Twist is poker jargon for a round with specific rules which is sometimes used in the poker variant stud poker.
One can replace any round of (or add a round to) a stud poker game with a twist round, in which each player is offered the option to replace exactly one card in his hand with a new one from the remaining deck stub. This is similar to the draw phase of draw poker, differing in the following way: if the player chooses to replace a downcard, he discards it and is dealt a replacement card also face down; if he wishes to replace an upcard, he discards it and receives the replacement face up. On a twist round, players make the decision of which card to replace in turn starting with the player who bet first on the preceding round (usually the player whose upcards make the best hand), discarding the card they choose to replace, if any. After everyone has made their decision, the replacement cards are dealt starting at the dealer’s left as usual.
Sometimes replacement cards are “bought” by requiring a player to add a fixed amount to the pot to be able to get a replacement.
The sample deal below assumes that a game is being played by four players: Alice, who is dealing in the examples; Bob, who is sitting to her left; Carol to his left; and David to Carol’s left.
All players ante $.25. Alice deals each player two downcards and one upcard, beginning with Bob and ending with herself. Bob is dealt the ♠, Carol the K♦, David the ♦, and Alice the ♣. Because they are playing with a $1 bring-in, David is required to start the betting with a $1 bring-in (his ♦ is lower than Bob’s ♠ by suit). He had the option to open the betting for more, but he chose to bet only the required $1. The bring-in sets the current bet amount to $1, so Alice cannot check. She decides to call. Bob folds, indicating this by turning his upcard face down and discarding his cards. Carol raises to $3. David folds, and Alice calls.
Alice now deals a second face-up card to each remaining player: Carol is dealt the J♣, and Alice the K♥. Alice’s two upcards make a poker hand of no pair, K-9-high, and Carol has K-J-high, so it is Carol’s turn to bet. She checks, as does Alice, ending the betting round. Another face up card is dealt: Carol gets the T♥, (T = 10) and Alice gets the K♣. Alice now has a pair of kings showing, and Carol still has no pair, so Alice bets first. She bets $5, and Carol calls. On the next round, Carol receives the T♦, making her upcards K-J-T-T. Alice receives the ♠. Alice’s upcards are 9-K-K-3; the pair of kings is still higher than Carol’s pair of tens, so she bets $5 and Carol calls. Each player now receives a downcard. It is still Alice’s turn to bet because the downcard did not change either hand. She checks, Carol bets $10, and Alice calls.
That closes the last betting round, and both players remain, so there is a showdown. Alice shows her cards: 9♥ 5♦ 9♣ K♥ K♣ 3♠ 5♠. The best five-card poker hand she can play is K-K-9-9-5, making two pair, kings and nines. Carol shows Q♠ 2♥ K♦ J♣ T♥ T♦ A♦. She can play A-K-Q-J-T, making an ace-high straight, and so Carol wins the pot.
The game begins with each player being dealt two cards face down and one card face up. If played with a bring-in, the player with the lowest-ranking upcard pays the bring-in, and betting proceeds after that in normal clockwise order. The bring-in is considered an open, so the next player in turn may not check. If two players have equally ranked low cards, suit may be used to break the tie and assign the bring-in. If there is no bring-in, then the first betting round begins with the player showing the highest-ranking upcard, who may check. In this case, suit should not be used to break ties. If two players have the same high upcard, the one first in clockwise rotation from the dealer acts first.
After the first betting round, another upcard is dealt to each player (after a burn card, and starting at the dealer’s left as will all subsequent rounds), followed by a second betting round beginning with the player whose upcards make the best poker hand. Since fewer than five cards are face up, this means no straights, flushes, or full houses will count for this purpose. On this and all subsequent betting rounds, the player whose face-up cards make the best poker hand will act first, and may check or bet up to the game’s limit.
The second round is followed by a third upcard and betting round, a fourth upcard and betting round, and finally a downcard, a fifth betting round, and showdown if necessary. Seven-card stud can be summarized therefore as “two down, four up, one down”. Upon showdown, each player makes the best five-card poker hand he can out of the seven cards he was dealt.
