1. (1) Criss-cross poker shall be played at a table having on one side betting positions for no more than six players and on the opposite side a place for the dealer.

2. (2) In addition to the requirements set forth in section 5324.30(a) of this Part, the layout for a criss-cross poker table shall contain, at a minimum:

   1. (i) six separate designated betting areas at each player position for the placement of the five-card bonus wager, ante across wager, ante down wager, across bet, down bet and middle bet. The betting areas shall be laid out so that the five-card bonus wager, from the perspective of the dealer, is closest, the ante across and ante down wager areas are across from each other and second closest to the dealer, the across bet and down bet areas are across from each other and third closest to the dealer and the middle bet area is farthest from the dealer; and

   2. (ii) inscriptions that advise a player of the payout odds or amounts for all permissible wagers offered by the facility operator, except that if payout odds or amounts are not inscribed on the layout, a sign identifying the payout odds or amounts for all permissible wagers shall be posted at each criss-cross poker table.

      (b) Criss-cross poker rankings.

3. (1) The rank of the cards used in criss-cross poker, in order of highest to lowest rank, shall be: ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2. An ace, however, may not be combined with any other sequence of cards for purposes of determining a winning hand.

4. (2) The permissible poker hands in the game of criss-cross poker, in order of highest to lowest rank, are:

   1. (i) royal flush, a hand consisting of an ace, king, queen, jack and 10 of the same suit;
   2. (ii) straight flush, a hand consisting of five cards of the same suit in consecutive ranking, with an ace, king, queen and jack being the highest-ranking straight flush and an ace, 2, 3 and 4 being the lowest-ranking straight flush;
   3. (iii) four of a kind, a hand consisting of four cards of the same rank, with four aces being the highest-ranking four-of-a-kind and four 2s being the lowest-ranking four of a kind;
   4. (iv) full house, a hand consisting of three-of-a-kind and a pair, with three aces and two kings being the highest-ranking full house and three 2s and two 3s being the lowest-ranking full house;
   5. (v) flush, a hand consisting of five cards of the same suit regardless of rank;
   6. (vi) straight, a hand consisting of five cards of consecutive rank, regardless of suit, with an ace, king, queen and jack being the highest-ranking straight and an ace, 2, 3, and 4 being the lowest-ranking straight;
   7. (vii) three of a kind, a hand consisting of three cards of the same rank, with three aces being the highest-ranking three of a kind and three 2s being the lowest-ranking three of a kind;
   8. (viii) two pairs, a hand consisting of two pairs with two aces and two kings being the highest-ranking two pairs and two 3s and two 2s being the lowest-ranking two pairs; and
   9. (ix) pair, a hand consisting of two cards of the same rank, with two aces being the highest-ranking pair and two 2s being the lowest-ranking pair.

5. (3) When comparing two poker hands that are of identical rank under this subdivision, or that contain none of the hands listed in this subdivision, the hand that contains the highest-ranking card as provided in paragraph (1) of this subdivision is not in the other hand, shall be considered the higher-ranking hand. If the hands are of equal rank after the application of this section, the hands shall be considered a push.

   (c) Wagers.

6. (1) Wagers at criss-cross poker shall be made by placing chips, plaques or table game promotional coupons on the appropriate areas of the table layout.
7. (2) Only players who are seated at a criss-cross poker table may wager at the game. Once a player has placed a wager and received cards, such player shall remain seated until the completion of the round of play.
8. (3) All wagers, except the play wager, shall be placed prior to the dealer announcing “no more bets.” A wager may not be made, increased or withdrawn after the dealer has announced “no more bets.”

9. (4) A player competes solely against a posted payout table by placing two ante wagers of equal amounts and then placing up to three separate bet wagers that are each one to three times the ante wager. The player also has the option of placing a five-card bonus bet.

   (d) Procedure for dealing the cards.

