Wrinkle from our home game: You must beat "Chuck" to win the pot (16 Viewers)

[snooptodd]

I host a low stakes limit game ($1/$2) with friends and we play everything under the sun. Emphasis is on fun, with scooped pots winning a scratch-off, so there's a lot of "defending" those tickets so people have a chance to win them later.

One of the players in our game introduced a concept I'd never heard of before: Chuck.

If someone calls a game and includes Chuck in the proceedings, an extra hand is dealt and set off to the side. "Chuck" does not bet, raise or call, but he does get to stay around for the entirety of the hand. Once a winner among humans is determined, they are then forced to sweat it out to see if they beat Chuck. If Chuck wins the hand, the chips stay in the middle and roll over into the next hand. Makes the next hand a lot more interesting when there's already $20-$30 in the middle, lol.

A few notes about Chuck:

• Chuck can split the pot if it's a split pot game
• Chuck's hand is revealed one card at a time for maximum drama
• For a game like SOHE, the dealer splits Chuck's cards into two random piles and does not look at them (Chuck's not a great SOHE player)
• For draw games if there's a risk of running out of cards, we won't deal Chuck until the end. My personal favorite adaptation is giving Chuck however many cards are left in the stub. Had a hilarious moment one night for a 2-7 triple draw game when the player on the button decided to raise after two players had called and everyone at the table decided to strategically fold, leaving him to try to beat like a 22-card Chuck, which of course he didn't.

Of course, this is a perversion of poker. And there's probably some psychological study that should be done on our group, as we collectively enjoy an immense amount of glee whenever Chuck wins a hand (well, everyone except the guy who doesn't get to drag the pot that is). Perhaps the best part of this whole tradition, however, is that the guy who introduced this concept has the "Charles in Charge" theme song queued up on his phone, so as soon as Chuck wins a pot, this is what plays.

The other night, we had a moment when a guy had lost to Chuck for the third or fourth time of the night, and he was getting pretty annoyed (as we all do), got up and said he was going to take a piss. My buddy, without missing a beat, says "Wait, your song!" and played the theme as he walked out the door. I don't know if I've ever laughed so hard.

 

[ChipTalker]

Our "Chuck" is called the ghost. Late night fun

 

[detroitdad]

That sounds fun for low stakes, short handed games!

 

[ChipTalker]

My group thinks it is fun. Typically it is at the end of the night so only the degens that want to stay do it and usually it is short handed like 5 or 6 players plus the Ghost or Chuck. We only do PL split pot games and do a slow reveal at end same as described for drama. If the the Ghost/Chuck wins any portion than it stays in as a bonus awarded for next pot. It does not count as part of the pot of so you cant just jam and bully for the bonus money. Also when the ghost/chuck has money at the end of the hand if he does not win he only matches the pot. So for instance ghost has 200 in bonus money and current hand has 50 dollars in pot. I make a 40 bet and nobody calls, then I take my 40 bet back and the ghost puts 50 in the pot to match and then reveal. Remaining money stays rinse/repeat ...

 

[detroitdad]

I wouldn't do it at my standard game. We have too many $300 plus pot.

 

[ChipTalker]

agreed that is why we only do it at end of night for the true degens and yes there are some big pots. The most our ghost ever had was $700

 

[Sisu41]

I love this, but I'd never let it at my home game

 

[CraigT78]

We do this as well and call it the Ghost.

I have a little ghost card capper.

I hate the ghost. Except when I win it.

 

[doublebooyah85]

Any variations to Ghost different than OP @CraigT78 ?

 

[ChipTalker]

Our Ghost capper courtesy of @Al Azouri who is my resident expert on everything mechanical including 3d printing.

 

[CraigT78]

Any variations to Ghost different than OP @CraigT78 ?

Not really. If the ghost wins the bomb pot, which we do the last game of that orbit, we continue to play bomb pots until the ghost is clear. Then reset the button to the next game caller.

I also don't allow the ghost on a full table. There has to be an empty chair for a ghost to be called.

We've had hands where the ghost has had upwards of $1000 in front of it. It's insane n

 

[snooptodd]

Our Ghost capper curtesy of @Al Azouri who is my resident expert on everything mechanical including 3d printing.

View attachment 1388529

This is incredible. Any chance of getting one that says Chuck? I would pay good money for this.

 

[ChipTalker]

@Al Azouri ^^^

 

[CraigT78]

This is incredible. Any chance of getting one that says Chuck? I would pay good money for this.

Message me after my meetup. if he can't do it, my kid can. He loves 3D printing projects

 

[merkong]

I’m intrigued but not sure how I’d feel strategically winning a pot only to have Chuck have the nuts and then look down at 8-3 off the next hand.

 

[ChipTalker]

whomever does it be sure to talk about if bridge or poker size, we use bridge size cards

 

[ChipTalker]

@merkong yeah it is a real kick in the nuts but play enough you get the good with the bad. If you have a good group of guys that can handle it then it can be fun routing for the ghost when you are out and watching them go down in flames. If you have whiny complainers in your group then it is not for you.

 

[merkong]

I think we could handle it. We’d probably deal the ghost last orbit of each hour or something like that. Looking for a wrinkle or prop that doesn’t affect game play like a seven/duece thing does.

 

[ChipTalker]

oh it affects game play, i mean how do you fold anything when there is a 300 bonus to the pot
And your draws are always justified with pot odds in those cases.

 

[Dbxela]

Adding a ghost should tighten up the game quite a lot until it wins one wouldn't it? It plays a bit like a large rake that runs to 100% on pure bluffs.

I think my home game wants bluffing with the nut low .

 

[Machine]

Here in the midwest, Chuck goes by 'The Bitch'

 

[DeadheadDave]

My game has a Chuck, and a Charlie. But I like the idea.

 

[MatB]

If I may be honest here.

I have a hard enough time beating players with a pulse. Let alone a ghost hand.

I’m out

 

[TheRealStephen12]

My game has a Chuck, and a Charlie. But I like the idea.

Maybe Charles?

 

[Deucekies]

So you can't possibly win a hand on a bluff then? I mean I suppose the ghost could have absolute garbage, but you're basically playing UTH at that point.

 

[CraigT78]

One of my guys got me a new Ghost, he crushed Congress last night. Ghost had almost $600.

 

[snooptodd]

So you can't possibly win a hand on a bluff then? I mean I suppose the ghost could have absolute garbage, but you're basically playing UTH at that point.

Definitely a fair point and it would likely be a terrible idea for many games. We play $1/$2 limit dealer call, typically split pot games like Dramaha or SOHE, etc., and it's exceedingly rare for someone to win a pot without a showdown. Since there isn't a lot of bluffing in the game, the winning hand is usually relatively strong, so Chuck probably has about a 12-15% win rate -- exactly what you'd expect in a 7-8 handed game. Enough to make it a good sweat, but not so much to completely disrupt the game.

 

[Al Azouri]

This is incredible. Any chance of getting one that says Chuck? I would pay good money for this.

Just getting caught up here. I’ll make you one free of charge. Pm me your mailing address and color preference. I currently have red, fluorescent yellow and black.

 

[Al Azouri]

Just getting caught up here. I’ll make you one free of charge. Pm me your mailing address and color preference. I currently have red, fluorescent yellow and black.

And white

 

[Poker Zombie]

We have also played with a Chuck/Ghost/The Bitch - our was always called the Monkey.

As @snooptodd points out, it works best in limit. Monkey can only pay out it's share of the pot.