Modifications of the game have been from time to time introduced, but few have any claim to permanence or popularity.  The best known in this country are the Blaze and the Joker.

The Blaze is an additional hand which consists of five court cards.  It takes precedence of two pairs, but is beaten by triplets.  The relative values of two or more blaze hands are fixed by the highest card, a hand containing ace or aces being best.

The Joker is an additional card, sometimes included in the pack, and to which any value may be given by the player holding it.  If for instance, a player hold king, queen, knave, and ten of hearts, and the joker, he may call the joker ace of hearts, and so claim a sequence flush.  The joker is a higher card, moreover, than the actual card whose name it takes, i.e. a joker which is called the king of spades is better than the real king of spades.