Squid Game Poker Prop Bet: Rules for This Viral Side Game

The Squid Game is a poker side game where survival matters. Every player starts the orbit trying to collect a marker. Win a pot and show your hand to claim one. At the end, players without markers pay bounties to everyone who collected one.

The twist is simple but brutal. You cannot quietly fold your way to safety. And you cannot win a marker without revealing your cards. Both rules create tension and force action.

Here are the complete rules for the basic version:

1. Set up the markers. Place one marker per player in the center of the table. These can be chips, buttons, or anything visible.
2. Define the orbit. The game typically lasts one full orbit. When the button returns to where it started, the game ends.
3. Win a pot AND show your cards. To collect a marker, you must win a hand and show your hole cards to the table. Win without showing and you get nothing.
4. Settle at the end. When the orbit ends, players without markers pay a bounty to each player who has one.

The progressive version ramps up the stakes. Instead of flat bounties, payments multiply based on how many markers a player collects.

• 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:

• Chopped pots: If two players split, does either collect a marker? Most games say no, the marker rolls to the next hand.
• Forgot to show: If a player wins but forgets to show, no marker is awarded. The marker stays in the center.
• Running it twice: If the board runs twice, only the winner of the top board gets the marker.
• Unclaimed markers: If an orbit ends with markers still in the center, one option is to remove them from play. Another is to roll them into a skins-style pot for the next orbit.
• Bounty amount: Typically 1 BB is the baseline. Adjust based on your stakes and group comfort.

The show-your-cards rule is what makes this game special. Normally, winning without showdown is pure profit. In Squid Game, it costs you a potential marker. Suddenly bluffs have a hidden downside.

The survival element also flips the script on tight players. Folding your way through an orbit works in regular poker. In Squid Game, it means you are paying the table at the end. Everyone has skin in the game.