
- BGG rank
- BGG #22,360
- BGG rating
- 6.1
Dry Gulch Junction
- 2–4 players
- 45 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2008

2004
Rules assistance for Austin Poker
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 3 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Austin Poker is a board game released in 2004 for 3–6 players and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Alan D. Ernstein and its main mechanics are Hand Management and Betting and Bluffing.
Gambling your fortunes in the Old West for 3 to 6 players. In Austin Poker, you will be playing four hands of five-card stud poker simultaneously out of your own deck of cards. Your initial draw is 11 cards. Out of these cards, you will choose your four hole cards and place them face down on your player mat. You will then choose your first show card for each hand and place them face down on the hole cards, leaving you with a hand of three. Each hand's show card is revealed and bid on separately. After all hands have been bid upon, players draw one card for each hand they have not folded. The next show cards are placed with their respective hands, face down. This play continues until all hands have been played to five cards. The winners receive the pots. Then, all players have the opportunity to purchase Bonus cards in the order they finished the poker phase. The bonus cards count toward the victory points required to win the game, as well as having abilities that help you on subsequent turns. At the tend of each turn, the money spent buying Bonus cards is divided equally among all of the players and the next turn begins.
Austin Poker supports 3–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The catalogue lists Austin Poker for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Austin Poker has a complexity rating of 2.4 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Austin Poker belongs to these categories: Card Game, Bluffing, and American West. Its main mechanics are Hand Management and Betting and Bluffing. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Austin Poker are: Alan D. Ernstein. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Austin Poker as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.