STRIP POKER RULES

OBJECTIVE OF STRIP POKER: Win hands to avoid stripping down.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 7 players

MATERIALS OF STRIP POKER: Standard 52-card deck

TYPE OF GAME: Card game

AUDIENCE: Adults

OVERVIEW OF STRIP POKER

As opposed to typical games of poker, in strip poker, players bet clothes instead of cash. However, you could begin a standard poker game with traditional cash betting, and once the money runs dry, switch to clothes to amp up the stakes! If someone loses a hand, the clothes get removed item by item. How you play is up to you!

Before introducing strip poker for evening entertainment, ensure you’re with a group of like-minded adults. This game is best for couples, potential paramours, or groups of friends who are all comfortable with potentially stripping down. The game is not fun for anyone when even one player feels uncomfortable with the nature of the game.

And here’s the most important rule of all when it comes to strip poker: Consent is an ABSOLUTE MUST. You should also determine a limit beforehand. How far are you willing to strip? Does the game stop when everyone is naked, or just in their underwear? Make sure every player agrees to these rules beforehand!

Okay, phew! Now that we got this little (but nevertheless INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT!) disclaimer out of the way, let’s get straight to it and get to know the rules for strip poker!

SETUP FOR STRIP POKER

Of course, to set up a game of strip poker, you’re going to need to do two things: 1) assign points to clothing, and 2) deal the cards.

ASSIGN POINTS TO CLOTHING

Before beginning the game, place a value on the articles of clothing. If a sock can be a bet, can you raise a shirt? Figure out how you want to quantify the bets. What constitutes a small bet? A large bet? Is a shirt worth twice as much as a sock? Agree on all these values before starting the game.

This is a general rule to follow when assigning points to clothing: the more naked you get, the more points the clothing is worth.

For example:

A watch – 1 point
One single shoe – 1 point
A pair of socks – 2 points
Pants – 5 points
Underwear (if everyone agrees to strip down to the nude!) – 10 points

However many points you assign to each article of clothing is entirely up to you and everyone you’re playing with!

At this point, you should also clearly define what counts as clothing and what does not. For example, do watches and earrings count? Again, this answer is completely up to you and the group!

MAKE IT FAIR

But keep in mind that however many points you decide to assign to each article of clothing, you need to ensure it is fair. Everyone should start the game with the same number of clothing pieces or points. After all, someone who had ten rings on their fingers going against a player who doesn’t have a single accessory would be unfair!

For example, each player may wear a jacket, a top, a pair of pants, one accessory, two socks, and two shoes.

HOW TO DEAL IN STRIP POKER

Now that you have assigned the point values and determined everybody’s comfort level, it’s time to get stripping and play poker! Grab an alcoholic beverage to loosen up and lighten the mood!

Then, before the dealer deals the cards, every player must ante up. In other words, they must announce what type of clothing they’ll be risking in this round!

The dealer shuffles the deck of cards and hands each player five cards. Players must each hide their hand from the other players, but they may look at their own cards.

HOW TO PLAY STRIP POKER: STRIP POKER RULES

The player to the left of the dealer starts the game. Ready to play some poker and get stripping? Don’t worry if you’ve never played poker before! We’ll be playing five card draw to strip, which is widely considered one of the easier poker games.

FIRST BETTING ROUND

This player starts the first betting round by betting on an article of clothing. The number of points each article of clothing is worth matters here! Then, play continues in a clockwise direction. On their turn, players may do one of the following:

Check: When you check, you don’t need to bet anything more but you are still in the game.
Raise: When you raise, you raise the first betting amount equal to the current wager + more. For example, if a previous player bet 2 points, you may raise by betting 4 points (an additional 2 points). This increases the wager all other players must match to remain in the game.
Call: When you call, you bet and match the amount wagered by a previous player. For example, if a player bet 4 points, you may call by also betting 4 points. Or, as another example, if you bet 4 points previously, but another player raised the amount to 6 points, you can call by betting another 2 points to match the total 6 points.
Fold: When you fold, you lay down your cards and don’t bet.

You may only raise a total of 4 times in the first round of betting. The first round of betting ends when all players have either called or folded.

STRIP POKER HAND RANKINGS

At this point, it’s imperative to know the poker hand rankings. If you’ve never played poker or need a quick refresher, here is what you need to know:

Royal Flush: A, K, Q, J, and 10, all of the same suit.
Straight Flush: Any straight of the same suit. For example, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6.
Four of a Kind: Any four cards of the same value, plus another random card. For example, K, K, K, K, J.
Full House: Three cards of one value and two cards of another value. For example, K, K, K, 5, 5.
Flush: All cards of the same suit. It doesn’t matter which order.
Straight: 5 cards of consecutive value but of different suits.
Three of a Kind: Any three cards of the same value, and two random cards. For example, 6, 6, 6, 2, Q
Two Pair: Two pairs of cards of equal value and one random card. For example, 9, 9, 7, 7, K.
One Pair: One pair of cards of equal value, and three random cards. For example, K, K, A, 2, 8.
High Card: No cards interact with other cards in any way, so the highest value card.

