Submitted by TwoGun on 2005-02-26
Manila is a popular game that is played in Australia, specifically at the Star City casino in Sydney.
Manila is played with a strip deck of only 7-A (32 total cards). Because it is played with a strip deck, a flush beats a full house.
Very similar to Spanish Poker, the game is played where all players are dealt two hole cards. A total of five community cards are displayed, one at a time. Thus, there are five total rounds of betting because the initial arround commences when all players are dealt their hole cards and one community card is shown. Players use two of their hole cards and three of the community cards to form their final poker hand.
A version of Manila, known as 3-card Manila, is also played. For this version, players are dealt three hole cards. They can use any 2 of their hole cards and 3 community cards to form their final poker hand.
Manila is generally played with fixed-limit betting. For example, in a $5-$10 game, the first round of betting would be $5 bets and raises. In the second, third, and fourth betting rounds, $10 bets and raises are used. The final round of betting involves $20 bets. This is the biggest difference between Manila and Spanish Poker because Spanish Poker is generally played as a no-limit game.
Manila is generally played with only one blind. The person to the left of the dealer posts this blind.
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