Mexican Sweat
A No Peek variant where a card is dealt face up to the center as the hand to beat, and players flip their own unseen cards trying to top it without matching a designated 'kill' rank.
Coming soon — not yet playable
Rules
Mexican Sweat deals seven unseen cards face down to each player, exactly as in No Peek (also in this library). One additional card is dealt face up to the center of the table at the start, establishing the initial "hand to beat," and a rank from that card (or a separately drawn card, per house rule) is designated the "kill" rank for the deal.
As in No Peek, players take turns flipping one of their own hidden cards, hoping to build toward a hand that beats the current best hand showing. The twist: if a player flips a card matching the kill rank, they are immediately eliminated from the hand ("killed"), regardless of how strong their partially revealed hand was.
Betting follows each new best-hand reveal, exactly as in No Peek, with a final showdown among surviving (non-killed) players once the reveal phase ends.
Strategy notes: The kill-rank mechanic adds real risk to every flip — unlike plain No Peek, a player can be eliminated instantly regardless of their hand's quality, which tends to make Mexican Sweat noticeably faster-paced and higher-variance than its parent game.
Common house rules
How the kill rank is chosen
Some tables designate the kill rank from the initial face-up center card itself (e.g., if a 7 is turned, all 7s are kill cards); others draw a separate card specifically to set the kill rank — agree on this before dealing.
Killed players still owe action already committed
Standard rule: a player eliminated by flipping the kill rank forfeits any further claim to the pot but does not get back chips already bet in earlier rounds, the same as folding in standard poker.
Higher variance than plain No Peek
Because elimination is possible regardless of hand strength, expect faster hands and bigger swings than No Peek — a good change-of-pace game rather than a table's steady mainstay.
Related games
Based on shared category, origin, and rules that reference each other.
No Peek
A stud variant where seven cards are dealt entirely face down and unseen, and players flip their own cards one at a time in turn — only revealing them once they choose to beat the current best hand showing.
Learn the rules →Auction
A Seven-Card Stud variant where the wild card for the hand isn't fixed in advance — players bid chips into a side pot for the right to name it, right after third street.
Learn the rules →Baseball
A high-variance Seven-Card Stud variant themed after the sport: 3s are always wild, and any player dealt a 4 face up may buy an extra card.
Learn the rules →Black Mariah
An intense Chicago variant, also called Follow the Bitch: the queen of spades is wild, and the lowest spade in the hole (not the highest) wins half the pot.
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