For a more in-depth look at this, check out our article on poker hand rankings.

DRAWING

If there is more than one player still remaining after the first betting round, players can now improve their hand by discarding and drawing some cards. Players can discard anywhere between 0 to 3 cards.

Take a look at your hand and determine which cards to keep and which cards to discard. Each player must announce how many cards they will be discarding and put the cards face down. The dealer then passes the player cards to replace the discarded ones so that the player has five cards in hand once again.

SECOND BETTING ROUND

Now that all players remaining have had a chance to discard unwanted cards and draw new ones, round two of betting begins! Check, raise, call, and fold pieces of clothing as you played in the first round. This is where the game gets particularly exciting!

SHOWDOWN

At this point in the game, there may already be one player remaining – the winner! If there is no winner yet, all active players now reveal their hands. The player who has the best hand wins!

STRIPPING

Now for the fun part. There are a few different options when it comes to stripping rules in strip poker. So, pick and choose what you want and how you want to play.

Option 1: The winner does not have to remove any clothing, but all other players must remove the item they staked at the very beginning of the hand.
Option 2: Only the player with the worst hand removes a piece of clothing.
Option 3: The winner chooses a player to remove a piece of clothing. This variation allows hidden crushes or flirtations to be revealed in a fun, playful way!

END OF GAME

The game continues until everyone, or almost everyone, is down to their underwear or totally naked!

DIFFERENT TYPES OF STRIP POKER

Poker itself is a category of games. As mentioned, the above strip poker game is called five card draw, which is the easiest type of poker to play, making it the best suited for strip poker. But, you can essentially play any time of poker as strip poker by slightly changing up the rules to include betting on articles of clothing! Of course, just make sure everyone knows the rules before you get started.

To turn these normal poker games into strip poker, simply add the rule of betting on articles of clothing by assigning points to each item or have each chip (if playing with chips) correspond to an article of clothing.

Here are the different types of strip poker rules to help spice up the night!

Texas Hold’em: The most popular card poker game where players are dealt two private cards and share five community cards to make the best possible hand.
Seven Card Stud: Each player is dealt seven cards, three face-down and four face-up. Players must use the best possible combination of five cards to make their hand.
Omaha: Similar to Texas Hold’em, in Omaha, players receive four private cards. However, they must use exactly two of these cards in combination with three of the five community cards to form their hand.
H.O.R.S.E: H.O.R.S.E is not a specific poker game but a mixed game format. It consists of a rotation of different poker games, typically including Hold’em, Omaha, Razz, Seven Card Stud, and Eight or Better (Hi-Lo).
Chinese Poker: In Chinese Poker, players receive 13 cards and must arrange them into three hands: a front hand of three cards, a middle hand of five cards, and a back hand of five cards. The goal is to have stronger hands than opponents in each corresponding category. Points are awarded based on hand strength.
Pineapple: Players receive three hole cards instead of two. However, before the flop, they must discard one of these card. The gameplay and betting follow the structure of Texas Hold’em, but the extra card adds an exciting, strategic element to the game.

IMPORTANT RULES FOR STRIP POKER

There really isn’t an official set of rules to follow when it comes to strip poker. However, there are a couple of rules you should follow to ensure everyone has a good time! The last thing you want is for the game to become uncomfortable. Yikes!

COMMUNICATION

Communication is SUPER important when it comes to strip poker. Make sure everyone understands the rules, and ensure every player consents to the level of stripping required. For example, you can simply play down to your underwear (yes, bras included!) or play down to your birthday suit. This all depends on the comfort level of the group playing.

THE PEOPLE MATTER

What type of people you invite to play this game matters. And yep – no creeps allowed! Only invite people you know pretty well and trust for a more relaxed atmosphere. Don’t invite anybody that could potentially ruin the lighthearted fun you could have with this game!

FAQ

What Type of Poker Is Best for Strip Poker?

You can play any type of poker when you play strip poker. It’s up to you and your preference, but the two most popular types of strip poker to play would be five card draw and Texas hold’em.

How Many People Do You Need to Play a Game of Strip Poker?

You can play with as few as 2 people and as many as 7. But, unsurprisingly, strip poker is generally played between 2 players.

Do You Need Poker Chips to Play Strip Poker?

Not necessarily. While having chips may make the game easier to follow, you can simply assign pieces of clothing a certain amount of “points” or “chips,” and play poker as usual.

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Mia Kim

I am a digital nomad and traveler with a passion for board games. I've been a big board game nerd all my life, and I'm a particular fan of word games like Scrabble, Boggle, and, yes, Wordle, too!