Official Poker Rules BoardDocument OPR-605 · Updated 28 September 2026

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High-Die and Low-Die Rules

High-Die and Low-Die are Five Card Draw games based on a six-sided die, whose opposite faces add up to seven. In Low-Die, an ace, two or three is wild if you also hold a six, five or four respectively. High-Die reverses this: fours, fives and sixes are wild when you hold a three, two or ace.

Also known as Low-Die, High Die, Low Die

Type: Draw
Wild cards: Depend on pairs of ranks adding to 7
Draws: Called by the dealer
Pot: High only

Article 1Players, deck and objective

1.1

High-Die and Low-Die are a pair of Five Card Draw variants contributed to pagat.com by Mike Thompson.

1.2

They use a standard 52-card deck. The ace counts as one when matching die faces. The best five-card high hand wins, ranked by the standard poker hand rankings.

1.3

Five of a kind is possible when a player holds enough wild cards. The source does not rank it; the usual practice is that five of a kind beats a straight flush, and the group shall confirm this before play.

Article 2Wild cards

Opposite faces of a die always total seven: 1 and 6, 2 and 5, 3 and 4. A card is wild only if the player also holds at least one card of the opposite rank.

Game	Wild card	Only if the player also holds
Low-Die	Ace	A six
Low-Die	Two	A five
Low-Die	Three	A four
High-Die	Six	An ace
High-Die	Five	A two
High-Die	Four	A three

2.1

In Low-Die, every ace in a player's hand is wild if the hand contains a six; every two is wild if it contains a five; every three is wild if it contains a four.

2.2

In High-Die, every six is wild if the hand contains an ace; every five is wild if it contains a two; every four is wild if it contains a three.

2.3

The card that makes another rank wild is not itself wild. A hand may contain wild cards of more than one rank.

Example

Two wild ranks in Low-Die

A player holds A♣6♥5♦2♠2♦. The six makes the ace wild, and the five makes both twos wild. With three wild cards and the six, the hand is four sixes.

If the six and five were of the same suit as each other, the wild cards could instead complete a straight flush, which would rank higher.

Example

Two wild ranks in High-Die

A player holds 6♥A♠5♦5♣2♥. The ace makes the six wild, and the two makes both fives wild. The three wild cards join the ace to make four aces, with the two as the fifth card.

Article 3The deal, draws and betting

3.1

Each player antes and is dealt five cards face down, and a betting round follows, as in Five Card Draw.

3.2

Before the players look at their cards, the dealer shall announce which draws are allowed, based on the number of cards left in the deck.

3.2(a) The dealer may call one draw or several, of any size that the remaining cards can supply to every player, or no draw at all.

3.2(b) With six players, for example, 22 cards remain, enough for three cards each. The dealer might call a single three-card draw, a two-card draw followed by a one-card draw, a single two-card draw, three one-card draws, or no draw.

3.3

Each draw is followed by a betting round. The showdown follows the last betting round.

3.4

The contributor reports that letting the dealer call the draws is a widespread practice in Canadian draw poker.

Article 4Notes

Because a wild card needs its partner rank, wild cards are less common than in games such as Deuces Wild. The contributor notes that natural hands often win.
Apart from which ranks can be wild, High-Die and Low-Die are played identically. The group shall agree which one is being played before the deal.

Article 5Frequently asked questions

What is wild in Low-Die?

Aces, twos and threes, but only if you hold the opposite die face: an ace needs a six, a two needs a five and a three needs a four.

What is the difference between High-Die and Low-Die?

In Low-Die the low cards (ace, two, three) are wild when paired with their opposite. In High-Die the high cards (four, five, six) are wild when you hold a three, two or ace respectively.

How many cards can you draw in High-Die?

The dealer decides before anyone looks at their cards, based on how many cards are left. There may be one draw, several draws or none.

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.

High-Die and Low-Die Rules · OPR-605 · officialpokerrules.com/high-die/

OPR-605Uncontrolled when printed