Playing for Fun: Wild Cards 3 - The Purity Rule

If you’ve found that wild card games, especially played hi-lo, generate a lot of complicated pot splits and that annoying confidence in an unshakeable nut hand simply due to a lucky draw of wild cards, there is a remedy. To alleviate this slightly, there is the option of imposing the Purity Rule to calm everyone down a bit and decide on a winner in the majority of situations.

Basically stated, the rule states that in the event of a tie in the rank of hands at showdown, the hand with the fewest wild cards in it wins, and if that is also tied, then the position of the wilds determines the winner.

For a high hand, it is better to have the lower cards in it represented by the wilds. So with two straights (with ‘x’ standing for ‘wild card’), 7 x 9 10 J and 7 8 9 x J, the former is the winner, as it has a wild 8 as opposed to a wild 10.

For a low hand, it is also better to have the lower cards (with Ace as low) represented by the wilds. So with two wheels x 2 3 x 5 and A 2 3 x x, the former is the winner, as it has A 4 wild, as opposed to 4 5 wild.

It is probably better explained with an example:

1. Omaha hi-lo leaners (see Wild Cards 2 – Non-fixed wilds)

Dana holds: 2d 3h 4h 8d
Ben holds: Ad 3c 6h 6s
The board is: 4s 5h 8s Jd Kd

Dana’s purest high hand: Royal Flush, only possible as 3h(10d) Jd 4h(Qd) Kd 5h(Ad).

Dana’s purest low hand (A 2 3 4 8) is: 4h(A) 5h(2) 3h 4s 8s. In this combination, her two wild cards (the Leaners 4h and 5h) stand for the A and 2, the lowest possible cards they could stand in for. She has a pure 8, 4 and 3 (the 3h, although a Leaner, stands for itself here and so its wild status doesn’t count). This is better than, for example, 4h(A) 2d 5h(3) 4s 8s as the wilds would stand for the A and 3. Remember, if you need wild cards to make your low hand, the idea is to have them standing for the lowest cards in it possible.

Ben’s purest high hand: Royal Flush, only possible as 5h(10d) Jd 6h(Qd) Kd Ad.

Ben’s purest low hand: (A 2 3 4 5) is: Ad Kd(2) 3c 4s 5h. This is actually the only way he can make the wheel, but it’s a pretty good one with only one wild card (the Kd is wild because he’s also using the Ad, but as it stands for itself its wild status doesn’t count).

In this example, the low was always going to go to Ben, but instead of splitting the high, Ben now wins it, as he only uses two wilds to make his Royal Flush to Dana’s three.