How the Joker Works in Dompe
Play money only. No prizes. 18+ only.
Dompe is played with 53 cards: a standard 52-card deck plus one Joker. In most card games a Joker is a nice bonus. In Dompe it matters even more, because every winning hand needs all six of your cards, and the Joker can fill whichever one you are missing.
The rule in one sentence
The Joker is fully wild: it can stand in for any one of the 52 regular cards. If it could complete more than one hand, it counts as the highest hand it can make.
Worked examples
Each example below has been checked against the game’s own hand evaluator, so these are exactly the hands the game would accept.
- 9♠ 9♥ 9♦ K♠ K♥ Joker
Three nines, a pair of kings and the Joker. The Joker is the fourth nine, so you hold four nines plus a pair: El Comi. - 7♠ 7♥ 7♦ K♠ K♣ Joker
A full house and the Joker. The Joker becomes the fourth seven and the hand is El Comi. This is the example from the rules. - 4♥ 5♥ 6♥ 7♥ 9♥ Joker
Five hearts with a gap at eight, plus the Joker. The Joker is the eight of hearts, so you have a straight flush (and also a flush and a straight, but it counts as the highest). - 2♣ 5♣ 7♣ 9♣ J♣ Joker
Five clubs that are not in a row, plus the Joker. The Joker is any club that is not already in your hand and you have a flush. - A♥ 2♠ 3♦ 4♣ 6♠ Joker
A-2-3-4-6 with the Joker as the five gives A-2-3-4-5-6, an ace-low straight. - 4♠ 4♥ J♣ J♥ A♠ Joker
Two pairs, a single ace and the Joker. The Joker is the second ace and you have three pair.
What the Joker cannot do
The Joker helps you make one of the five winning hands, but it cannot turn a regular five-card hand into a win on its own. You still need all six cards to fit one pattern. Five of a kind is not a winning hand in Dompe, even with the Joker.
How often does the Joker show up?
There is one Joker in 53 cards, so a random six-card hand contains it 6 times out of 53, or about 11.3 percent of the time. When it does, your chances of a winning hand are far higher. Our article on the odds behind every hand shows the full counts.
Tips for playing with the Joker
- Keep it. Dumping the Joker gives the next player a free wild card, because they can take the exact card you dump.
- Build around pairs and threes. Two pairs plus a single card plus the Joker make three pair, and three of a kind plus a pair plus the Joker make El Comi.
- Count how many different hands you are close to. The Joker is worth most when you are one card from several different hands at once.
The game screen below shows a table in the middle of a hand. Look for the Joker in your six cards before you decide what to dump.
