Strip poker is a regular game of poker but varies in the way that players get rewards when they win.
Actually, it is the losers who are the main focus of a strip poker game because they are required to undress systematically.
Depending on how unlucky a player is on a certain day or simply bad at poker, the possibility of ending up without clothes is extremely high.
According to random surveys, the people who are most likely to engage in a game of strip poker fall within the 18-30 years age bracket.
Although males are known to initiate or propose strip poker, most games will include female players too.
The nature of a strip poker game requires some level of privacy and discretion and that is why it is popular among university and college students as well as young people who have just started living alone.
Some mature adults also play strip poker but in high secrecy and small groups of up to 6 players.
When married participants form the majority in the group, it is often under the cover of their homes.
Dressing up is second to human nature but there are those who would argue that the prehistoric human being did not wear clothes.
Well, nudity is any form is bound to draw attention. So, why do people still play strip poker?
- For the fun of it – this is a reserve of friends, people who already know each other and are looking for ways to extend a night out. In an evening where alcohol had taken center stage, strip poker is the most natural way to unwind and tease each other. The game does not have to go on till someone gest naked though.
- For sexual pursuit – if the intention among a group of friends is to get completely naked so that it is easy for couples to get intimate, strip poker might come up as a suggestion for breaking the ice. In such cases, the game itself is of little interest to the players because their focus is on the end result.
As with playing any other game, it is important to clarify the rules of a game of strip poker before you begin playing.
This already sounds obvious, right? Well, there is no rule book for strip poker so the rules you make must be as clear as possible.
Strip Poker History
There does not seem to be significant information about where and how strip poker began but worldwide relevance has been traced back to the mid-1900s.
There is no record of the exact date when strip poker came into being but there are rumors to the effect that female players would volunteer to remove clothing items.
There are also people who believe that strip poker preceded poker as we know it today because there was nothing to trade with.
Ideally, what we know as strip poker today differs in intent to what strip poker originally was.
In the past, it was provided a grotesque style of entertainment for young gamblers who wanted to continue playing after they had lost all their money.
Clearly, there was no sexual connotation to the game then which is the goal of the modern strip poker game.
The Anderson Café was a popular venue for fun lovers in the 19th century.
Situated in an area of New Orleans that was synonymous for gambling and prostitution, many believe that this was the first venue for strip poker.
Mixed strip poker would later emerge in London that incorporated female and male gamblers in a single game.
The game was common in unlicensed casinos and grew in popularity because it was a source of erotic entertainment during the time when England was undergoing great depression.
It was not until the second half of the 20th century when popularity for strip poker grew courtesy of computer games, TV shows, music videos, and movies.
If you are a fan of classic movies, you must have watched the movie “The Wanderers” and most notably the scene where a group of young men are playing strip poker with their girlfriends.
Video game enthusiasts could have an idea of the Artworx Strip Poker II game released in 1987. It is likely that many people had a glimpse of what it was all about since it was optimized for Apple, PC, and Amiga.
The greatest promoter of strip poker must have been the broadcast media and this was due to the application of popularity techniques that targeted specific audiences.
By the late 90s, people had become tolerant of mild levels of nudity on TV and this created a soft landing for shows that featured strip poker.
There was a game show on TV which went by the name strip poker and had its first appearance in 1999.
With airtime on select channels in the United States, the cards were dealt by Jennifer Cole and hosted by Graham Elwood.
Those who followed it must have noticed that the five-card stud was the base variant built around a quiz game element.
Another interesting game show on TV was aired in Finland called Räsypokka between 2001 and 2003.
This was a bit daring because some of the 2 females and 2 males in the show stripped to full nakedness during games.
Strip poker came back to the United States in 2005 when a pay-per-view strip poker show was shot in Las Vegas.
The director of the show was Ben Weinstein, the host was Carmen Electra and the players were playboy models. In this show, the Texas Holdem variant of poker was used after it had gained popularity in 2004.
The greatest event in strip poker history took place in England in 2006 hosted at the Café Royal in London, this Paddy Power Entertainment Ltd (Ireland) organized event rounded up 196 players in a £10,000 win bid.
Does any poker variant work for strip poker?
Any game of poker can be adapted or even perverted into a strip poker variant.
To make the game amusing, simple games that have less betting rounds are preferred.
Quite frankly, the difference between regular poker games and strip poker is the substitution of garments for chips. The use of the phrase ‘strip poker’ began in 1916.
At a time when homosexuality was punishable, the game had no sexual element and its sole purpose was to keep young broke men in the high-stakes poker tournaments.
How are the variants of strip poker played?
In a fast strip poker game, each member seated at the poker table apart from the winner removes clothing items after each round of play.
In a medium strip poker game, the person who has the worst hand after a poker round removes an item of clothing.
In a slow strip poker game, the game begins as would regular poker, with chips. When players start to run out of chips, their clothes become their betting chips.
In the wake of the internet revolution, strip poker has become more accessible regardless of location.
The variants keep increasing; some require players to be matched to different webcams after some time or games played via video chat.
Whichever variant you find yourself playing, just bask in the bliss of being part of history for strip poker.
