A secret poker game you can play on the subway

Notice the image which says “A pair of aces is a good start”, because two elderly people are sitting there. Think of it like each row being a pre-populated hand (which may be missing some cards) based on the people already sitting there. You pick it and then the “cards” change themselves between stations.

In other words, you pick immediately once the game starts. Look around to see which row you think has the best chance to develop into something good by the time you reach the designated station.

this is a far better explanation than the article

I found myself looking for some rules on how you can influence your "hand" - is it "legal", for example:

- to stand in a specific place in order to (subtly) direct other passengers into a specific section of the car, or

- to take a seat yourself and give it up to an elderly person later on, in an attempt to gain an extra ace ;)

A group of friends and I used to play what we called "cheater's poker". There were no stakes expect bragging rights, but you were allowed to cheat in anyway what so ever. Stacked decks, marked cards, false shuffles etc. I'm curious what that would look like in this game and how far you could take it before it became socially awkward.

Could you ask a friend/plant to come to a particular station at some time and sit in a specific seat to aid/hinder a set? Gesturing to someone a specific seat is open? How about outright asking someone if they'd be willing to sit in a particular spot?

This makes it sound a lot more fun.

Cheaters poker sounds like a blast, but it sounds like it would descend pretty quickly into a physical game of trying to peak at other people's cards and them defending theirs (and the game deck).