You are dealt two cards, and the table builds a cross around them
Criss Cross Poker is a casino table game that looks complicated on first sight because the layout is shaped like a cross, but the core idea is simple. You receive two private cards, and five community cards are dealt face down in a cross pattern. You make two separate bets on those community cards, and each bet uses a different line of the cross. The game then resolves like a poker hand against a pay table rather than against a dealer's hand.
The name comes from the layout. One line of community cards runs horizontally, the other runs vertically, and the two lines cross in the middle. Your two hole cards sit at the centre of that cross, and they are used in both lines. This is not a game where you bluff or read opponents. It is a game where you decide how much of your money stays at risk as each community card is revealed.
The object of the game
The objective is to make the best possible five-card poker hand using your two hole cards plus a line of three community cards. You are not trying to beat the dealer's hand. You are trying to make a hand strong enough to qualify for a payout under the game's fixed pay table, and your two bets are judged separately against that table.
One bet uses the horizontal line of three community cards. The other uses the vertical line. Your two hole cards are shared between both lines, so the same pair of private cards can produce two different five-card hands depending on which line they combine with.
The sequence of a round from buy-in to settlement
A round moves through a fixed sequence, and understanding the order of decisions is what prevents most procedural mistakes. Here is the flow from the moment you sit down.
You buy in at the table and receive chips in the usual way. Before any cards are dealt, you place two equal bets on the marked spots on the layout. These are usually called the Across bet and the Down bet, and they must be of equal size. Some tables also offer an optional side bet, which is resolved separately and should be treated as a different decision entirely.
The dealer then gives you two hole cards face down. You look at them and make your first decision: you may either fold and forfeit both bets, or you may place a third bet called the Across bet continuation, which is typically a fixed multiple of the original Across bet. The exact multiple is printed on the table layout, and you should read it before you sit down, because it changes what the decision costs.
After that decision, the dealer reveals the two outside cards of the horizontal line. You now make a second decision on the Down bet, placing a continuation wager of the same fixed multiple if you want to stay in that line. Then the two outside cards of the vertical line are revealed, and you make the equivalent decision for the Down bet.
The final community card is the one in the centre of the cross. Once it is revealed, both lines are complete and the round settles. The dealer turns over each line, combines it with your hole cards, and pays each bet according to the pay table. A hand that does not reach the minimum qualifying rank on the pay table loses that bet.
What each decision point means
There are only three real decisions in the game, and each one is a question about whether the information you have seen so far justifies putting more money at risk.
The first decision comes after you see your two hole cards. With weak cards, you fold and lose both initial bets. With strong cards, you pay the continuation bet to see the horizontal line. The second and third decisions come after the outside cards of each line are exposed. At each point, you are asking whether the line as it stands, combined with your hole cards, has a realistic path to a paying hand.
What you are not doing is playing against a dealer's hand or another player's hand. The pay table is the opponent. If the final hand does not reach the table's minimum rank, the bet loses no matter what anyone else at the table holds.
How the main bets differ
The two required bets look identical at the start, but they diverge once the community cards begin to appear. The Across bet is judged on the horizontal line, the Down bet on the vertical line, and each has its own continuation decision at a different point in the round.
| Feature | Across bet | Down bet |
|---|---|---|
| Community cards used | Horizontal line of three | Vertical line of three |
| Hole cards used | Both of your two cards | Both of your two cards |
| Continuation decision timing | After hole cards, before any community cards | After the horizontal outside cards are revealed |
| Continuation bet size | Fixed multiple of the original bet, printed on the layout | Same fixed multiple of the original bet |
| Settlement | Paid against the pay table when the cross is complete | Paid against the pay table when the cross is complete |
The optional side bet, where offered, is resolved on its own schedule and its own pay table. It does not affect the two main bets, and it should not be treated as part of the same decision. If the side bet pays only on strong hands such as three of a kind or better, it behaves like a lottery ticket attached to the round: it can pay large amounts, but it loses far more often than the main bets, and its expected loss is usually higher.
House edge and why the pay table matters
House edge is the mathematical advantage the operator holds on a given game, expressed as a percentage of each wager. House edge and RTP are complements: they sum to 100% for the same game. In Criss Cross Poker, the house edge on the main bets is not a single number you can memorise once, because it depends on the pay table and the continuation-bet multiple in force at the specific table where you are sitting.
This is the most important thing to understand before you play. Two tables in the same casino can carry different pay tables for the same game, and those differences change the expected rate of loss. The pay table is printed on the felt or on a placard at the table. Read it before you buy in, and read the continuation multiple at the same time. If the table you are considering has a pay table that starts its payouts at a higher hand rank than another table, or pays less for the same hand, the house edge on that table is higher.
The optional side bet carries its own house edge, and it is almost always materially higher than the main bets. A side bet that pays only on rare hands has a large built-in advantage for the house, because the large payouts are funded by the many losing rounds in between. Playing the side bet does not change the edge on the main bets, and skipping it does not change the edge on the side bet. They are separate wagers with separate mathematics.
Strategy charts derive from the exact rule set in use
You will sometimes see published strategy charts for Criss Cross Poker that tell you which hole cards justify a continuation bet and which should be folded. Those charts are not universal. They are derived from the specific pay table, the specific continuation multiple, and the specific number of community cards revealed at each decision point.
A chart built for one pay table can be wrong for another. If a table pays more generously for two pair, the threshold for continuing with a marginal hand shifts. If the continuation multiple is higher, you need a stronger hand before the extra bet is justified, because you are risking more to protect the same original wager. Before you rely on any chart, check that it was built for the same pay table and multiple as the table in front of you. If it was not, treat it as a rough guide at best.
The same principle applies to any game with a published basic strategy. In blackjack, published basic-strategy charts derive from the specific rule set in use: deck count, dealer stand rules, doubling and splitting rules. Change one rule and the chart changes. Criss Cross Poker is no different. The game's structure is fixed, but the numbers that drive correct decisions are set by the table, not by the game's name.
Procedural mistakes new players make
The first mistake is placing the two initial bets at different sizes. The Across and Down bets are designed to be equal, and the continuation bets are calculated from them. If you size them differently, you have created two different risk levels for two lines that are structurally identical at the start, and you have made the continuation decision harder to evaluate. Place the same amount on both spots every round.
The second mistake is treating the continuation bet as optional in the wrong way. It is optional in the sense that you can fold instead of placing it, but it is not a bet you can place at any size you like. The multiple is fixed by the table. If you try to place a continuation bet of a different size, the dealer will correct you, and the round will stall while the bet is fixed.
The third mistake is reading the pay table after the cards are dealt. By then you have already committed to the round, and you may discover that the table pays nothing for the hand you are hoping to make. The pay table and the continuation multiple are the two pieces of information that determine whether the game is worth playing at this table at all. Read both before you put chips on the layout.
FAQ
Is Criss Cross Poker the same as Texas Hold'em?
No. Texas Hold'em is a player-versus-player game where you compete against other hands at the table. Criss Cross Poker is a house-banked game where you are paid according to a fixed pay table, and there is no dealer hand to beat. The shared use of community cards is the only real similarity.
Can I win both the Across and Down bets in the same round?
Yes. Each bet is settled separately against the pay table, using a different line of community cards. It is possible for one bet to pay while the other loses, or for both to pay, or for both to lose. The two lines share your hole cards but are otherwise independent.
What happens if I fold after seeing my hole cards?
You forfeit both of your initial bets and the round ends for you. You do not get to see the community cards, and you do not place any continuation bets. Folding is the correct decision when your hole cards are too weak to justify the cost of continuing under the table's pay table and continuation multiple.
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