In the bustling world of urban commuting, where millions of people ride the subway daily, a new and exciting game has emerged: Subway Poker. This game combines the thrill of poker with the unpredictability of public transportation, offering a fresh and engaging way to pass the time during your daily commute !
The Concept
Subway Poker is a two-player game that transforms your everyday subway ride into a dynamic poker experience. The game utilizes the seating arrangement of passengers to create poker hands, adding a layer of excitement and unpredictability to your journey.
How to Play
Getting Started
Find a Partner: To play Subway Poker, you need a partner. This could be a friend, colleague, or even a fellow commuter looking for a fun way to pass the time.
Choose Your Rows: Each player selects a row of five seats on the subway train. These seats will serve as your “hand” for the game.
Select the End Station: Before the game begins, both players must agree on a station where the game will end. This station serves as the deadline for evaluating your hands.
Evaluating Your Hand
The core of Subway Poker lies in evaluating the passengers sitting in your chosen row of seats. Each type of passenger corresponds to a specific poker card value:
- Child: Counts as a 10
- Teenager: Counts as a Jack
- Woman: Counts as a Queen
- Man: Counts as a King
- Elderly Person: Counts as an Ace
Making a Hand
Using the values assigned to each passenger, players create the best possible poker hand based on the traditional poker rankings. The goal is to have the highest-ranking hand by the time the train reaches the agreed-upon end station.
Winning the Game
Once the train arrives at the end station, both players evaluate their hands. The player with the highest-ranking poker hand wins the game. In case of a tie, players can agree on a tiebreaker rule, such as the closest player to the door wins.
Strategies and Tips
- Observe Your Surroundings: Pay close attention to the passengers boarding and exiting the train. A keen eye can help you anticipate potential changes in your hand.
- Choose Wisely: Selecting a row near the doors can increase the likelihood of passenger turnover, potentially improving your hand.
- Predict Passenger Patterns: Consider the time of day, weather conditions, and other factors that might influence who sits in your row. For example, you might see more children during school hours or more elderly passengers during off-peak times. Use these observations to your advantage and make educated guesses about potential passengers.
Works in every major city!
Some cities might be more difficult to play though. I come from France, and in Paris the subway looks like this:
You might have to adapt depending on your city’s layout, but overall it works!
Disclaimer: I didn’t invent this game; I discovered it in a very old article that no longer exists, and I have been playing with friends ever since. If anyone has information about this game being played elsewhere in the world, I would be delighted to hear from you!
EDIT: Thanks to the HN community I found back the original idea : https://www.simonlevene.com/portfolio/tube-poker
EDIT 2: HN smelled the ai parts so fast. I will reconsider its use from now on and edit the badly written parts. Gives me more faith in the future though.
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