Strip poker is a party game and a variation of the traditional poker where players remove clothing when they lose a round. Any form of poker can be adapted to a strip form; however, it is usually played with simple variants with few betting rounds, like five-card draw. Strip poker can be played by single-sex groups or by mixed groups in social situations and intended to generate an atmosphere of fun, and to lighten the social atmosphere by the removal of clothing. Sometimes the game is played to heighten the sexual atmosphere, though the game itself is regarded as non-sexual. Like other adult or adolescent party games, activities besides removing clothing and playing cards might be involved. Strip poker has also been adapted for a person to play alone, either by use of video games or online; and several television shows have been based on the game.
Rules
The rules of strip poker are flexible and intended to generate an atmosphere of fun in a consenting adult or adolescent group. At the beginning of each turn, each player must remove an article of clothing as an ante. If there are two couples playing there should be four shoes in the pot before the cards are dealt. At the outset, one of the articles of clothing is removed from the game permanently. So the winner will receive three articles of clothing in the ante. The opener must bet, and they can be raised, just like ordinary poker. After the draw the players make another bet, like regular poker. Once an article of clothing is removed, it can not be put back on. The clothing is just used as a stake for betting. Only clothing can be bet. No player may withdraw once the game begins without forfeiting all articles of clothing.
Strategy
In some rule sets, players who fold before the flop are not required to remove clothing. As such, a player who is uncomfortable removing clothing can simply fold very often or every time before the flop, essentially playing a "tight" pre-flop strategy. Using this strategy, a player could stay clothed for the entire game simply by folding their hands. Strip poker requires a different overall strategy from poker played with betting chips since the maximum loss on a hand of strip poker is one item of clothing. In a betting environment, a player who stays in the pot with a weak hand is liable to lose many chips in a single hand. In strip poker, the risk of staying in a hand is significantly limited, so players can play hands with lower probabilities than they would in a cash game. For example, in a cash game, because it occurs only 8% of the time, an inside straight draw might be a poor hand to play, hence the saying "Never draw to an inside straight." In strip poker, when the potential loss is only one item of clothing whether you fold or call, an 8% chance to win the hand is better than the alternative.
History
While it has been suggested that strip poker originated in New Orleans in the United States around the same time as original poker in the 19th century, played in brothels, the term is only attested since 1916. Strip poker most likely began as a prank among boys, and as late as the 1930s, the current mixed-gender version was called "mixed strip poker" in England to differentiate it from the all-male variety.
Strip poker productions on pay per view or DVD often feature pinup models. Examples include:
National Lampoon's Strip Poker - 2005
Strip Poker Invitational - 2005
Both examples featured Playboy models, World Wrestling Entertainment models and other pinup models in a no-limit Texas Hold'em competition. National Lampoon's Strip Poker was filmed at the Hedonism II resort in Negril, Jamaica. Strip Poker Invitational productions were filmed in Las Vegas. Both productions aired on Pay-Per-View in 2005. Strip poker on music video:
In 1982, an American computer game company, Artworx, produced a Strip Poker game for the Apple II computer. It has been ported to many other computers since then, and is still available today. Many others followed. Strip poker is featured as an Easter Egg in the Windows 8 card suite Card Hero.
Strip variants of other games
As with all forms of poker, strip poker also has variations. Recently, strip poker has been available online. One can visit one of these sites, choose a male or female opponent, and play strip poker. In this game strip Poker online or a strip poker web cam game is conducted using virtual chips. The first player pays only for the time spent in the private poker room. Usually this game is played between two players, the girl from the site and the strip poker site visitor. Both players can communicate with each other through web cams. Game rules can be varied; usually the players discuss them before the game begins. "Video Strip Games" is becoming a popular addition to online game websites with the introduction of higher speed internet connections. This includes video: strip poker, blackjack, pool, darts, hangman, etc. The list goes on. This was not really a viable solution to stream the games in the past because of high bandwidth costs and slow performance. Even mobile devices can play video strip games with almost no issues. Many other games besides poker have "strip" variants. In particular, many "strip mahjong" video games have been published, especially by Japanese software companies. In 2013, the concept of Strip Sports Betting was launched in the United States by creating live internet broadcasts using models and pornstars who bet on football games and take their clothes off as they lose.
