Lore · Card Keep

Card Keep explained: the spread and the stud

A closer look at Gapwatch and Iron Warden: what the spread tells you, when a raise makes sense, and why the Warden sometimes does not open.

Gapwatch in one minute

Two cards, a gap, a third card. The spread is the number of ranks strictly between the first two cards. A spread of one (a six and an eight) leaves only sevens to land in the gap: four chances in thirteen ranks of a big shoe, which is why it pays 4 to 1. A spread of ten leaves ten ranks and pays even money.

Two special cases keep the game honest. Neighbours, such as a jack and a queen, leave nothing between them, so the round is a push. A pair has no gap either; a third card is drawn and only three of a kind pays, at 11 to 1.

When to raise

After the spread is shown you may double your stake. On wide spreads, seven or more, the third card falls inside more often than not, so a raise tends to help over many rounds. On narrow spreads it mostly makes the swings bigger. If you would rather not think about it, never raising is a perfectly good way to play.

Iron Warden in one minute

You see all five of your cards and one of the Warden's. Fold and you leave the ante. Raise twice the ante and the Warden turns his cards. He needs at least ace-king or a pair to open. If he does not open, your ante pays even money and the raise comes back, which feels flat but is the most common way a good-looking hand ends.

If he opens and you are ahead, the raise pays by your hand, from 1 to 1 for a pair up to 100 to 1 for a royal flush. If he is ahead, both bets are lost.

A calm way to play both

Decide your rule before the session and keep it. In Gapwatch: call everything, or raise only from a spread of seven. In Iron Warden: raise with any pair or ace-king, fold the rest. Fixed rules take the heat out of each decision and make it easier to notice when you start bending them.