Baseball, National League Rules

This version of Baseball was contributed to pagat.com by John Noriega. The name 'National League Rules' separates it from the standard game, in which threes and nines are wild and a four earns an extra card.

The game uses a standard 52-card deck. It is dealt and bet as in Seven Card Stud: two cards down, four up and one down, with five betting rounds.

All nines are wild. Five of a kind is possible and ranks above a straight flush. See hand rankings.

The source names only nines as wild. It gives threes dealt face down no special effect.

Extra cards for sevens mean more cards are used than in standard stud. With a full table the deck may run short. The usual Baseball practice, if it does, is to deal the last card as a single face-up community card for everyone.

Each betting round is begun by the player with the highest hand showing, as in Seven Card Stud.

Seventh-inning stretch. A player who is dealt a seven face up receives one extra card face up. The extra cards for a round are dealt after every player has received their regular card for that round.

Three strikes. A player who is dealt a three face up is out of the hand at once. Their cards are dead and they lose what they have already put in the pot.

The source does not say whether an extra card dealt for a seven has the same effects if it is itself a seven or a three. The dealer shall announce this before the deal.

Each remaining player makes the best five-card hand from all their cards, including any extra cards. The highest hand wins the whole pot.