Poker Run Challenge Stations
Teams travel through six cooperative challenge stations and earn the right to draw a card at each. At the end, the best poker hand wins, combining physical effort, cooperation and strategic choices about which cards to keep.
How to play
- Set up 6 stations about 20 yards apart, each with a cone, a challenge card and a deck face down. Examples: 20 passes without a drop, a 45-second group plank, or everyone inside a hoop for 5 seconds (3 min).
- Make 6 teams of 4 (one of 5); each starts at a different station. Explain poker hand rankings with a reference sheet at each station (2 min).
- At each station, the team completes the challenge and draws a card; if it fails, it may retry once. Rotate every 2.5 minutes on the whistle (15 min).
- After the sixth station, a team may discard one card and draw another by completing a gold challenge at the center station (2 min).
- Each team picks its best 5 cards and hands are compared; teams also earn 1 point for each challenge completed on the first try (3 min).
Rules
- Cards are drawn without looking and stay face down until the end.
- A challenge only counts if the whole team takes part.
- Jog between stations in the direction given.
- Safety: in strength challenges, good form comes before speed.
Variations
Easier
Each team may look at a card and return it once during the course.
Standard
Six stations, one card per challenge and one final discard.
Harder
Face cards may only be kept if the challenge is completed within a time limit.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: every challenge card includes an adapted option, and the team uses a route without steps.
- Autism: the student gets a map with the station order and a visual timer.
- Lower fitness: the student can be the card keeper and cheerleader, taking part in the lower-effort challenges.
Learning goals
- Cooperate to complete a variety of physical challenges.
- Make strategic decisions with incomplete information.
- Accept the luck of the game with good sportsmanship.
Equipment for a class of 25
- deck of playing cards: 7
- challenge cards: 7
- cones: 7
- foam balls: 3
- hoops: 3
Teacher tip
If students don't know poker, post a simple ranking: pair, two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house and four of a kind. The luck factor levels teams and motivates less skilled students.
PatioLab has "Poker Run Challenge Stations" and 2499 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
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