Iron Cross and H-Bomb

Written by Nigel

With names such as these, you could expect to have very interesting games, and indeed a game of Iron Cross or H-Bomb can give you a night full of fun.  The first variant derives its name from the shape of the community cards, which total 5.  The dealer first deals 4 cards to each player.  He then lays out the 5 community cards in 2 intersecting rows of 3 cards each.  Prior to the start of the game, the dealer decides whether the center card is to be considered wild.  The community cards are flipped one at a time, with a round of betting in between flips.  The norm is for the center card to be flipped last.  After the fifth and final round of betting, players decide which row to use to complete his hand.

For H-Bomb, the community cards form an H.  In this variant, the community cards total 7.  There are 2 rows of six with the seventh connecting the two.  All players are dealt 4 cards.  The dealer immediately flips a card on the H, followed by a betting round.  One card at a time is then flipped followed by a round of betting.  Again, it is up to the dealer to decide which card to flip.  Normally, the connecting card is the last to be flipped although the dealer may choose a different scenario.  When all the 7 cards have been flipped, there is one final round of betting.  The players form their hand by choosing any of the 5 rows possible in the community cards – 2 vertical, the horizontal, and 2 diagonal rows.