Mississippi Gonorrhea Rules

Mississippi Gonorrhea was contributed by Robert Dier and published on pagat.com. It is a two-card, high-low split draw game played with a standard 52-card deck and no wild cards.

The source sets no player limit. A player who exchanges both cards at every opportunity uses eight cards in all, so with more than six players the stock may run short. The dealer shall announce before the deal how discards are reused if that happens.

The object is to hold the best two-card high hand or the best two-card low hand at showdown, each of which wins half the pot, or to hold a pair of sevens, which wins it all.

Each player antes. The dealer deals each player two cards: one face down and one face up.

A round of betting follows the deal.

There are then three rounds of exchanges, called breakfast, lunch and dinner. At each one, every active player chooses one of these options:

2.3(a) exchange the face-down card for a new face-down card;

2.3(b) exchange the face-up card for a new face-up card; or

2.3(c) go to the library: exchange both cards for a new face-down card and a new face-up card (a full book).

The source does not say whether a player may keep both cards and make no exchange. The dealer shall announce before the deal whether standing pat is allowed.

A round of betting follows each exchange.

The pot is split equally between the best high hand and the best low hand. Players do not declare high or low.

Aces are always high, both for high and for low. The best high hand is a pair of aces (A-A). The best low hand is 3-2.

For high, any pair beats any two unpaired cards, and higher pairs beat lower pairs. Unpaired hands are compared by the higher card, then the lower.

For low, unpaired hands are compared by the higher card first, then the lower; the lower hand wins. Since 3-2 is the best low, a pair is not a good low hand.

Sevens hog. A pair of sevens wins the whole pot against any other hand, including a pair of aces. Taking the whole pot is called a hog.

The source does not say how the pot is shared if two players hold a pair of sevens, or if hands tie for high or low. The usual practice is to split the relevant share equally.