The dealer places five ranks of five squares across the board for a total of 25 squares. With another deck of cards at hand, cards are turned over one at time and each player who has a board with that playing card pictured places a poker chip or other marking device over the square. The first player to get five squares in a row is the winner.
Methods of Scoring
There are many ways to keep score in Pokeno.
The winner receives a reward, greater or lesser, according to the poker value of the line or "hand." (See list of poker hands)
Note that the boards are arranged so that each vertical and horizontal line represents a different poker hand, ranging from "straight flush" to "pair". No boards are better than others. All are intended to be balanced.
The same as before except that the dealer continues turning over cards until every one has five in a row, and the player with the highest poker hand covered is the winner.
Pokeno may be played similarly to Blackjack, where the dealer covers his own board and plays against each individual player. The dealer turns over playing cards until he has five in a row covered on his own board. The other players who do not have five in a row covered or whose row has a lesser value than the dealer lose. The dealer loses to those who have rows covered of greater poker value. Larger hands may bring a greater reward.
Pokeno may be played similarly to keno. Each player except the dealer or "banker" is given a board and may bet on any figure that automatically covers one row and one column. The banker turns over playing cards and the players cover only those called that are in the two rows on which he wagers. If one of these two rows is not covered by any player so that no one is "out" by the time twenty-five cards are turned over, the banker gets the wagers. If player is "out" on either his horizontal or vertical row, that player gets a certain standard reward arranged in proportion, as in roulette.
Pokeno may be played like regular bingo with poker cards instead of numbers/bingo balls.
