TOURNAMENT DECKBUILDING RULES

A Tournament Deck must consist of 20 cards and can include cards from up to two different characters. A deck may include up to 3 copies of the same common card, 2 of the same uncommon, and 1 of the same rare. A deck may only include up to 3 rare cards total. (These are our Official Tournament Rules, but If you’re playing at home or for fun, we encourage experimentation with different deckbuilding restrictions to tailor your home game to match the needs of your players.)

Special Conditions: There are two special conditions in Crypto Court that affect what types of cards can be played: Heating Up and Tilted.

Heating Up is a positive status effect (you want to be Heating Up).

Tilted is a negative status effect (you don’t want to be Tilted).

Below are details on the two Special Conditions and the benefits and obstacles they create throughout a game of Crypto Court Poker.

HEATING UP

When a player is “heating up” they gain access to play powerful “Fire Cards.” You can tell if a Power Card is a Fire Card by the flames around the character’s portrait. These Fire Cards are the “payoff” cards of most Power Decks, and many Crypto Court strategies revolve around heating up at the right time to play these devastating Fire Cards.

If you are not heating up, you cannot play Fire Cards. You can gain the Special Condition “Heating Up” through two ways: The first is by winning 2 hands in a row. The second is through Power Cards effects. There are many different strategies and cards you can use to activate Heating Up. If you lose a hand or become Tilted while you’re Heating Up, you are no longer Heating Up.

When a player is “Tilted” they are no longer able to play any other Power Cards, EXCEPT for Tilted cards. You can tell a Power Card is a Tilted Card if the Character Portrait has a black cancel icon over it. Again, the only time you are able to play Tilted Cards is when you are Tilted, and you are “locked out” from playing any other type of Power Card. Tilting others can be a powerful disruption tool, as you are able to cripple villains in the game down to playing “regular poker,” while non-tilted players continue to use Power Cards to gain advantages over the Tilted players.

Many strategies revolve around Tilting opponents to disrupt their power decks, forcing them to rely on their poker skills alone until they can recover. You gain the Special Condition “Tilted” through Power Card effects. The villains will try to tilt you in various ways with their Power Cards, and it will be up to you to fight through them in order to prevail in the tournament.

I’m tilted! What do I do? If you win a hand while you’re Tilted, you recover and are no longer Tilted. Most Tilted Power Cards are focused on helping you recover, as well.

TILTED

Gameplay Phases and Turn Actions:

Here are the phases of a single hand of Crypto Court:

1. Set-Up

During the Set-Up phase, each player draws 1 Power Card and adds it to their hand. Then, each player receives 3 Hole Cards (1 more than a typical game of Hold-Em). After this, each player may play up to 1 Set-Up card face down on the table. Then, each Set-Up card is turned face up and resolved in betting order (clockwise from the button). During this time, you may also Counter a Set-Up Card. Then, action starts as we move to the Round Phase.

2. The Betting Rounds

There are 4 Betting Rounds in a game of Crypto Court: Pre-Flop, The Flop, The Turn, and The River. (These are the same as in a standard game of Hold-Em.) Action proceeds as normal, clockwise from the button, as each player chooses to Check, Bet, Raise, or Fold. When it is your turn to act, you may play 1 Round Card per action, but may play multiple Round Cards in the same betting round.

Example: You play a Round Card and Check. Then, a villain bets and action comes back around to you. When it's your decision to act again, you may choose to play another Round Card. However, you would not be able to play both at the same time. During the betting rounds, you may also Counter any Round Cards played by the villains (and it doesn’t have to be your turn to do so).

3. The Showdown

The Showdown refers to when the hand ends and a winner is determined. This can happen in one of two ways:

Winning a Pot: You win a pot when all but 1 player folds before the end of the betting rounds. That player is then declared the winner and receives the pot.

Winning a Showdown: When The River betting round is completed, there is no more action and ALL ACTIVE PLAYERS reveal their hole cards. This is different from normal Hold-Em as there is no “show in turn,” that is, verbally declaring your hand, or folding at Showdown to disguise your hand. There's no funny business here! If you’re in during a Showdown, you have to show your hole cards. If you have the strongest poker hand during a Showdown, you're declared the winner of the Showdown and receive the pot.

Winning a Showdown also counts as Winning a Pot. During this time, if you satisfied the conditions of a Showdown card during the betting rounds, you may play a Showdown card. At this point, you may also Counter a Showdown card that is being played.

Quick Summary of the Rules:

Crypto Court Poker is played like a normal game of Hold-Em with one additional hole card. You draw 1 Power Card each turn. You play Set-Up cards before betting starts, Round cards during betting, and Showdown cards at the end of the game. You can play Counter cards whenever a villain plays a Power Card at any point during the game (even when it’s not your turn).

If you win two hands in a row, you're Heating Up. You can only play Fire Cards if you’re Heating Up. You can also use Power Cards to Tilt your opponents. You can only play Tilted Cards if you’re Tilted – but are unable to play any other type of Power Card. If you win a hand, you’re not Tilted anymore. During Showdown, all active players must reveal their hole cards.