5-2-1 Roll 'Em Rules

5-2-1 Roll 'Em was contributed to pagat.com by Arthur Buderick as one of the games in his dealer's choice home game. It is a variant of Roll Your Own played high-low.

The game uses a standard 52-card deck with no wild cards. Each player's hand is exactly five cards.

The pot is split between the best high hand and the best low hand. High hands rank by the standard poker hand rankings. Low hands are ranked ace-to-five: aces are low, straights and flushes do not count against a low hand, and the best low is A-2-3-4-5.

A player may receive up to three replacement cards, so each player can need as many as eight cards. Six players can always be served from one deck. With more players the dealer may have to reshuffle the discards to complete the draws, as in Five Card Draw.

After the antes, each player is dealt five cards face down.

The first betting round begins with the player to the dealer's left.

First draw. Each active player may discard one or two cards and be dealt the same number of replacements, or may keep all five cards.

The second betting round begins with the next active player to the left of the player who began the first round.

Second draw. Each active player may discard one card and be dealt a replacement, or keep their hand.

The source describes no betting round between the second draw and the first card being rolled up. Play moves straight on to the roll.

Each player stacks their five cards face down in front of them in the order they want to show them, with the first card to be shown on top.

All active players turn over the top card of their pile at the same time. A betting round follows, begun by the player with the highest card showing.

The same procedure is repeated for the second, third and fourth cards. Each betting round is begun by the player with the highest hand showing.

The fifth card stays face down until the showdown. Once a card has been stacked, the order cannot be changed.

After the last betting round, the active players declare simultaneously whether they are playing for high, low or both, using coins or chips hidden in the hand.

A player may declare both ways, for example with A-2-3-4-5, which is both a five-high straight and the best possible low. A player who declares both collects nothing if they lose or tie either half.

The source does not describe a betting round after the declaration. If one is to be played, the dealer shall announce it before the deal.

The usual practice is that the best hand among the high declarers wins the high half and the best hand among the low declarers wins the low half. If every player declares the same way, the best hand that way takes the whole pot.