# Poker Squares > Place 25 cards in a grid to make the best hands. A puzzle, no betting. Twenty-five cards come one at a time, and each goes into a five-by-five grid where it stays. Every row and every column scores as a poker hand, so every card is a small decision with a long tail. A café regular plays the same cards across the table, from Rosie, who forgets what she played, to Flo, who owns the place. The daily deal gives everyone the same 25 cards. - Play: https://sidekickarcade.com/play/poker-squares/ (in the browser, phone or computer, free, no sign-up needed) - Neighborhood: [Card Café](https://sidekickarcade.com/category/card/index.md) - Controls: Tap, drag, mouse or keys - Best on: portrait screens - Coins for goals: 1 per 10 points, up to 15 a run ## How to play 1. Cards come one at a time. Put each one in any empty square of the 5 by 5 grid. Once a card is down, it stays. 2. When the grid is full, each row and column scores as a poker hand: a pair 2, two pair 5, three of a kind 10, a straight 15, a flush 20, a full house 25, four of a kind 50, a straight flush 75, a royal flush 100. 3. Tap or click a square to place the card, or drag it there to see what it would score first. Keys work too: arrows pick a square, Enter places, N deals again. 4. A café regular plays the same cards across the table. Outscore them to open the next seat, and try the daily deal: the same 25 cards for everyone, with Flo's score as par. ## Tips - Give each column a suit and build pairs and full houses across the rows: flushes run down, ranks run across. - Keep one row or column as a dump for cards that fit nowhere. One dead line beats five weak ones. - 27 cards never come. Before chasing a flush, count how many of that suit you haven't seen yet. - Two pair with a square left needs one of four cards. Three of a kind with two squares left is often worth more than a four-card flush. ## Questions ### Is it free? Yes. It's free in your browser, with no download and no sign-up needed. Coins you earn are for fun and can never be bought. ### Is there any betting? No. It's a card puzzle: hands score points, nothing is staked, and there are no chips. ### How is it scored? Each of the 5 rows and 5 columns scores as a poker hand, from 2 for a pair up to 100 for a royal flush. Your score is the total of all ten. ### Can I undo a card? No. As in the classic game, a card stays where you put it. Drag it over a square to see what it would score first, or pick Two taps on the start card. ### What is the daily deal? One deal a day, the same 25 cards in the same order for everyone, new at midnight UTC. Your first grid counts; after that it's practice. ### Can I play on a phone? Yes. It's built for touch first and plays the same on a phone, a tablet or a computer. ## Achievements - **First grid** (bronze, 10 coins): Play your first grid. - **Warm-up** (bronze, 10 coins): Score 60 points in one grid. - **Full house** (bronze, 10 coins): Make a full house. - **Century** (silver, 25 coins): Score 100 points in one grid. - **Pen and paper** (silver, 25 coins): Outscore Barnaby. - **All four** (silver, 25 coins): Make four of a kind. - **Week of deals** (silver, 25 coins): Play the daily deal on 7 days. - **Secret achievement** (silver, 25 coins): Keep playing to find it. - **Top table** (gold, 60 coins): Outscore Flo. - **Steady hand** (gold, 60 coins): Average 100 over your last 10 grids. - **Hand Book** (gold, 60 coins): Make eight different hands. - **Secret achievement** (gold, 60 coins): Keep playing to find it. - **Flo's equal** (diamond, 150 coins): Outscore Flo 50 times. Earns the title "Flo's Equal". - **House legend** (diamond, 150 coins): Score 60,000 points in all. Earns the title "House Legend". ## More to play - [Solitaire](https://sidekickarcade.com/play/solitaire/index.md): The classic one-player card game. (Card Café) - Higher or Lower (coming soon): Guess whether the next card is higher. (Card Café) - [FreeCell](https://sidekickarcade.com/play/free-cells/index.md): Solitaire with four free cells to plan with. (Card Café)