Rules on how to play the horse racing game. There are many versions of rules on how to play, we believe this is the most common one and offers the most excitement and fun. You can also modify as you wish and be as creative as you want!
The Horse Race Game
- PLAYERS: 4-16 (THE MORE, THE MERRIER!!)
- ADDITIONAL ITEMS: DECK OF CARDS
- 200 POKER CHIPS
- 2 DICE $$$$
SETUP:
- COLLECT ENTRY FEE FROM ALL PLAYERS (SUGG: $1-5). IF YOU PLAY AS A CASH GAME, YOU WILL NOT NEED TO ANTE, AND YOU WILL NOT NEED POKER CHIPS.
- ISSUE POKER CHIPS TO EACH PLAYER (FOLLOW CHART BELOW)
- REMOVE 4 KINGS AND 4 ACE CARDS, THESE ARE NOT REQUIRED
- SHUFFLE & DEAL CARDS UNTIL 1ST QUEEN COMES UP, THIS PLAYERWILL DEAL THE 1ST GAME.
- DEALER OPTIONS:
- OPTION 1: DEALER FLIPS A CARD AND THAT NUMBER HORSE IS SCRATCHED AND PLACED ON THE "PAY 1" SPOT. DEALER CONTINUES FLIPPING CARDS UNTIL 4 HORSES ARE ELIMINATED AND PLACED IN ORDER ON ''PAY 2", ''PAY 3". AND "PAY4" SPOTS. IF A DUPLICATE CARD IS FLIPPED, FLIP NEXT CARD UNTIL ALL 4 HORSES ARE ELIMINATED. DEALER THEN DEALS OUT CARDS TO THE LEFT UNTIL THEY ARE GONE, SOME PLAYERS MAY RECEIVE 1 MORE CARD THAN OTHERS
- OPTION 2 (HIGH STAKES OPTION: DEALER DEALS OUT ALL THE CARDS FIRST. DEALER THEN ROLLS THE DICE TO SCRATCH FIRST HORSE (PAY 1 HORSE). PLAYERS WHO HAVE THAT CARD WILL TURN IN THEIR CARD AND PAY 1. DEALER THEN ROLLS TO SCRATCH PAY 2 HORSE, PLAYERS THAT HAVE THAT CARD WILL PAY 2 AND TURN IN THAT CARD. DEALER CONTINUES UNTIL ALL 4 HORSES ARE ELIMINATED.
- ALL PLAYERS MUST IDENTIFY ALL CARDS THAT MATCH SCRATCHED HORSES. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A PLAYER FORFEITS ALL OF THEIR CARDS AND UNFORTUNATELY, IS OUT OF THIS RACE AND FORFEITS THEIR ENTRY FEE. REMAINING CARDS SHOULD MATCH A 'LIVE HORSE', AND PLAYERS SHOULD BE ROOTING FOR THEIR HORSES (CARDS) TO CROSS THE FINISH LINE!!
RACETIME…AND THEY'RE OFF!!!
- PLAYER LEFT OF DEALER ROLLS DICE 1ST; IF THE ROLLED DICE MATCH A 'SCRATCHED HORSE', PLAYER MUST FORFEIT THE SAME # OF CHIPS THAT CORRESPONDS TO THE "PAY 1", "PAY 2", ''PAY 3", OR “PAY 4”.
- IF ALL OF A PLAYER'S CHIPS ARE LOST, PLAYER TURNS IN CARDS AND IS OUT OF THIS RACE.
- IF THE DICE ROLLED MATCH A LIVE HORSE, THAT HORSE ADVANCES 1 SPOT FORWARD TOWARDS FINISH LINE!
- PLAY CONTINUES AROUND THE BOARD UNTIL A HORSE CROSSES THE FINISH LINE, OR ALL PLAYERS LOSE THEIR CHIPS. ONCE A HORSE CROSSES THE FINISH LINE THE RACE IS OVER AND ANY PLAYERS HOLDING THAT SAME CARD NUMBER SPLITS THE POT!!!
- TO BE ELIGABLE TO WIN, PLAYERS WITH THE WINNING CARD MUST HAVE CHIPS LEFT. ONCE A PLAYER IS OUT OF CHIPS, THEY ARE NOT ELIGIABLE TO ANY WINNINGS.
- IF ALL PLAYERS LOSE THEIR CHIPS, A NEW RACE MUST BE STARTED, AND A REENTRY FEE IS PUT IN POT (OPTIONAL). PLAYERS THAT LOSE THEIR CHIPS ARE NOW ENCOURAGED TO ROOT AGAINST PLAYERS STILL IN THE GAME, OR ROOT FOR HORSES THAT NO LONGER HAVE ACTIVE OWNERS.
- IF A HORSE CROSSES THE FINISH LINE, AND NO PLAYER IS HOLDING THAT NUMBER CARD, A NEW RACE MUST BE STARTED, AND AGAIN, A RE-ENTRY FEE MAY OR MAY NO T BE COLLECTED.
OPTIONAL DRINKING RULES:
- IF DOUBLE 2'S, 3'S, 4'S OR S'S ARE ROLLED, THAT PLAYER TAKES A DRINK!!
- IF DOUBLE 1's OR 6's ARE ROLLED, ALL PLAYERS TAKE A DRINK!!
- IF ONE OR BOTH OF THE DICE ROLL OFF THE TABLE OR GAME TOP OR ARE DROPPED ON THE FLOOR, THAT PLAYER TAKES A DRINK!!
OPTIONAL PROGRESSIVE JACKPOT:
- EACH RACE TAKE ¼ OF THE POT AND PLACE IN BONUS POOL.
- DESIGNATE 1 HORSE (ROLL OR PULL CARD BEFORE EACH GAME STARTS) AND IF THAT HORSE WINS THE RACE, THE BONUS POT IS ADDED TO THE WINNING HORSES PAYOUT. THE PROGRESSIVE JACKPOT WILL AUTOMATICALLY PAY OUT TO THE LAST WINNING HORSE OF THE NIGHT.
IT'S POST TIME!!! LET'S GET READY FOR A HORSE RACE!!!
CASH GAME RULES:
- Players do not ante up front but will pay into the pot when scratch horses are rolled.
- Players can fold their hand if they have paid out the agreed upon minimum payout for the game (for example – if using a pay scale of 25 cents, 50 cents, 75 cents, $1, the minimum player bankroll to start the game should be 10x the pay 4 scale). In this case, every player should have at least $10 to start the game (or agreed upon minimum) but can continue to play beyond the minimum if they continue to pay when a scratched horse is rolled, otherwise they are eliminated from winning.
- After the min bankroll is paid out, a player can decide to fold their hand and be eliminated from the game, and any potential winning.
