What the Heck is a BUNGY?

As you may have already figured out I like playing games, poker being one of them. Often when I am playing poker with a new group of people and we are playing Dealer’s Choice (the dealer decides which poker game to play) I like to introduce Bungy. You won’t find this game being played at any casino or online poker site. It is a game that was shown to me when I was a kid and there has only been one other person I have run into that knew about the game before I told them about it.Bungy really isn’t a poker game per se it is more of a memorizing strategy card game and can be enjoyed with or without money.

Game Play:

• Everyone puts 5 chips out in front of them. These chips represent your ‘lives’. When you run out of lives you are out of the game.
• Everyone is then dealt 5 cards face down
• The person directly to the left of the dealer starts each round by placing one of their cards face up in front of them.
• Player 2, to the left of Player 1, will do the same however if Player 2 has the same numbered card as the one Player 1 laid down then the Player 2 has to play that card.
• When Player 2 plays the same numbered card as Player 1 this is called a Bungy!
• Player 2 yells out Bungy and Player 1 has to place a ‘life’ into the middle of the table (the pot).
• Play continues in the same manner around the table until all 5 cards from each player have been laid down.
• Only the player directly to the left of you can bungy you. There are no cross table or to the right bungy’s.
• Once all the cards have been played they are collected and put on the bottom of the remaining deck and the next player to the left deals the next round.
• NOTE: DO NOT SHUFFLE THE DECK!
• No shuffling forces players to remember how the cards were laid out in the other rounds.
• There are times when a player can be double or triple Bungied. If Player 1 plays a 9, then Player 2 plays a 9, Player 1 would put in one life. If Player 3 then plays a 9 Player 2 would put in 2 lives, and if Player 4 plays a 9 Player 3 would have to put in 3 lives!
• When there is only one player has lives left they are declared the winner and collects all the lives in the middle of the table

Give this simple yet fun, and surprisingly intense, game a try next time you are playing cards.