Squid Game Poker Rules: How the Viral Side Game Works

Squid Game is a poker side game played on top of your regular game. The table shares one squid marker fewer than there are players. Win a pot and you take a squid. When the last squid is taken, the one player still without a squid pays every squid holder an agreed amount.

The twist is simple but brutal. You cannot quietly fold your way to safety. As squids run out, the players still without one are forced to get involved, and every pot matters.

Here are the rules for the standard version:

1. Set out the squids. Put one marker fewer than the number of players in the middle of the table: five squids for six players. Chips, buttons or anything visible works.
2. Agree on the price. Decide what the loser pays each squid holder. One to three big blinds per squid is common.
3. Win a pot to take a squid. The winner of each pot takes a squid from the middle. Once you hold one, you are safe.
4. The last player without a squid pays. The game ends when the last squid is taken. The one player who never won a pot pays every squid holder the agreed amount.

In the progressive version, players who are already safe can keep winning squids, and payments grow with each squid a player holds. The loser pays:

• 1 marker: Losers pay 1 BB per marker you hold.
• 2 markers: Losers pay 2 BB per marker you hold (4 BB total).
• 3 markers: Losers pay 3 BB per marker you hold (9 BB total).

This version gets wild fast. A player who runs hot and collects four markers in a six-handed game could win 16+ big blinds from each losing player. Proceed with caution.

Before you start, get aligned on these situations:

• Show to collect: Many home games require the winner to show their hand to take a squid. Win without showing and the squid stays in the middle. This puts a hidden price on every bluff.
• Chopped pots: If two players split, does either take a squid? Most games say no.
• Running it twice: If the board runs twice, only the winner of the top board gets the squid.
• Time limit: For a shorter game, play a single orbit. When the button gets back to where it started, every player without a squid pays each squid holder, and leftover squids are removed.
• Price: One big blind per squid is a gentle start. Adjust it to your stakes and how much your group wants to gamble.

The survival element flips the script on tight players. Folding until you pick up a big hand works in regular poker. In Squid Game, it is how you end up paying the whole table. Everyone has skin in the game.

It also builds to a finish. With one squid left, the two or three players still without one start playing pots they would normally fold, and the players who are already safe get to enjoy the show.