What Will Poker Look Like in the Future?

Outside of the odd game of Open-Face Chinese or Courchevel, poker has remained relatively unchanged for decades. There’s something timeless about the game and there’s a good chance some form of Hold’em or Draw poker will be played 100 years from now. That said, what other poker-like games do you think will be played in the future?

Poker has actually played a huge role in Sci Fi pop culture and nearly every series has some form of the game.

It’s easy to see why as poker is a great plot device to develop characters that’s been used on everything from Friends to Training Day.

But what are these poker-like games in the future? Well for one they seem to have a lot of suits. If there’s one thing to be learned from the various games featured on Sci Fi shows it’s that more suits = more futuristic.

Here’s a look at the poker games played in the background of some of the most famous Sci Fi shows.

5 Poker Games From the Future

Sabacc

What’s it from:

Star Wars

Is it like poker?

Oh sure. The only difference is that you have a 76-card deck, which features sixty numbered cards divided into four suits and two copies of eight special cards. There are also four phases within each hand: betting, calling, shifting and drawing. And that’s not even getting into Bespin Standard or Corellian Gambit variants.

Claim to fame:

Han Solo won the Millennium Falcon in a heated game of Sabacc. The standard Sabacc deck can also be used for divination. Neat!

Could it be an event at the WSOP?

The rampant cheating that takes place in a standard game of Sabacc might be a slight problem. Lots of shoot-first characters if you know what I mean.

Triad

What’s it from:

Battlestar Galactica

Is it like poker?

Who the hell knows. 3 on a Run is a good hand. So is Full Colors and Prince High Red but the full rules are never explained. You can gamble, drink and strip during the game, which sounds a lot like poker.

Claim to fame:

Played by Viper pilots between harrowing missions on Battlestar Galactica. It’s hard-as-nails Kara “Starbuck” Thrace’s favorite game. Also Hexagonal cards. So sweet.

Could it be an event at the WSOP?

Unlikely. The dealers would have a fit with those hexagonal cards.

Tall Card

What’s it from:

Firefly

Is it like poker?

Yep. Although there are six suits and six round cards called Tall cards.

Claim to fame:

Featured in the episode “Shindig” where Book, Simon and Jayne were all playing. The stakes are various household duties like taking out the garbage and dishes. There are no Millennium Falcons being awarded in this game.

Could it be an event at the WSOP?

Doubtful but at least Tall Card utilizes pretty much the same hand rankings as poker except for five-of-a-kind.

Fizzbin

What’s it from:

Star Trek: The Original Series

Is it like poker?

Not really. It does use a standard 52-card deck though.

Claim to fame?

It’s the dealer’s choice of Star Trek! As long as that the dealer is always James T. Kirk. You see Kirk invented the game when he was trying to confuse an angry group of Iotians. He made up a hand called “the kronk” to distract the Iotians while Spock knocked them out with a Vulcan nerve-pinch. Typical Kirk.

Could it be an event at the WSOP?

So long as William Shatner stops by to tell people how it’s actually played.

Bluff

What’s it from:

The Game-Players of Titan

Is it like poker?:

It’s a cross between poker and monopoly and the stakes are the ultimate fate of mankind. So yeah, it’s a lot like Rail Heaven.

Claim to fame:

Telepaths aren’t allowed to play. Hear that Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey? You can’t play!

Would it be a successful WSOP event?

Only if the WSOP is taken over by the Imperialistic, silicon-based aliens known as the vugs. So probably 50/50.

Five-Card Stud

What’s it from:

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Is it like poker?

It’s nothing like poker. There are no community cards. It’s not No-Limit and no one is wearing sunglasses (except for Geordie La Forge, I guess).

Claim to fame?

Data also looks sharp wearing a visor and everyone knows Androids make the best dealers. Good to know poker players will finally be able to take all those visors they’ve been saving out of the closet.

Could it be an event at the WSOP?

Never. It's just too bizarre. Oh wait.