Explain the rules

“There are many varieties of strip poker.” Tom started taking a bite from his slice of pizza, “Most fall in one of two categories; those where articles of clothing are a form of currency and those where clothing is at risk just for playing the hand.” It was obvious that Tom’s explanation meant nothing to either Linda or Cindy.

“In some games, people play a regular hand of poker with betting, usually using poker chips.” Tom continued, “When someone runs out of chips, they will ‘sell’ an article of clothing for more chips. Some people play where every article of clothing is worth the same amount. Others play where the more intimate articles are worth more. I’ve even heard of games where players didn’t sell their clothes, but bought the clothing of other players with their winnings.

“In the other type of game, you play a hand without any betting. At the end, everyone shows their hand. Based upon the results, someone has to take off a piece of clothing. Most play where the person with lowest hand has to take off a piece of clothing. That’s what we’ll be doing tonight so you can concentrate on the game play rather than the more difficult part of poker…Betting. You should insist on playing this way when you take on Tony.

“What if he doesn’t want to?” Linda asked.

“I doubt you’ll have any problem convincing him.” Tom said with a smile, “Betting slows things down. I have no doubt Tony will want you taking off your clothes as fast as possible.”

“Uh,” Cindy started slowly, “How do you determine what to take off?”

“It depends,” Tom answered, “At the beginning of the game you determine what are known as the ‘House Rules’. One of those rules is what to take off. There are four ways to determine what to take off. First is High Ball, which is a top down approach. The first thing you would take off, Cindy, is your scarf. Then your blouse. Your bra. The last thing you would remove would be your socks. Second is Low Ball, where you start at the bottom with your shoes and end at the top with your scarf. Some allow the winner to choose while most let the person who actually loses determine what they are going to take off. The two of you will choose what is taken off for each hand. The one rule about what you choose to remove is that outer garments have to be taken off before inner garments.”

“The house rules will also cover what counts as an article of clothing.” Tom explained, “Do shoes count as one item or two? Do belts, scarves, ties count? Does jewelry? Since you may not get it back, I wouldn’t use rings or necklaces as items to remove, even if allowed. We won’t use jewelry, but everything else counts as a separate item that can be removed.”

“In games where clothing is bought and sold,” Tom said, “The house rules will determine whether or not you can buy back clothing and whether or not you can put them back on.  For tonight, any item removed will be piled in the corner and remain there until the game is over.

“We’ll be playing five card draw.” Tom said, “I’ll deal everyone five cards face down. Everyone can throw up to three cards, four if one of your cards is an ace. After I deal everyone a number of cards equal to the number that they discarded, everyone will show their cards if they haven’t already. Whoever has the lowest hand will then take off a piece of clothing.”

“In order to help you learn,” Tom continued, “I shall flip my cards over first and show you what I discard and tell you why I did what I did. The two of will alternate who goes next. You can either discard or lay your cards down face up and I’ll make a suggestion.

“What happens if you have the lowest hand?” Cindy asked, “Will you be taking something off?” Tom paused. He hadn’t really thought about it. He quickly weighed the pro’s and con’s.

“Of course,” Tom answered. It hadn’t been a hard choice. Tom had never been the shy one. And it wasn’t as if the girls had never seen his equipment. When he actually took the time to close it, the door to his bedroom didn’t close properly. It left a large crack that let anyone passing see everything that went in inside. He lost count of the number of times they had walked in on him when he was in the shower or sitting on the throne. Besides, they needed to be able to play against a naked or at least partially naked man.

“What happens when we run out of clothes?” Linda asked.

“In some games, you’re out.” Tom told them, “You leave or just sit there totally naked and watch until the end of the game. In other games you can offer a prize to the winner the next time you lose. However, the other players don’t have to accept the offer as sufficient. Normally, this prize will be some sort of sex act.

“Two things to remember;” Tom continued, “First, if you offer sex to continue, be sure to specify what the acts are. Second, until you actually lose a hand, you have the right to withdraw or modify your offer. For tonight, your first offer will be to do your chores naked. And you have to play at least one hand totally naked. You can play more than one, but you have to play at least one.” Both Linda and Cindy nodded their understanding.

“Do you have any more questions before we start?” Tom asked. Both girls shook their heads. “Well, if anything comes to mind, don’t hesitate to ask.”