NASDAQ Rules

NASDAQ was contributed to pagat.com by Les Stanwood. A seven-card version (see article 5) was contributed by Ed Stack.

The game uses a standard 52-card deck with no wild cards. Each player is dealt six cards, so a single deck can accommodate up to eight players.

The object is to finish with the best high hand or the best low hand of five cards. The pot is split between the two. High hands rank according to the standard poker hand rankings.

The source does not specify how low hands are ranked. The dealer shall announce before the deal whether ace-to-five or another low ranking applies.

Every player places an agreed ante in the pot. The dealer then deals six cards face down to each player.

After looking at their cards, players bid for the right to be the first to sell a card. The highest bidder pays the amount of their bid into the pot and sells first.

If no one bids, the player to the dealer's left sells first.

The seller chooses one of their six cards, places it face up in front of them, and may announce a minimum price they will accept.

The other active players then bid to buy the card. The highest bidder pays the amount of the bid to the seller, adds the card to their hand, and discards one card.

If no one bids, or no bid reaches the minimum price, the card is unsold. The seller takes it back and discards one card face down, which may be the unsold card or any other. The seller must also pay the amount of the minimum price, if one was set, into the pot.

After each auction there is a betting round. It is opened by the buyer of the card, or by the seller if the card was not sold.

In each betting round there may be at most one bet and three raises. A player who has already checked or called in that round may not raise later in the same round.

After the betting round, the next active player to the left of the previous seller offers a card for sale, and so on around the table. When every active player has had a turn to sell, each player holds five cards.

After the final betting round, the remaining hands are revealed. The highest hand and the lowest hand split the pot.

As an alternative, the showdown may be played with a chip declare, in which each player secretly declares for high, low or, where the group allows it, both, before the hands are shown. The dealer shall announce before the deal whether a declare is used.

The source does not say who receives an odd chip in a split pot. Where the group has no rule of its own, the usual convention is that it goes to the high hand.

The ante and a minimum sale price are agreed before play. In every betting round, raises are limited to three and check-raising is not allowed. Betting rounds 1 to 3 are opened by the first active player to the dealer's left.

At each auction, starting with the player nearest the dealer's left, each player may show one of their six cards and state an asking price not below the agreed minimum. Only bids at or above the asking price count.

5.2(a) If the card sells, the highest bidder pays the seller and discards one card face down.

5.2(b) If no bid reaches the asking price, the seller takes the card back, discards any one card face down and pays the asking price into the pot.

5.2(c) Instead of holding an auction, a player may simply discard any one of their six cards face down, with no payment.

The second auction round takes place only if more than one player remains after the second betting round.

After the third betting round, each active player turns one card of their choice face up at the same time, and there is a betting round. This is repeated until each player has four cards face up and one face down.

The showdown uses a chip declare for high and low.

Some groups also set a maximum sale price. The source considers this unnecessary.

To make high bids more attractive, some groups split the excess of a winning bid above a set threshold: half goes to the seller and half to the pot, with any odd chip going to the pot.