Aces, Straights and Flushes Rules

The game was described by Brian Johnson, as published on pagat.com. It is played with a standard 52-card deck and one joker.

Before the deal, the joker is placed face up in the centre of the table. It is the seventh card of every player's hand.

The joker is not fully wild. It may be used only:

1.3(a) as an ace; or

1.3(b) as a card needed to complete a straight, a flush or a straight flush.

The joker shall not be used to make a pair, three of a kind, four of a kind or full house of any rank other than aces. Used as an ace, it combines with aces in the usual way.

Hands are ranked according to the standard poker hand rankings. A player holding four natural aces may use the joker as a fifth ace. The source does not rank five aces; by the usual convention for the bug, five aces is the highest hand, above a straight flush. The dealer shall confirm this before the deal.

Each player antes before the deal, as in seven-card stud.

The deal and betting follow seven-card stud until each player has five cards, two face down and three face up. After the betting round on fifth street, each player is dealt one last card face down. No seventh card is dealt; the joker takes its place.

Each betting round is conducted as in seven-card stud, including the rules for who acts first that the table normally uses.

Because the joker is shared, every player holds an ace for the purpose of pairs of aces. A player showing one ace effectively shows a pair of aces, and bets should be read with that in mind.

If all but one player folds at any point, the remaining player wins the pot without showing their cards.

After the final betting round, the remaining players show their six cards. Each player's hand is the best five cards from their six cards and the joker, used within the limits of 1.3 and 1.4.

The best high hand wins the pot. Identical hands split the pot equally.