Instructions for Criss Cross PokerĮach player is required to ante before the deal. Criss Cross Poker is played with wild cards and because of that players can expect more players to stay till the end of the game and bigger hands than you would normally see in Texas Holdem. This game is best played with 6-8 players because of the number of cards used during the game. Criss Cross Poker is one of the few games derived from Texas Holdem that give players eight cards to make their best hand with.