Overview

Tripoley is played both with cards and a board. It is essentially three card games rolled into one, Hearts, Michigan Rummy, and Poker. The game is fast-paced, fun and easy to learn. A little element of luck is needed to win the game. The tripoley board is labelled into sections, each containing chips. Players play the game to win those chips and the player with the most chips wins.

Objective

Ideal Tripoley Deluxe Mat Edition Card Game. Add to compare compare now. Pandasaurus Games Machi Koro 5th Anniversary Edition Board Game. Tripoley is a card game that combines Poker, Hearts and Michigan Rummy. We kids would save some of our allowance money when family events were near in case we played. We would play for nickels and whoever ever won was ours. (28) 28 product ratings - Tripoley Deluxe Mat Version Michigan Rummy Hearts & Poker 2009 Cadaco Sealed. Vintage 1965 Cadaco Tripoley Game Mat Only. Vintage Cadaco TRIPOLEY Michigan RUMMY Green Vinyl Mat NEAR MINT. 1969 Cadaco Tripoley Deluxe Layout Only Vinyl Mat Card Game. Check out our tripoley game selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our games & puzzles shops.

Win the most chips by playing the game.

Tripoley Game Rules

Tripoley rules are very simple and follow the rules of each of the 3 games that make it up. The Hearts round follows Hearts rules, the Poker round follows poker rules, and the Michigan Rummy round also follows Michigan Rummy rules.

Number of Players Needed

To play a game of tripoley, between 2 to 9 players are needed. It is best to play with 4 to 7 players

Equipment

A standard card deck of 52 cards. Jokers are not needed

Chips for betting

A stakes board. You can buy one or create one yourself using paper or a chalkboard. The stakes board is divided into sections labelled: Ace of Hearts, Jack of Hearts, Ten of Hearts, King of Hearts, King-Queen of Hearts, Kitty, and Pot.

Setting Up

To begin the game, each player places one chip on each of the labelled sections of the stakes board. Each player places a total of 9 chip each as there are 9 sections on the board. The dealer then shuffles the card deck and deals one card at a time to each player in a clockwise direction. The dealer also deals an “Extra Hand” (as if there is one more player). The “Extra Hand” is placed face-down on the table and must not be viewed by the players including the dealer. After all the cards have been dealt, some players will have an extra card.

Wooden Tripoley Board

The dealer can choose to swap their “Hand” for the “Extra Hand” if they are not satisfied with the cards they got. However, the dealer is not allowed to view the “Extra Hand” before making the swap. If the dealer chooses to make the swap, the dealer’s original “Hand” is placed face-down on the table and becomes the “Extra Hand”. Once this swap is done, it cannot be revered.

The dealer can choose to offer the extra hand to the other players, triggering a bidding war. The victorious player will hand the bid amount in chips to the dealer and then swap their “Hand” with the “Extra Hand”. If the dealer declares an auction for the “Extra Hand” and no one bids, the dealer is still allowed to make the swap themselves if they choose to.

Even after swapping their original “Hand” for the “Extra Hand”, the dealer can still auction this “Hand” which has now become the “Extra Hand” to other players.

How to Play Tripoley Game

The game is played in three parts of Hearts, Poker, and Michigan Rummy game. The opening round is the Hearts and is very easy to play. Each player checks their “Hand” for Hearts cards. If a player has any of the following cards in their “Hand”, that player takes chips from the corresponding section of the stakes board: Ace of Hearts, Jack of Hearts, King of Hearts, Queen of Hearts, and 10 of Hearts.

So a player with an Ace of Hearts card gets to pack all the chips in the Ace of Hearts section of the stakes board, likewise, a player with a King of Hearts card gets to pack all the cards from the King of Hearts section, and so on. If a player has both King and Queen of Hearts cards, they are allowed to take all the chips from the King of Hearts, the Queen of Hearts and the King-Queen of Hearts sections.

Also, if a player has the 8, 9 and 10 cards of the Heart suit, they are allowed to take all the chips from the 8-9-10 section. If these cards are owned by more than 1 player, the chips in the 8-9-10 section are shared between the players proportionally. For example, if a player has the 8 of Hearts card, another player has the 9 of Hearts card, and another player the 10 of Hearts card, the chips will be shared equally between all three players.

Once the Hearts round is concluded, the game moves to the poker round. Each player selects five cards from their “Hand” to form a poker hand. Each player keeps the rest of their cards aside momentarily. After which the dealer then calls for bets. Before the betting proper starts, players must decide the bet limit and no player must make a bet exceeding this limit (the total number of chips bet by any player must not exceed the agreed limit). Players then place their bets in the Pot section and the player with the best poker hand wins all the chips in the Pot section.

Tripoley Mat

The concluding round is the Michigan Rummy. Players add the rest of their cards to their poker hand for the Michigan Rummy round. The dealer starts by playing the lowest card in their hand. The next player has to play a higher card belonging to the same suit as the card the dealer dropped. The pattern continues until the highest card from that suit is played.

Tripoley Game Mat

Whoever played the last card for the suit gets to start play again with the lowest card in their hand. The process is repeated until one player discards all their cards. This payer is rewarded with all the chips in the “Kitty” section and also receives a chip from every player for each card in their hand.

Tripoley Board

Winning the Game

Tripoley Instructions

Usually, the game goes on until one player has won all the other players’ chips but it is possible to end the game at any point. The player who has the most chips at the end of the game is declared winner. If there are chips left on the board at the end of the game, a single hand of poker is played to determine who gets those chips.