1
Post the Antes
Ante Across and Ante Down are mandatory. The Five Card Bonus is optional.
Ante
Across
$25Across
Ante
Down
$25Down
5-Card
Bonus
$25Bonus
Complete game guide
How to Play Criss Cross Poker
Two hole cards, five community cards in a cross and three betting decisions. Here is every rule in the exact order it happens.
Down hand
Across hand
Down hand
Your cards
Ante
Across
Across
$25
Across
$25
Ante
Down
Down
$25
Down
$25
Middle
$25
5-Card
Bonus
Bonus
$25
1
Understand the Cross
Across
Down hand
Your cards
Across Hand = your 2 cards + left, centre, right
+
Down Hand = your 2 cards + top, centre, bottom
+
The centre card belongs to both hands.
The three horizontal community cards plus your two cards make the Across hand. The three vertical community cards plus your two cards make the Down hand. One card in the middle is doing work in both directions, which is the whole idea of the game.
2
A Hand From Start to Finish
Every reveal and betting decision in order.
2
Two Hole Cards Are Dealt
You receive two private cards. Nobody else sees them.
3
Make the Across Decision
Bet 1x, 2x or 3x the Ante Across, or fold Across.
Across
$251x
$502x
$753x
or
Fold
4
Left and Right Turn Over
The dealer exposes the two outer cards of the horizontal row.
5
Make the Down Decision
Bet 1x, 2x or 3x the Ante Down, or fold Down.
Down
$251x
$502x
$753x
or
Fold
6
Top and Bottom Turn Over
The two outer cards of the vertical column are exposed.
7
Make the Middle Decision
Bet 1x, 2x or 3x an ante, or skip it. There is no Ante Middle.
Middle
$251x
$502x
$753x
Skip
8
The Centre Card Reveals
Both hands are complete. Every live wager is settled against the pay table.
3
See Both Hands at the Finish
The hands are graded independently.
Across Hand
+
Royal Flush
Down Hand
+
King High
The same two cards made the best hand in poker in one direction and nothing at all in the other. That is why you bet each line separately.
4
How Each Wager Is Paid
Ante Across & Ante Down
$25
Flat money. Each ante is graded on its own hand. High pair or better wins, low pair pushes.
Across, Down & Middle
$25$50
These share the main pay table. Middle is graded on the higher of your two hands.
Five Card Bonus
$25
Scored on the five community cards only. Paid independently of everything else.
Folding
Folding a line forfeits that line and its ante. Your other live wagers carry on.
House rule note
If both the Across and the Down bets are folded, the Middle bet is not offered — only the Five Card Bonus can still be paid.
5
Main Pay Table
High Pair means Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces.
6
Hand Rankings at a Glance
What appears most often?
Out of all possible five-card hands
7
Common Rule Questions
Can Across and Down be folded separately?
Yes. They are two independent wagers. Folding Across forfeits the Ante Across but the hand carries on and your Down side stays live. The reverse is also true.
Is the Middle bet mandatory?
No. It has no ante attached, so skipping it costs you nothing. It is still the best-informed bet at the table — four of the five community cards are already face up when you make it, and it pays on whichever of your two hands finishes higher.
Does the centre card count twice?
Yes. It is part of the horizontal row and the vertical column, so it appears in both your Across hand and your Down hand. A single centre card can make both hands or kill both.
Is the Five Card Bonus independent?
Completely. It is scored on the five community cards on their own, ignoring your hole cards, and it pays whether or not you folded anything else that hand.
How many decks are used?
One standard 52-card deck with no jokers. Seven cards are in play each round — your two hole cards and the five community cards.
Do I have to beat the dealer?
There is no dealer hand and no qualifying requirement. Every wager is paid straight off the pay table, which is why one strong hand can pay on three separate bets at once.
Rules Make More Sense With Cards in Front of You
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Criss Cross Poker is a table game from AGS, developed by Ron LaDuca and In Bet Gaming. Pay tables and house-edge figures follow the published analysis at Wizard of Odds; the hand probabilities on this page were computed from all 2,598,960 five-card combinations.