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The Bitch is seven-card stud built around the queen of spades. If the queen of spades is dealt face up, the hand stops at once and the cards are redealt to the players still in. At the showdown, the best high hand splits the pot with the player holding the queen of spades face down.
Also known as Black Mariah
The game is played with a standard 52-card deck without jokers. The deal and betting follow seven-card stud: two cards down and one up, three more up, and a final card down, with a betting round after each.
The queen of spades is called the Bitch.
The pot is split between the best five-card high hand, ranked by the standard poker hand rankings, and the player holding the queen of spades face down.
| Street | Cards | If the queen of spades is dealt |
|---|---|---|
| Third | 2 down, 1 up | Face up: redeal. Face down: the holder is in line for half the pot |
| Fourth | 1 up | Redeal |
| Fifth | 1 up | Redeal |
| Sixth | 1 up | Redeal |
| Seventh | 1 down | The holder is in line for half the pot |
If the queen of spades is dealt face up at any point, the deal and betting stop immediately.
All the cards are then gathered in and shuffled, and there is a new deal. Only players who had not folded when the queen of spades appeared take part in the new deal. The chips already in the pot remain in it.
Whether the players in the new deal ante again is not fixed by the standard rules. The dealer shall announce this before play.
The queen of spades turns up
Five players start. Two fold on third street. On fifth street, the queen of spades Q♠ is dealt face up to one of the three remaining players.
Dealing stops. All cards are shuffled together, and a new hand is dealt to those three players only, playing for the pot already built.
At the showdown, the player with the best high hand wins half the pot. The player who holds the queen of spades among their face-down cards wins the other half.
If the queen of spades was not dealt at all, the best high hand wins the whole pot.
The same player may win both halves by holding the best hand and the queen of spades in the hole.
A split pot
Player A shows down A♥9♥ face down, K♥6♥2♣J♠ face up and 3♥ as the last card: an ace-high flush in hearts.
Player B holds Q♠8♦ face down, 8♣10♣4♦5♠ face up and 7♥ last: a pair of eights, with the queen of spades in the hole.
A wins half the pot with the flush, and B wins the other half with the hidden queen of spades.
Queen of spades wild. Some play that the queen of spades in the hole is wild instead of winning half the pot. In this version the pot is not split: the best high hand, using the wild queen, wins it all.
The Bitch is often called Black Mariah, though that name also covers several other games. For a game with a similar name but different rules, see Smack My Bitch Up. Chicago also splits the pot between the high hand and a hidden spade.
The hand stops immediately. All the cards are shuffled and redealt, but only to players who had not already folded, and the pot carries over.
Yes. It can only win half the pot as a hole card. If it is dealt face up, the hand is redealt.
Often, yes. Black Mariah is a common alternative name for The Bitch, but the name is also used for other games. See Black Mariah.
Where any doubt remains in the application of this document, Rob is right.
Hand rankings, high to low: royal flush · straight flush · four of a kind · full house · flush · straight · three of a kind · two pair · one pair · high card. Suits never break ties.
The Bitch Rules · OPR-721 · officialpokerrules.com/bitch/