Rules of Tripoly

Tripoley is essentially three card games in one: Hearts, Poker and Michigan Rummy. The game requires a 52-card deck with no Jokers. The Tripoley game board that has labeled sections like "Pot," "Kitty" and numerous card values. Chips are placed on those sections while players try to win them through the game.

All players put one chip onto every section of the Tripoley board. The dealer shuffles and deals the entire deck. Along with the players' hands, one "free hand" of cards is dealt and not used in the game.

Players with heart cards valued at 10 or higher (Ace is high) get the chips from the corresponding section of the board. A player with both the King and Queen gets the "King Queen" chips. If the eight, nine and 10 of Hearts are split between three players, they split the "8-9-10" chips.

Players form a poker hand with five cards from their hands, and the dealer begins a single round of betting. The player with the best hand gets the bets and the "Pot" chips.

The dealer leads with the lowest card in his hand, and the player the next highest card plays it, continuing until nobody can play a card from that suit. Whoever played the last card starts the next play. Whoever gets rid of all cards first gets the "Kitty" chips plus one chip from every player for each card they still have.

The game can end at any time but usually ends when one player has won all the other players' chips. If there are chips remaining on the board at the end of the game, a single hand of poker determines who gets the chips.