Closest to 555.

YOUR GUIDE TO THIS VERSION

Know your table.

This guide’s sequence convention: A-2-3 highest, then A-K-Q. Some tables reverse these two. For wilds, rank aces high when identifying a highest or lowest printed card. Natural and wild-assisted equal hands have no automatic priority.

The rules that matter.

• Compare absolute distance from 555, whether the number is above or below. Do not add the three digits.
• House convention: a swap is free, at most one card per eligible turn; put the discarded card aside and draw from unused stock.
• This guide fixes every hand as seen from the start; ties in distance follow the agreed show convention.

From first card to final reveal.

1. Before the first card. Use a 52-card pack without printed jokers. Pick a dealer, seat everyone and read the deck note below. Use practice counters.

   This version supports 2–10 players. The deck note reserves any extra indicators or replacements. Smaller groups generally move faster.

2. Agree the number rules. Read the digit mapping and absolute-distance rule. Reserve two replacement cards per seat and keep discards out of the stock.

   This is the published free-swap 555 format. The all-seen timing and discard handling are explicit guide conventions.

3. Build the pot. Collect one agreed boot from each player, shuffle thoroughly and offer a cut.

   The boot is the opening contribution. Later blind and seen contributions are handled differently; they are not Poker calls.

4. Deal privately. Deal clockwise, one card at a time, until each player has three face-down cards. Keep the undealt packet separate.

   Do not add burn cards or replacements; this capacity calculation reserves only the cards described in the deck note.

5. Arrange, don’t add. Everyone looks and arranges their three digit values nearest 555. Record which players have taken zero, one or two turns.

   The same cards can have several orders. A result above 555 can beat one below it if its distance is smaller.

6. Take two optional swaps. On each player’s first and second turn, allow one optional discard and fresh draw before the seen decision. After their second turn, no more swaps.

   Keep discards separate. A player may decline either swap. Continue clockwise seen play; the turn count belongs to each player, not to the whole table.

7. Reach a comparison. If everyone but one packs, stop: that player takes the pot. With two left, an eligible player may pay for a show.

   Blind show costs one current stake; seen-versus-seen costs two. A seen player cannot demand a show against a blind player. Optional sideshows are covered in Learn Teen Patti. A cap-triggered group reveal is a separately agreed house rule.

8. Compare distance. At a valid show, each player arranges their digits optimally. The smaller absolute distance from 555 wins; apply the agreed tie rule and rotate the dealer.

   A near miss on either side counts. 554 beats 557 because 1 is less than 2. Suits and Teen Patti categories do not score.

Where these rules come from.

Published implementation-specific format. House conventions below make this physical-table guide explicit; no claim of original authorship. Explanatory presentation and examples by Deal Different.

Curated by Maanas Chopra · reviewed October 2026 · session times are estimates