Woolworth Rules

Woolworth is played with a standard 52-card deck without jokers. It is a version of Baseball and is dealt and bet as seven-card stud.

All fives and tens are wild, whether dealt face up or face down. A wild card may stand for any card the player does not already hold, or be added to a rank the player holds to make five of a kind.

Five of a kind is the highest hand and ranks above a straight flush. Otherwise hands rank according to the standard poker hand rankings.

The object is to hold the best five-card hand at showdown, or to be the last player remaining.

Each player places an agreed ante. The cards are dealt as in seven-card stud, with a betting round after each stage.

Fours have no special effect in Woolworth. Some groups give a player an extra face-up card whenever they are dealt a two face up, in the same way that Baseball does for fours. The dealer shall announce before the deal whether this rule applies.

If extra cards are in use and the deck runs out, the usual stud practice applies: one card is turned up in the centre as a community card for all remaining players.

In the version described by Arthur Buderick on pagat.com, a player dealt a five or a ten face up must immediately pay a fixed amount into the pot for each such card, and no extra cards are dealt for any rank.

Where a payment rule is used, the amount shall be agreed before the deal. Wild cards dealt face down are not charged for.

After the final betting round, the remaining players show their hands. Each player makes the best five-card hand from all their cards, using wild cards as they choose.

The best hand wins the pot. Identical hands split the pot equally.