Official Poker Rules BoardDocument OPR-671 · Updated 28 September 2026

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Eddie's Choice Rules

Eddie's Choice is Seven Card Stud in which players choose their face-up cards. On each up round, each player is offered a face-up card and may take it or take the next card from the deck instead. If a player's up card matches the rank of one of their face-down cards, both cards become wild for that player.

Players: 2 to 7
Type: Seven-card stud
Wild cards: Matching up and down cards, per player
Pot: High only
Best hand: Five aces

Article 1Players, deck and objective

1.1

Eddie's Choice was contributed to pagat.com by Dan Mathe. It is a variant of Seven Card Stud for two to seven players, using a standard 52-card deck.

1.2

Each player ends with seven cards: two down, four up and one more down. The best five-card hand wins the pot.

1.3

Wild cards are personal: they are wild only for the player who holds them (3.1). Five of a kind is possible and is the highest hand, so the best possible hand is five aces. See hand rankings.

Article 2The deal and the offer

The two hole cards are dealt normally. Each of the four up cards is then distributed by an offer that goes round the table.

2.1

Each player is dealt two cards face down.

2.2

For each round of up cards, the dealer turns the top card of the deck face up and offers it to the player on the dealer's left. The offer then proceeds clockwise:

The player offered a face-up card may take it.
If the player takes it, the dealer turns up a new card from the deck, and the next player is offered a choice between that card and the next card from the deck.
If the player declines it, that player is dealt the next card from the deck face up instead, and the declined card is offered to the next player.
This continues round the table to the dealer. If the dealer declines the card offered, the dealer takes the next card from the deck and the declined card is placed on the bottom of the deck.

2.3

A betting round follows each round of up cards.

2.4

The seventh card is dealt face down to each player in the normal way, and a final betting round follows.

2.5

The source does not say who opens each betting round. The usual stud practice is that the player with the highest hand showing opens.

Street	Cards	Betting
Hole cards	Two down	None
Third street	One up, by offer	1st round
Fourth street	One up, by offer	2nd round
Fifth street	One up, by offer	3rd round
Sixth street	One up, by offer	4th round
Seventh street	One down	5th round, then showdown

Article 3Wild cards

3.1

If one of a player's up cards matches the rank of one of their down cards, both cards are wild for that player.

3.2

This includes the seventh card. If the seventh card, dealt face down, matches the rank of one of the player's up cards, both are wild.

3.3

Only a match between an up card and a down card counts. Two up cards of the same rank, or two down cards of the same rank, are a natural pair.

Article 4Showdown

4.1

The highest five-card hand wins the whole pot.

Example

Four wild cards and five aces

Player A's hole cards are 8♣K♦. On the first up round A is offered the 8♥ and takes it. The two eights are now wild for A.

A's other up cards are A♠A♦4♣. The seventh card, dealt down, is the 4♠. It matches the up 4♣, so both fours are wild too.

A has four wild cards and two natural aces. A plays five aces, the best possible hand.

Article 5Strategy notes

Because wild cards are common, the contributor's advice is to stop betting and fold without a full house or better.
Take an offered card that matches one of your hole cards: it makes two wild cards at once.
Taking an offered card can be a bluff: opponents cannot tell whether it matched your hole cards.

Article 6Frequently asked questions

What is wild in Eddie's Choice?

Any up card that matches the rank of one of your down cards, together with that down card. The wild cards are yours alone.

Do you have to take the card you are offered?

No. You may decline it and take the next card from the deck face up instead. The declined card is offered to the next player.

What is the best hand in Eddie's Choice?

Five aces. Five of a kind ranks above a straight flush.

Final authority

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.

Eddie's Choice Rules · OPR-671 · officialpokerrules.com/eddies-choice/

OPR-671Uncontrolled when printed