How to Play

There are 54 cards in the deck ranging from Jack to Ace and Jokers. Jokers are the highest card and can be used as a high card for rewards or as a wild card.

Objective

Pickleball Poker is played during a regular doubles pickleball game with side-out scoring. The goal is to win the pickleball game to 11 points while enjoying in-game penalties and rewards that influence each point, helping players practice specific shots and strategic setups.

Set up

• Shuffle and deal 1 card face down to each team.
• Provide a reward chart to each team.
• The initial card is for teams to hold and start building their 3-card poker hands.
• Flip a card from the deck, announcing the shot, suit, and denomination. After each side-out or card win, flip a new card.

Gameplay

• The objective is to earn the card by winning a rally with the designated shot (e.g., Forehand shot) on the card. For example, if the play card specifies a "Forehand shot," playing a forehand shot as the final shot to win the rally will earn the card for your team. 
• A winning shot is defined as any unreturned shot, regardless of whether the opposing team makes contact with the ball.
• Any team, whether on offense or defense, can win a card.
• If a card is won, it goes to the winning team, and a new card is flipped for play.
• Discard old cards in the "discard" pile. The bottom half of the box should be used for discards and the top for unplayed cards.
• There's no limit to how many cards a team can win per side-out.
• Teams can redeem cards for rewards once they accumulate enough cards to create 3-card poker hands.
• Teams can hold up to 5 cards; if they have 5 cards, they must redeem a hand in the next rally (offense or defense).
• The game ends when the regular pickleball game concludes, regardless of the point target (e.g., 11 or 15).

Customization

Feel free to add your unique penalties and rules to make the game more enjoyable. We created Pickleball Poker for fun and to enhance the pickleball experience. Share your creative ideas with us! We hope you enjoy this game as much as we do, whether that is playing it everyday or just to take a break from the regular pickleball grind.

In-Game Rewards

Rewards are why we play Pickleball Poker; they are the essence of what makes this game so enjoyable. We crafted this game with the intent to preserve the essence of playing pickleball while introducing elements that add excitement to the experience. While we refer to them as "rewards," let's be real, they are all penalties one way or another. The objective is to gain a significant advantage over your opponents by making them or allowing you to do something crazy that is not permitted in regular play. That's where the fun lies.

With that in mind, please take a look at our primary rewards below. We never intended these to be the only rewards available, but we had to start somewhere. If you come up with an entertaining reward or penalty, feel free to incorporate it and let us know! We encourage your creativity to become an integral part of Pickleball Poker.