Svara was played differently in every courtyard; there is no common rulebook. Together with an expert we put together the Aleator Games canon — the game on the site and in the bot follows it now.
Where to look
- The full svara rules — deck, points, betting, blind play, all-in, showdown, svara, rake, timers.
- The “Count the hand” trainer — disputed hands explained: the shakha without a suit, a pair with the shakha, two foreheads, triples at 32.5.
What we want to discuss
- Points. The shakha (6♣) adds 11 to a suit but does not turn a pair into three of a kind: K♥ K♠ 6♣ — 21, A♥ A♠ 6♣ — 22. All triples except aces and sixes are equal — 32.5.
- Betting. A bet is at most the pot, a raise is at least the previous bet.
- Blind. The first blind bet is the ante, then ×2; whoever looks and bets “unblinds” the round.
- Svara. Two tied players split or play on; the buy-in is the pot divided by the number of players in; you can buy in only if more than two pots remain.
- Timers and rake. 20 seconds per move, rake 3% capped at 10 antes.
Tell us how you played in your courtyard, what feels unfair or unfamiliar, what is missing. We will sort out disputed points here and, if we agree, change the rules in the game.