7 Card Stud Hi-Lo

7 Card Stud Hi-Lo

Like 7-Card Stud, each player receives two cards face down followed by four cards face-up and a seventh card face-down. In fact, the only difference between 7-Card Stud and its High/Low variant are the rules determining the winner at showdown.

As in 7-Card Stud. players use any 5-card combination of their 7 cards to make the best hand. However, in Stud High/Low, the pot is divided into two equal parts, one of which is given to the winner of the 'high' hand, the other which is awarded to the winner of the 'low' hand.

The Showdown

A low hand must have a high card of '8 or better' to qualify. This means that in order to be eligible to win the low, the highest card in a low hand must be a 5, 6, 7 or 8. The winning low hand (8 or better) is determined firstly by the player with the lowest high card. If more than one player has the same high card, the hand goes to the player with the next lowest high card. Any hand that is high card 9 or higher cannot qualify as a low hand.

If there is no qualifying low hand then the high hand wins 100% of the pot. High hands use the traditional hand rankings to determine the winner.

• The player can use any five of their seven cards to make their high hand and any five of their seven cards to make their low hand. The cards used for the high and low hands can be the same, but are not required to be.

• The best low hand is A, 2, 3, 4, 5. This would also count as a straight for high. Aces can be used as either high and low when making a high hand.

• Straights and flushes are not considered when evaluating a low hand.

• A player can 'scoop' the entire pot by showing the best high and low hands.

• If two players have the same hand for the low, each player receives one- quarter of the pot (half of the low portion of the pot). The same is true if two players tie for the high hand.

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