TAKE TWO An Exciting New Card Game of Strategy, Cunning, and Luck for 2 to 8 players. Devised and copyrighted by Fred Gielow 6-12-03, with revisions 7-4-03.

Requires a deck of cards, a set of poker chips, "Player Mats" and a "Community Mat". Ace=1, 2 through 10=face value, Jack=11, Queen=12, King=13. No jokers are used. The suits are irrelevant. Poker chips: white = 1 point each, red = 5 points each, blue = 25 points each. 1. The poker chips are divided evenly among the players. Any chips remaining are then placed in the High Pot circle of the Community Mat. 2. Each player antes chips worth 5 points to the High Bet circle on his/her Player Mat and chips worth 5 points to the Low Bet circle on his/her Player Mat. 3. A player is selected as dealer and deals 4 cards to each player, one at a time, then places the remainder of the deck, face down, in the Deck Box on the Community Mat. 4. Each player divides his/her cards into two twosomes (a High twosome and a Low twosome) and places them in the corresponding boxes on his/her Player Mat. 5. Each player, in turn, starting with the player on the dealer's left, discards one of his/her four cards face down in the Discard Box on the Community Mat, and replaces it with one card from the top of the deck. 6. Players (in turn, starting with the player on the dealer's left) then bet, check, or fold (like poker) on each twosome. Bets are placed in the Low Bet and High Bet circles on the Player Mats (adding to the ante). Each High Bet must match the highest High Bet played or the High Bet must fold. Ditto for the Low Bets. No bet is allowed which cannot be matched by each of the other players. 7. Each player, starting with the player on the dealer's left, takes one of his/her four cards and discards it, face down, in the Discard Box on the Community Mat, and then takes one card from any twosome (except his/her own) on the table. The selected card replaces the discarded card and is displayed face up on the table, and the two cards are then "frozen". The player, whose card was taken, takes a replacement card from the top of the deck. The player may look at the card, but it is then placed face down. The player may mix up the two cards so other players do not know which was the replacement. Players may not take any card from "frozen" twosomes. (Note that during this step it is permissible – and sometimes necessary, though seldom – for a High card to be selected and used for a Low-card twosome and vice versa.) 8. The players then bet, check, or fold on each twosome (as in #6). Each twosome must remain intact throughout play; that is, a player's Low and High cards can not be swapped. 9. When betting is complete, the players (including those who have folded) turn both Low cards face up. The player with the lowest-scoring twosome wins all Low chips bet, including the Low Pot on the Community Mat. Likewise, the highest-scoring High twosome determines the High winner. If two or more players have the same Low or High score, those players keep their chips but the losers put their chips in the corresponding pot on the Community Mat. 10. Play continues with the player on the dealer's left assuming dealer responsibilities. When the deal advances around the table and reaches the first dealer, the ante doubles and play continues until one player has won all the points or until an agreed-to time is reached.

The way back home.