Babies' Daddy Rules

Babies' Daddy was devised by Bill Curran, as published on pagat.com. It is played with a standard 52-card deck, dealt as in Seven Card Stud, so up to seven players can take part.

Each player makes the best five-card hand from their seven cards. Half the pot goes to the best hand and half to the holder of the Mommy (4.2).

Because several cards may be wild, five of a kind is possible. It ranks above a straight flush. See hand rankings for how wild cards affect ties.

Each player is dealt two cards face down, then one card face up.

The play then follows Seven Card Stud: three more cards face up, one at a time, and a final card face down, with a betting round after each card from the first face-up card on.

The Daddy is the king of the same suit as the first face-up card dealt in the hand. For example, if the first up card dealt is the seven of hearts, the king of hearts is the Daddy. The Daddy is wild for every player.

Each player's lowest card, and any other cards of the same rank in that player's hand, are wild for that player only. They are not wild for anyone else.

The source does not say whether an ace counts as the low card. The dealer shall announce this before the deal.

The Mommy is the queen of the same suit as the Daddy. In the example in 3.1, the queen of hearts is the Mommy.

At the showdown, the player holding the Mommy wins half the pot. The best five-card hand wins the other half. One player may win both halves.

The source does not say what happens if no active player holds the Mommy. The usual practice in split-pot games of this kind is that the best hand wins the whole pot. The dealer shall announce the rule before the deal.