Whiskey Poker Dictionary ( poker )

 

A widow game, usually played only in home games by players while waiting for a "real" poker session to start. Each player receives five cards face down and five cards (the widow) are dealt face down in the center of the table. The player to the left of the dealer has three choices: knock, pass, or exchange his cards for the widow. If he passes, the next player has the same three choices. When any player exchanges his cards for the widow, the next player can discard anywhere from one to five of his cards, select cards (without looking at them) from the widow as replacements, and put his replacements in the widow. Once someone has taken the widow, players may no longer pass: they must either knock or exchange one or more cards with cards from the widow. If no one exchanges on the first round, the dealer turns the widow face up, and play continues as before, with cards this time drawn from the face-up cards of the widow. If a player feels that he has the best poker hand at any point when it is his turn, he can knock. At such point, play continues for one more round until just before the player who knocked, at which point there is a showdown. If his hand is indeed best, he collects one chip (or some other agreed-upon amount) from each player; if it is not, he loses two chips (or, again, some other agreed-upon amount) to the player whose hand beats his. Sometimes the lowest hand at the showdown then buys everyone drinks (whence the name of the game). Obviously (or not so obviously), the further the game progresses without someone knocking, the better the hand needed to knock. Several variations exist to this game; the preceding description is the most common.