You may note that seven cards to eight players plus four burn cards makes 60 cards, and there are only 52 in the deck. In most games this is not a problem because several players will have folded in early betting rounds. But there are certainly low-stakes home games where few if any players fold. If this is the case in your game, you may want to limit the game to seven players. If the deck does become exhausted during play, previously-dealt burn cards can be used when only a few cards are needed to complete the deal. If even those are not sufficient, then on the final round instead of dealing a downcard to each player, a single community card is dealt to the center of the table, and is shared by everyone (that is, each player treats it as his seventh card). Under no circumstances can any discarded card from a folded hand be “recycled” for later use. Unlike draw poker, where no cards are ever seen before showdown, stud poker players use the information they get from face-up cards to make strategic decisions, and so a player who sees a certain card folded is entitled to make decisions knowing that the card will never appear in another opponent’s hand.
Seven-card stud is a variant of stud poker. Until the recent increase in popularity of Texas hold ‘em, seven-card stud was the most popular poker variant in home games across the United States, and in casinos in the eastern part of the country. Seven-card stud is also played in western American casinos, but Texas hold ‘em is far more popular there. Two to eight players can play.
The descriptions below assume that you are familiar with the general game play of poker, and with hand values. They also make no assumptions about what poker betting structure is used. In casino play, it is common to use a small ante and bring-in. In home games, it is typical to use an ante only.
Quick play overview
Play proceeds as follows (“player” refers only to those who have not folded and are still in the game), with betting rounds in-between.
Betting is clockwise, the player with the highest poker hand showing starts (ie 2-2 beats K-Q).
2 cards dealt face down to each player, 1 card dealt face up
Roll your own is poker jargon used for a particular ruleset in certain poker variants, particularly in stud poker.In traditional stud poker games, cards are simply dealt to each player, either face up or face down according to the rules of the game being played, followed by betting. In roll your own games this is different in one of three possible ways. These are called:
simultaneous choose-after
in turn choose-after
choose-before
In simultaneous choose-after in every round where an upcard is normally dealt, each player is instead dealt a downcard. All players then look at all of their downcards and choose one to turn face up, then all players turn their chosen card at once.
In in turn choose-after the game begins the same way with each player being dealt a downcard, but then the first player to act (determined by the rules of the particular game) turns over his choice of upcard, then the next player can use that information to decide which of his cards to turn up, and then all players follow in turn.
Choose-before is always played in turn. On upcard rounds, before a card is dealt to each player, that player must choose whether he wants to receive it up or down. If he wants to receive it up, he says so. If he wants to receive it down, he must first turn one of his already-dealt downcards face up, so that all players will still have the same number of up and down cards. When using this method cards are not dealt to players starting at the dealer’s left as usual, but start with the high hand showing.
Roll your own should not be confused with rollouts, which, while similar, is fundamentally different.
Play begins with each player being dealt one card face down, followed by one card face up (beginning as usual with the player to the dealer’s left). If played with a bring-in, the player with the lowest-ranking upcard must pay the bring in, and betting proceeds after that. If two players have equally ranked low cards, suit rankings may be used to break the tie. If there is no bring-in, then the first betting round begins with the player showing the highest-ranking upcard, who may check. In this case, suit should not be used to break ties; if two players have the same high upcard, the one first in clockwise rotation from the dealer acts first.
After the first betting round is complete, another face-up card is dealt to each player (after a burn card, starting with the player to the dealer’s left, as will all subsequent rounds). Betting now begins with the player whose upcards make the best poker hand (since fewer than five cards are face up, this means no straights, flushes, or full houses). On this and subsequent betting rounds, the player to act first may check or bet up to the game’s limit. The second betting round is followed by a third upcard to each player and a third betting round, again starting with the player with the best poker hand showing (thus, the first player to act on each round may change). A fourth face-up card and fourth betting round is followed by a showdown, if necessary (it usually won’t be–most deals of five-card stud end early when a player bets and gets no calls).
