The Festival Explains: Sviten 49
One game that has gained a lot in popularity over the past years is Sviten Special. Many know the game by 'Drawmaha' as well, although it is slightly different. Now, 'Sviten 49' is one of the variants based on Sviten Special and on this page, you can find out how this game is being played.
Sviten Special already exists for a while now, and as it goes with any kind of card game, there will always be 'different versions' introduced throughout time. Sviten 49 is a fun game that keeps you on your toes at all times, but is also easier to handle as for example Sviten Special. Why? Because players try to win both parts of the pot, meaning that if they would want to win the 'Draw Hand', they would need to score as much as possible ponts, making it very predictable as everyone will be trying not to have any Kings, Queens, or Jacks.
What is Sviten 49?
Sviten 49 is a split-pot poker variant closely related to Sviten Special. Like Sviten Special, every player receives five hole cards and competes for two separate halves of the pot:
- The Omaha Pot – played exactly like Five Card Omaha, using exactly two hole cards and three community cards.
- The 49 Pot – instead of making the best Five Card Draw poker hand, players simply try to make the highest possible point total from their five hole cards after the draw.
Everything about the game, including the betting rounds, draw phase, community cards, and Omaha rules, is identical to Sviten Special. The only difference is how the second half of the pot is determined.
How the 49 Hand Works
Instead of traditional poker hand rankings, each of your five hole cards is worth a number of points.
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Ace | 1 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 4 |
| 5 | 5 |
| 6 | 6 |
| 7 | 7 |
| 8 | 8 |
| 9 | 9 |
| 10 | 10 |
| Jack | 0 |
| Queen | 0 |
| King | 0 |
After the draw is complete, simply add together the values of your five hole cards. The player with the highest total wins the 49 half of the pot.
Community cards are not used when determining the 49 hand, they are only used for the Omaha hand.
Maximum Score
The highest possible score is 49 points.
This is achieved with:
- 10
- 10
- 10
- 10
- 9
10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 9 = 49
You might think that a Jack, Queen, or King, should have higher amount of points, but that's not the case here. The 10 is the strongest card when it comes to the draw-combination.
Examples
| Hand | Score |
|---|---|
| 10 10 9 8 7 | 44 |
| 10 10 10 9 5 | 44 |
| A 2 5 8 10 | 26 |
| K Q J 10 9 | 19 |
| K K Q J 10 | 10 |
Winning the 49 Pot
The player with the highest point total wins the 49 half of the pot.
If two or more players finish with the same score, the 49 pot is split equally between them.
Unlike traditional draw poker, there are no pairs, straights, flushes, or other poker hand combinations. Only the total point value of the five hole cards matters.
Strategy in Sviten 49
In Sviten Special, there are different kind of tactics possible, just like in any other poker game basically. But since you are aiming to win both parts of the pot, it's good to find combinations that will give you a good Omaha hand, as well as a good draw hand. Unlike Sviten Special, you generally don't care about pairs or straights for the 49 han, only total points. However, you still need to balance this against building a strong Omaha hand if you're trying to scoop both halves of the pot.
Here are a couple things to keep in mind:
- Tens become the most valuable cards.
- Face cards become the worst cards because they're worth 0.
- Aces are surprisingly weak, worth only 1 point.
- Drawing is almost always about replacing Kings, Queens, and Jacks.
Sviten 49 and The Festival Series
At The Festival Series, we always aim to introduce new variants of different poker formats, regardless if it's during our The Festival events, or The Festival Weekend events. The debut of 'Sviten 49' will be celebrated during The Festival Weekend Tallinn (July 1-5). Everyone who will be present for this event, will now be fully prepared!
Good luck at the tables!
