BYG is a knock-out game in which each player is dealt three cards (one at a time) face down, and three cards are placed at the centre of the table (at any time), two of which must be face up. Starting to the left of the dealer, players must replace one or three of the cards in their hands with one or all of the cards in the centre of the table. The first player to knock the table after playing indicates that play will continue only until that player is reached again (so a knock is after the player’s last turn of the game). In practice, the first player almost always knocks.

The player with the lowest hand in poker order is eliminated, except that, unlike SEPTIC hold-’em, a straight beats a flush, and three of a kind (obviously) beats everything; the best three of a kind is (as a special case) three threes. The eliminated player drinks for each player left in, and play continues until there is a “winner”. As in SEPTIC Hold ’Em, there's pride in getting the worst hand — particularly “5 high”.

Bugger a novice is similar, except that “eliminated” players stay in, increasing total fines.

“Withdraw from your granddaughter” is a reversed version: each player can choose to swap zero or two cards (rather than one or three), two cards are face down and one face up in the centre, and the player knocked out is the one with the best hand in traditional BYG terms. Knocking still works the same way, though.