Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo Rules

The most common and popular poker games are typically high variations. That is, the object of the game is to build the highest possible hand using the cards available to you. In a regular high variation of Seven Card Stud, a non-suited hand of 2, 3, and 8 would be the kiss of death, but in Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, players have a second opportunity to turn normally horrid hands into low hand gold.

How To Play 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo

The 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Rules are blissfully similar to regular 7 Card Stud rules with one obvious exception in the object of the game. Now the pot is split between the players holding the highest and lowest eligible hands. Sometimes players do not have an eligible low hand (something we’ll discuss later), in which case the entire pot goes to the player with the highest hand.

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In a regular high variation of the game, no logical player would proceed with the hypothetical hand mentioned above (unsuited 2, 3, and 8). But in Hi/Lo stud getting such a hand in the first deal gives you a good shot at scooping the low half of the pot.

What is Hi/Lo

Sounds easy right? It’s not. There are many different things that can disqualify a low hand. For example, most Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo games are played Eights or Better. That means that no low hand contain a card with a value of more than eight. If you’re going into the seventh street with a hand of 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10 there are many cards that could dash your hopes for a low win. If your final card was anything above an 8, you would not have an eligible hand of five cards of 8 or under. If your final card was an additional 2, 3, 4, or 5 it would bust your low hand by creating a pair. The good news is that Flushes and Straights are not counted in low hands, so five suited small cards or five consecutive small cards can still take that half of the pot. In fact, Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 is the best low hand you can get and is often referred to as “the wheel.”

Many players that frequent the 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo table view the low hand as a second chance when their high hand goes awry. The low hand tends to be undervalued by Hi-Lo players, despite its potential to earn half the pot. This is probably because so many other popular casino games focus on high cards, and because so many poker players begin with these games and the concepts and strategies attached to them. If you can effectively master both the high and low portions of Hi/Lo Seven Card Stud, then you’ll be ahead of most of your competition.

Be sure to Check out the Rules to 7 Card Stud Poker too!