My friend and I were in the office late, having each had a lot of paper work to get caught up on. We were in the mood for some diversion. I asked him if he wanted to play some poker. He heartily agreed.

This time it was just he and I. To spice things up a bit I suggested that we play a game that works well with only two or three players – since so much of the deck is used up. It's called 7-card draw roll your own.

He agreed.

The game is simple – and great for building drama and pots.

Each player is dealt seven cards. There is a round of betting. There is a draw. Players may draw as many cards as they like. There is another round of betting. Each player then arranges his hand in the order in which he'd like to reveal each card in turn. He places it down in a stack in front of him. The order of the cards cannot change from this point. Each player then reveals his first card. The high exposed card has the option of betting, as in any stud game.

The game continues as each card is exposed in turn, with a betting interval in between each exposed card. Finally, when six cards are exposed, there is a declare of high or low. If two or more players are competing for either half of the pot there is a final betting round. The last card is then revealed and the pot awarded.

If you've been counting along you would have tabulated nine betting rounds for this game: one before the draw, one after the draw, one for each of six exposed cards, and one after the declare. There's the potential for a huge pot.