Card Games
Free joker wild poker
In poker, a game with a free joker wild uses a joker as a wild card that can stand for any card needed to make the best possible hand.
Key points
- A free joker, unlike a bug, is fully wild and can represent any card value.3
- House rules may still restrict the joker, e.g. allowing it only for straights and flushes.1
- The number of jokers and any payout changes vary by game; there is no single standard.2
Where this term is used
Related terms
Card games
Joker in pai gow
Explains how a joker is used as a bug, not fully wild, in pai gow poker.
Card games
Spades
A trick-taking card game where the joker often appears as a high trump.
Card games
Bridge
A trick-taking game played without jokers in standard decks.
Card games
Gin rummy
A matching card game that does not use jokers or wild cards.
Card games
Hearts card game
A trick-avoidance game where jokers are not normally used.
Card games
Ace of spades
Covers the symbolic role of the ace of spades, unrelated to wild cards.
Sources
- Basics of Poker bicyclecards.com Provides baseline definition of a wild joker in poker.
- Card Games: Poker Variants with Wild Cards - Pagat pagat.com Documents wild card poker variants and the joker's role.
- Five Card Draw Poker - card game rules pagat.com Describes five-card draw and joker restrictions.
- Video poker en.wikipedia.org Confirms alternative names and video poker usage.
Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.