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7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Basics
7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Basics
Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo (also known as Eight-Or-Better, Stud8b or just Stud8) is one of the many variations within the poker family. Unlike in Texas Hold'em, there are no community cards in a stud game. Each player is dealt seven cards, three face down and four face up, and uses five of those seven cards to make his hand.
In Hi/Lo games, the pot is split between the best hand (Hi) and the worst hand (Lo). The Hi hand is determined according to the same rules you know from Texas Hold'em.
Determining the Lo hand isn't that simple, as there are certain requests that must be met in order to have a Lo hand at all. A Lo hand is made up of five cards, none, however, may be higher than an 8. Straights and flushes don't count as such for Lo hands, each card only has its face value. Pairs, for example two 2s, cannot be counted as two of the five cards in a low hand. In this case, only one of the 2s could be used as part of the Lo hand.
An ace can be used to make a Lo hand, as it can be either the highest or the lowest card in poker. As in Texas Hold'em, the ace can be used to make two straights, either AKQJT or A2345. The low straight is also referred to as the "wheel" and is the best possible Lo hand in Stud8.
At the end of each round, each player uses five of his seven cards to make two hands, one Hi and one Lo. If a player doesn't have a Lo hand, he can only play for the Hi half of the pot. An exception is made if no player has a Lo hand: in this case, the entire pot goes to the best Hi hand.
Rules for Playing Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo
Ante
Before a game of Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo begins, all players ante a nominal amount (the exact amount depends on the game, and is displayed in the table’s title bar). This is the cost of being dealt into the hand.
Third Street
Each player is initially dealt three cards, two hidden hole cards and one face up. The player with the lowest exposed card is the ‘bring-in’, and is forced to start the action. They must make either another nominal bet (again, the exact size of the bring-in depends on the game) or, if they choose, a full bet of the lower betting increment. Action continues clockwise around the table until betting is complete for the round.
Note: For the purposes of determining the bring-in in Seven Card Stud, ties in card rank are broken by suit, with the order from highest to lowest being spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. The lowest suit brings in, so if the two of hearts and two of clubs are visible at the beginning of the hand, then the two of clubs would have the bring-in.
Fourth Street
Each poker player now receives another exposed card, called ‘Fourth Street’. The first player to act is the individual whose exposed cards have the highest poker value. By rule, this player may either check or bet. Unlike in Seven Card Stud, there is no double-sized bet allowed if a player makes a pair on Fourth Street.
If the player with the Ace high acts first, as their exposed cards are stronger than the King high and Eight high shown by other two players. This player may either check or bet the lower betting amount.
There is a round of betting.
Fifth Street
Each player now receives another exposed card, called ‘Fifth Street’. Again by rule, the first player to act is the individual whose exposed poker hand has the highest poker value. There is a round of betting.
Starting on Fifth Street and for the rest of the hand, all bets and raises are in big bet increments.
Sixth Street
Each poker player now receives another exposed card, called ‘Sixth Street’. Again, the first player to act is the individual whose exposed cards have the highest poker value. There is a round of betting.
Seventh Street, or The River
Each player now receives a seventh and final card, which is dealt face-down and known only to the player to whom the card is dealt. The first player to act is the individual whose exposed cards have the highest poker value. There is a final betting round, and if more than one player remains, we reach the Showdown.
The Showdown - Determining the Hi and Lo Winners
If there is more than one remaining player when the final betting round is complete the last bettor or raiser shows his or her cards first. If there was no bet on the final round, the player in the earliest seat shows his or her cards first (Seat 1, then Seat 2, and so on). Further hands involved in the Showdown are exposed clockwise around the table.
The player with the best five-card hand for the high (‘"Hi’") wins half the pot, and the player with the best hand for low (‘"Lo’") wins the other half of the pot. In the event that no hand qualifies for low, the best hand for high wins the entire pot.
Remember that in Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, there is an ‘eight or better’ requirement to win the low, so a player must have an unpaired five-card hand that consists of all cards less than or equal to an 8. If no player can meet this requirement, no low qualifies.
In the event of two or more players have the same high or low hands, the pot halves will be split accordingly.
After the pot is awarded, a new game of Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo poker is ready to be played.
Definitions:
HIGH CARDS - 9 up to A .
LOW CARDS - A up to 8. (Ace can be played as the lowest denomination or the highest).
SPLIT PAIR - Starting hand with one of your pair cards down and the other up.
CONCEALED PAIR - Starting hand with both of your pair cards in the hole and your side card kicker up.
WHEEL - (5 4 3 2 A). Can be played as the lowest possible hand, a straight for high or both.
DOOR CARD - The exposed upcard of a starting hand.
DEAD CARDS - Cards that have been revealed and no longer in the deck.
SCOOP - Win both high and low ends of the pot or win it all with a high hand when there is no low.
FAST PLAY - Bet, raise and re-raise to get as many other players out as possible.
SLOW PLAY - Just check or call along to keep other players in the game and increase the pot odds.
CHECK-FOLD - Check when you can and fold if you are bet into. Gladly accept all free cards offered.
Normally Playable Starting Hands:
TRIPS - (QQQ). Fast play face cards. Slow play with Aces and all others on third street, then play fast.
3 LOW to a STRAIGHT FLUSH - (7d 5d 3d). Play the same as 3 LOW to a FLUSH below.
3 LOW to a STRAIGHT - ( 6h 4s 2c).Play the same as 3 LOW to a FLUSH below.
3 LOW to a FLUSH - (3c 6c 8c). Slow play these three similar hands. Check-fold on fourth street if you pair up or don't improve your high side and are facing two or more better low hand draws.
3 LOW with an ACE - (8 4 A). Check-fold on fifth street if you don't have trips or aces over and are facing two or more better low draws.
LOW PAIR with an ACE - (66 A). Check-fold on fifth street if you don't have trips or aces over and are facing two or more better low draws.
LOW PAIR with two to a LOW STRAIGHT - (44 7). Usually check-fold if you don't improve your hand on both fourth and fifth streets.
HIGH PAIR/Faces. (KK QQ JJ). Play these fast, split or concealed, if they are not overcarded on the board. Try to drive the weak low hands and high draw hands out. Usually fold if you haven't improved by 5th st.
PAIR ACES with High Kicker - (AA J). Play the same as a High Pair of Faces (above).
PAIR ACES with Low Kicker - (AA 6). Play fast to reduce the number of players. Consider folding on fifth street if you haven't improved high or don't have a good low draw.
PAIR NINES or TENS with an ACE - (99 A) (1010 A). Slow play and check-fold on fourth street if you don't catch trips or aces-over right away.
3 CARD HIGH STRAIGHT FLUSH - (10h Jh Qh). - Slow play and usually check-fold on fifth street if you haven't caught a two or three way draw hand or better.
2 LOW and 1 HIGH to a FLUSH - (3d 7d Kd).- Slow play and usually check-fold on fourth street if you don't catch low to your flush.