   In addition to the requirements set forth in section 5324.2(d) and (e) of this Part, the dealer shall deal the cards as follows:

10. (1) if using a manual dealing shoe or dealing from the hand, the dealer shall deal five community cards placed in front of the dealer in a cross formation. The dealer shall then deal one card at a time to each player who has placed a wager until each player has two cards, starting with the player farthest to the dealer’s left and continuing clockwise around the table. All cards shall be dealt face down; and

11. (2) if using an automated dealing shoe, the automated dealing shoe shall dispense cards in stacks of five cards first and then in stacks of two cards. The dealer shall deliver the first stack of five cards dispensed by the automated dealing shoe face down in cross formation to be used as community cards. As the remaining two card stacks are dispensed to the dealer by the automated dealing shoe, the dealer shall deliver a stack face down to each of the players who has placed a wager, moving clockwise around the table.

    (e) Procedures for completion of each round of play.

12. (1) Each player shall place two ante bets of equal value, with one corresponding to the across hand and one corresponding to the down hand. A player may also place an optional five-card bonus bet.
13. (2) After the dealing procedures have been completed, each player shall have the opportunity to examine such player’s cards.
14. (3) The dealer shall ask each player who has placed ante wagers the option to either make the across bet or forfeit such player’s ante wager. The across bet shall be one to three times the ante bet.
15. (4) After each player has placed the across bet on the designated area of the layout, the dealer shall turn over the two outside cards on the horizontal line of the cross. Any bets forfeited prior to the outside cards being exposed shall be collected and chips put in chip tray and the players’ cards shall be placed in discard rack.
16. (5) The dealer shall ask each player the option to either make the down bet or forfeit all previous wagers. The down bet shall be one to three times ante bet.
17. (6) After each player has placed the down bet on the designated area of the layout the dealer shall turn over the two outside cards on the vertical line of the cross. Any forfeited bets shall be collected and chips shall be put in chip tray and the players cards shall be placed in discard rack.
18. (7) The dealer shall ask each player the option to either make the middle bet or forfeit all previous wagers. The middle bet shall be one to three times ante bet. Any bets forfeited prior to the middle card being exposed shall be collected and the chips shall put in the chip tray and the players cards shall be placed in discard rack.
19. (8) After each player has placed the middle bet on the designated area of the layout, the dealer shall turn over the middle card on the cross.

20. (9) The dealer shall, starting with the player farthest to the dealer’s right and continuing counter-clockwise around the table, complete the following procedures as to each remaining player:

    1. (i) reveal player’s cards and examine the cards in order to form the highest possible ranking poker hand for each player using the player’s two cards plus the three cards on the horizontal line of the cross to form an across hand and uses their two cards plus the three cards on the vertical line of the cross to form a down hand. Winning across and down hands shall be paid in accordance with the pay table in subdivision (f) of this section.

    2. (ii) The middle bet is paid if either the across or down bet qualifies as a win. Such bet is paid at the odds of the highest-ranking hand. If the across bet is a push and the down bet loses, the middle bet is also a push; or if the across bet loses and the down bet is a push, the middle bet is also a push. If both the across bet and down bet push, the middle bet also is a push. The middle bet loses only if both the across and down bets lose. Winning middle bets shall be paid in accordance with the pay table in subdivision (f) of this section.

       (f) Payout odds.

21. (1) A gaming facility shall pay each winning ante and play wagers at no less than odds of 1:1 for qualifying hands of a pair of jacks or better. A pair of 6s through a pair of 10s shall result in a push, and all other outcomes shall be a loss.

22. (2) A gaming facility shall pay all winning across and down wager at no less than the following odds:

    Hand	Payout
    Pair 6s through 10s	Push
    Pair of jacks or better	1 to 1
    Two pair	2 to 1
    Three of a kind	3 to 1
    Straight	5 to 1
    Flush	8 to 1
    Full house	12 to 1
    Four of a kind	40 to 1
    Straight flush	100 to 1
    Royal flush	500 to 1

23. (3) A gaming facility shall pay all winning five-card bonus wagers at no less than the following odds:

    Hand	Payout
    Pair of 6s or better	1 to 1
    Two pair	3 to 1
    Three of a kind	4 to 1
    Straight	6 to 1
    Flush	10 to 1
    Full house	15 to 1
    Four of a kind	40 to 1
    Straight flush	100 to 1
    Royal flush	250 to 1

(a) Equipment and layout.