anti.

What if the Pot is Empty?

If at any time, the pot becomes empty, all players will put a new anti in and the game continues.

Can I fold?

If you have a hand that you feel will not win, you can fold. You can do this by placing your cards on the table and announcing it. You will have to pay one chip into the pot.

What if There are Lots of Chips in the Pot?

Players can decide to skip the opening anti if they feel that the pot has a lot of chips in it. All players need to agree to this.

How Do I Win the Red Dog Card Game?

There are a couple of ways to win Red Dog. First, this is the kind of game where as long as you’re having fun everyone wins. But if you need to have a winner you could a set number of rounds and the player with the most chips at the end of the rounds is the winner. Another way to play is to play for a certain amount of time and the player with the most chips is the winner.

You can also play elimination style where if you runout of chips, you’re out the game. You play until there is just one player with chips left. That player is the winner.

What Variations are there for the Red Dog Card Game?

As this is an older game, there are several different variations. The first is that some people play with the dealer only passing out 3 cards to each player. If you have more than 8 players it is also recommended that you play with only 4 card hands.

The next Red Dog variation is where players get two cards and they are betting that the top card is a card in between the ones they hold. If all three cards are of the same rank, then they get a pay out of 11 chips to get one bet.

Red Dog Poker

The Red Dog Poker game is almost a different game. To start, players place a bet. Next, the dealer flips over two cards and places them face up on the table and announces the spread. The Spread is the amount of numbers that are between the two cards.

A spread of 1 card (meaning that there is only one card in between the two cards) means that you will get 5 chips for every 1 that is bet.

For a spread of two, you will get 4 chips for each chip that you bet.
A spread of three will get you 2 chips for each chip bet.
And a spread of four will get you 1 chip for each bet.

Players can now increase their bets if they would like. The dealer will flip over the top card for the player to his left. He will then proceed to flip over the next card for each player.

If the original two cards are consecutive or are the same rank, the bets are returned and the cards are shuffled.

Shoot

In the Shoot variation, the dealer plays with her own chips. She deals three cards to each player but the players can’t look at their cards until it is there turn. The game play is the same as Red Dog. If the dealer runs out of chips, then the round is over and the dealer position is moved to the next player on the left.

After the first round, if the dealer has lots of chips left after the first round, that dealer takes another turn. If after a third round, the dealer can choose to play another round as the dealer or pass the dealer job to the next player.

Slippery Sam

Slipper Sam is also known as 6 Spot Red Dog. It is played the same as Shoot except that you need to place your bet before looking at your cards.

Fun For All

The Red Dog card game is fast and easy to play. It makes a great party game and allows kids to feel like the grownups as they place bets and rake in the chips. It’s perfect for playing with a group of players of all ages and skills levels. You can get the printable rules here.

Other games to try:

Blind Poker (you play without seeing!)

Crazy Fish (great for a group and super silly)

Chase the Ace (simple and fun with just one card)

The Big List of Games to Play with Candy