Gardena Jackpot is Another Draw Poker Game

Gardena jackpots ("Jacks to open" or simply "Jackpots")

Played like a typical draw poker, this draw poker game employs the normal hand values in addition to a joker that is added to the pack and serves as "bugs". This draw poker game is usually played with a bet or "ante" but blinds are excluded. On the initial betting round, players are not allowed to start the betting unless a player already holds a pair of jack or a better combination.

Other active players that made a checked during the initial round may perhaps one after the other call otherwise raise if a player opens. If nobody opens, then a fresh deal begins and each player is required to make another ante in that particular pot. The player which opened the betting round must keep his unnecessary cards on the board and near so that if another player raises a question he can easily justify his hand if needed; prove that he holds a had an adequate opening hand.

As an illustration, a player with the set of cards King, Jack, 9, and 7 of diamonds with the Jack of clubs is in the company of a pair of Jack and that player may open. In this situation, he can opt to "break openers" by disposing of the jack of clubs in an attempt to make the diamond flush, therefore he maintains the disposed jack to confirm that he is at liberty to open.

This game is labeled after the Gardena, a city in California, which makes this game so popular during the 30's up to 70's (although this game always comes second to the more popular lowball). At that point in time, Gardena has more community poker tables than all the other states in America. During those times, community poker rooms are a booming business then.

But today, Atlantic City, Las Vegas and other cities in the U.S. have more and bigger poker rooms than what they have at that point. Because Gardena Jackpots or "Jacks to open" draw poker game was considered the most important type of high-combination draw poker competed there, long-established draw poker was habitually described by the term "Guts to open".

In common home games, it is ordinary that after a distribution of cards is "passed out" (meaning, no players wanted to open), the players make another ante, and the qualifier to open is upped to a couple of queens. If that particular deal is again passed out, a qualifier is upped to kings, furthermore to aces. This is what we all know as "progressive" jackpots.