Stud Hi-Lo Rules

The object of the game is to win all or part of the pot. At showdown, half the pot goes to the best high hand and half to the best qualifying low hand. A player may also win the pot by making a bet that no other player calls.

The game is played with a standard 52-card deck with no jokers. High hands are ranked according to the standard poker hand rankings.

Each player receives seven cards. A player's high hand is the best five of those seven cards, and their low hand is the best qualifying five. The two hands may use different cards, the same cards, or any overlap of them.

Between two and eight players may take part. The deal, the streets and the running-out-of-cards procedure are the same as in Seven Card Stud.

Before the deal, every player posts an ante. Antes are dead money and do not count toward a player's bet.

After third street is dealt, the player with the lowest door card must make the bring-in, a forced opening bet smaller than the small bet. The player may instead choose to complete to the full small bet.

Aces are high for the bring-in. Although an ace is the best low card, a player showing an ace never brings in unless every door card is an ace.

Ties for the lowest door card are broken by suit, ranked from lowest: clubs ♣, diamonds ♦, hearts ♥, spades ♠. The player with the lowest suit brings in.

A typical structure is ante 25, bring-in 50, small bet 200 and big bet 400. The examples on this page use that structure.

On third street the bring-in acts first, and each player after them may fold, call the bring-in, or complete. After a completion, raises are in increments of the small bet.

From fourth street onwards, the player whose board shows the highest-ranking high hand acts first, with aces counted high. A board of low cards that looks promising for low does not change the order of action.

If two boards are equal, the player nearest the dealer's left, clockwise, acts first. Suits are not used.

Bets and raises are in increments of the small bet on third and fourth street and of the big bet on fifth, sixth and seventh street.

No open-pair option. An open pair on fourth street does not allow any player to bet the big bet. The small bet applies on fourth street whatever the boards show.

The number of raises per round is capped as the venue specifies, typically a bet and three or four raises. Many venues lift the cap when only two players remain in the hand.

A player who folds must turn their upcards face down. If there are not enough cards for every player on seventh street, a single common card is dealt face up in the centre, as in Seven Card Stud.

A qualifying low is five cards of different ranks, each an eight or lower. Aces count as low (one) for this purpose.

Straights and flushes do not count against a low hand. The hand 5♥4♥3♥2♥A♥ is a straight flush for high and also the best possible low.

Pairs cannot be part of a low. Any five low cards must be of five different ranks.

Low hands are compared by their highest card first. The hand with the lower highest card wins. If those are equal, the next-highest cards are compared, and so on down to the lowest card.

4.4(a) The best possible low is 5-4-3-2-A, called a wheel or bicycle.

4.4(b) The worst qualifying low is 8-7-6-5-4.

4.4(c) A low is named by its highest cards, as in "an eight-six low" or "a seven low".

If no player has a qualifying low, there is no low half. The best high hand wins the whole pot.

If there was a bet on seventh street, the last player to bet or raise shows first. If there was no bet, the player with the highest high hand showing on board shows first. Others then show in clockwise order or may concede.

The cards speak. In cardrooms, players do not declare whether they are playing for high, low or both. Every hand shown is read for both halves, and each player is awarded whatever their cards win. Some home games use a declaration instead; that is a different game.

When there is a qualifying low, the pot is divided in half: one half to the best high hand and one half to the best low hand.

A player who wins both halves is said to scoop the pot. A player may scoop by holding both the best high and the best low, or by holding the best high when no one qualifies for low.

If two or more players tie for high or for low, that half is divided equally between them. A player who shares one half with another player receives a quarter of the pot, which is known as being quartered.

When the pot is split between high and low and cannot be divided evenly, the odd chip goes to the high half.

When a half is itself split between tied players and cannot be divided evenly, the odd chip goes to the player holding the highest card by suit, using the suit order clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades (highest). Venues differ on this detail for tied low hands; many apply the same method.

Suits are used only to allocate the odd chip. They never decide which hand wins.