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Dirty Schultz is seven-card stud with a moving wild card, like Follow the Queen, except that the trigger is a pair. Whenever a player's face-up cards form a new natural pair, the next face-up card dealt becomes wild, with the other cards of its rank, and the old wild rank is cancelled. The best high hand wins.
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 best five-card high hand at the showdown wins the whole pot.
Wild cards may stand for any card. Five of a kind is possible and, under the usual convention, ranks above a straight flush. See hand rankings.
A natural pair appears when a player is dealt a face-up card of the same rank as one of their own face-up cards.
When a natural pair appears, the next card dealt face up becomes wild, together with every other card of its rank. Any previous wild rank stops being wild.
If the last face-up card dealt in the hand creates a pair, nothing is wild.
Two situations are not settled by the standard rules and shall be agreed before play. Pagat.com suggests these rulings:
2.4(a) If a player showing a wild card is dealt a second face-up card of the same (wild) rank, the two count as a pair, and the next card dealt changes the wild rank.
2.4(b) If a player already showing a pair is dealt a third card of that rank face up, this is not a new pair and the wild rank does not change. A second, different pair is a new pair and does change it.
The wild card changes twice
On fourth street, Player A, showing 6♣, is dealt 6♥ face up: a natural pair. The next card dealt is J♦ to Player B, so all jacks are wild.
On fifth street, Player C, showing 9♠2♦, is dealt 9♥. The next card dealt, to Player D, is 3♠. Threes are now wild, and jacks are not.
Player B finishes with K♠3♣ face down, 10♣J♦K♥5♦ face up and 8♣ as the last down card. With threes wild, the 3♣ makes three kings.
| Street | Cards | Can change the wild rank? |
|---|---|---|
| Third | 2 down, 1 up | No; a single up card cannot make a pair |
| Fourth | 1 up | Yes |
| Fifth | 1 up | Yes |
| Sixth | 1 up | Yes |
| Seventh | 1 down | No |
Betting follows seven-card stud, with five betting rounds.
At the showdown, hands are valued using the wild rank in force after the last card is dealt, and the best high hand wins the pot.
Wild card to the centre. After a pair appears, the next card is dealt face up to the centre of the table. It belongs to no one, but its rank is wild. Each new pair sends another card to the centre, on top of the last. In this version there is always a wild card once any player shows a pair, even if the pair comes on the last up card.
Buying the last card down. Each player's seventh card is dealt face up unless the player pays a fixed price into the pot to have it dealt face down. Buying the card face down means it cannot pair the player's up cards and change the wild rank, and keeps three cards hidden.
See Follow the Queen for the queen-triggered version, and seven-card stud with wild cards for other wild-card stud games.
A new natural pair among one player's face-up cards. The next face-up card dealt after the pair becomes wild, along with the other three cards of its rank.
Yes. Every new face-up pair cancels the old wild rank and makes the next face-up card dealt the new one.
In the standard game, nothing is wild for that hand. In the centre-card variation, a card is dealt to the centre and its rank becomes wild.
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.
Dirty Schultz Rules · OPR-669 · officialpokerrules.com/dirty-schultz/