What should I know about hosting a game of strip poker?
Before you gather your friends around for a strip poker game, how about you ensure that the environment you plan to host it in is comfortable for everyone.
Low light settings, music playing in the background and plenty of heat will have a homely feel for everyone who come in. Everybody that is on the invitation list should have a brief on what kind of poker they are coming to play.
Do not forget to mention the number of clothing items that each participant is required to start with. The game should be fun but never creepy!
Based on the customized rules that the host decides to go by, a simple game of strip poker is capable of building strong interpersonal bonds.
It is normal for people to feel conscious about their bodies and this can be quite scary. Friends make for the best participants in such games because the idea is not necessarily to get undressed but to have fun.
Setting the strip poker stage
It might have been an idea off the top of your head or you have been attending strip poker dates with your buddies.
It is one thing to suggest this game but a totally different ball game to actually pull it off. What are some of the things you need to pay attention to before you host a strip poker game?
Try to balance the genders – by inviting as many girls as there are boys. This is the best way to make everybody to feel comfortable.
Picking the people to invite calls for some level of intuition as not everybody will welcome the idea of stripping in front of a group of people – friends or otherwise.
Even if you have a large number of people that would be open to playing a game of strip poker, some will back out the last minute, so make room for such eventualities.
Defining strip poker rules
Cash and chips do not feature anywhere in a game of strip poker because stripping the fine paid for losing.
While regular poker follows a distinct set of universal rules, strip poker rules can be complicated to define.
The first step in setting the rules is to decide which poker variant is to be played. Texas Hold’em and Five Card Draw are quite popular; they can both make for fun times with friends but Texas Hold’em has been the cause for some serious arguments in play.
Keep the atmosphere friendly
After settling on a game and inviting your friends over to play, it is now time to make everyone feel relaxed.
Be ready to spend on drinks as this should do the trick, more so if everyone knows each other.
It is awkward coming out of the changing rooms with nothing but a swimming costume so imagine how distressing it can be if you have to remove your clothes one by one in front of them.
Being friendly involves allowing your friends to participate in the setting of rules. You might have already decided that the losers will undress down to their nakedness.
Well, you might be comfortable with this but some of the participants are not. Are you going to leave no option for some people but to let them leave because of rigid rules?
Agree among you friendly that there will be fairness as far as the person to undress is concerned.
If the same player gets picked every round to undress, it means that there are others who are seated at the table who will begin to feel unwanted and eventually lose interest in the game.
The target is also likely to feel uneasy and may not feel like being part of the game after a few rounds.
What are the rules of strip poker?
Never been a game for the prudish, strip poker is played purely for the fun of stripping. The losers in the game remove clothes systematically as the winners watch.
Since no money in involved, it is up to the players or organizers to set the rules (based on how comfortable they are stripping). The following guidelines will make any variant of strip poker to run smoothly;
1. Play Texas Hold’em or 5-Card Draw
There can be as many strip poker variants as there are regular card games but the general idea is to keep things simple.
Strip poker is not the avenue to show off how great you are at making poker profit rather to get people to remove their clothes are quickly as possible.
This can only happen if the game is easy and straightforward even for new players to follow.
The general consensus out there is that most players of strip poker do not have a high mental grasp of actual poker strategy and rules.
You can remind your team of how simple Texas Hold’em or 5-Card Draw really from here.
2. Agree on the definition of a piece of clothing
If you want to move the game faster and reduce the number or level of arguments, sit down with everyone who is going to play and agree on what counts for removal.
Is a scarf or hat an item of clothing? When removing items that come in pairs like socks or gloves, does one at a time count or is removing the pair once acceptable?
To make it even more exciting, consider balancing the clothing items on each player so that everyone counts the same when they are stripping.
3. Agree how to end the game
Different people have different ends when playing strip poker but the bottom line is that the game must come to an end.
For some people, it is not over until everyone is naked, while for others, one completely naked player is enough to drop the curtains on a game.
Have you considered that you can structure the game in a manner that allows players to earn back their clothes?
Some people find it interesting to play without defining this piece of rule but if you are relatively new in this arena, it is only fair to know beforehand how the game will go.
Many strip poker events have taken completely different routes to what they were set out to be.
So long as no one is being forced to do something they do not want to engage in, having a good time is the goal of the game.
4. Keep warm all around
This is more like a general rule of house etiquette. When players are stripping, do they risk catching the flu because of being uncovered for too long?
5To make it even more fun, have towels for each participant to wrap around them when they are naked.
Alternatively, have players sit on these towels to protect them from direct contact with seats and surfaces.
What do you need to set a game of strip poker in motion? A quorum of at least 4 players, a deck of playing cards (standard 52), a location that is not only safe but private.
Strip poker is a great game for passing time especially after an evening out with friends.
After playing a hand and there is a clear winner and loser, let the winner decide who they want to see stripping.
It is likely that someone will be naked after a few rounds so have a rule to integrate them back in the game or something fun to do.
It goes without mention that having no working knowledge of poker will get you naked really quickly. Guys aim to invite clueless girlfriends while girls want to have an idea of how to play poker in anticipation that they will beat the guys at their game.