Here’s a sample deal. Assume that a game is being played by four players: Alice, who is dealing, Bob, who is sitting to her left, Carol to his left, and David to Carol’s left. Alice deals one card face down to each player, followed by one card face up to each player, beginning with Bob and ending with herself. Bob is dealt the ♠, Carol the K♦, David the ♦, and Alice the ♣. Because they had earlier agreed to play with a $1 bring-in, David is required to start the betting with a $1 bring-in (his ♦ is lower than Bob’s ♠ by suit). He has the option to open the betting for more, but he chooses to bet only the required $1. The bring-in sets the current bet amount to $1, so Alice cannot check. She decides to call. Bob folds, indicating this by turning his upcard face down and discarding his cards. Carol raises to $3. David folds (forfeiting his bring-in), and Alice calls. Alice now deals a second face-up card to each remaining player: Carol is dealt the J♣, and Alice the K♥. Alice’s two face-up cards make a poker hand of no pair, K-9 high, and Carol has K-J high, so it is Carol’s turn to bet. She checks, as does Alice, ending the betting round. Another face up card is dealt: Carol gets the ♥, and Alice gets the K♣. Alice now has a pair of kings showing, and Carol still has no pair, so Alice bets first. She bets $5, and Carol folds. Alice wins the pot without a showdown.
Five-card stud is probably the earliest form of the card game, stud poker, originating during the American Civil War, but is less commonly played today than seven-card stud and other games. It is still a popular game in a few locations such as South Africa (where it is played with a stripped deck). In Finland a specific version of five-card stud called Sökö (Canadian stud or Scandinavian stud) is still quite popular. The word sökö is also used for checking in Finland (“I check” = “minä sökötän”).Unlike seven-card stud, five-card stud plays very well at no limit and pot limit, though fixed limit and spread limit games are still more common (with higher limits in the later betting rounds). It is typical to use a small ante and a bring-in.
High-low and other variants
The game can be played with low hand values, in which case the best low hand showing starts each betting round instead of the best high hand showing. Also, the highest-ranking card must pay the bring-in if it is played with a bring-in. If played high-low split, the highest showing hand always acts first.
The fifth and final card is dealt face down in some games. Otherwise play is identical (the player who acted first on round three will therefore act first again on round four since no one’s exposed hand has changed). This game is described as “one down, three up, one down” or simply “1-3-1″, while traditional five-card stud is called “one down, four up”.
Caribbean Stud Poker differs slightly in the United Kingdom, and most parts of Europe, from the US. The game is officially known as “Casino Five Card Stud Poker”, and not all casinos have the jackpot prize. Those which do have the prize, usually the large chain groups, officially call the game “Casino Jackpot Five Card Stud Poker”. In both instances, the game is commonly referred to as “Casino Stud Poker”.
The basic rules are the same in the UK as the US, although the payouts differ – the maximum bet is generally £100 on the ante and £200 on the raise, and all payouts are paid on the raise, meaning the maximum payout can potentially be £10,000 (a Royal Flush pays at the same odds, 50:1, as a Straight Flush).
Casinos offering the jackpot generally have the card shuffled by a card shuffling machine – the cards are then removed and dealt out by the dealer, or croupier. Independent and small casinos generally have the croupier shuffle the cards by hand.
British casinos do not use the chip dropper system; instead, a £1 chip is placed on a small plastic circle on the table, which lights up. The croupier then presses a button on a panel infront of them, which keeps the lights lit up once the chips are removed. The dealer removes the chips, and can then tell which players are playing the jackpot game and which are not.
If the dealer does not show an Ace/King, hands playing the jackpot must be turned over, face up, and shown to the dealer and table. If the player is not playing the jackpot prize, the cards are not shown.
Caribbean stud poker is a casino table game with rules similar to five card stud poker. However, unlike standard poker games, Caribbean stud is played against the house rather than against other players (and, like most such games, it cannot be beaten in the long run). There is no bluffing or other deception. For these reasons, most poker players do not consider it to be a form of poker. (They do not necessarily feel that it should not be called poker, but means merely that they will not refer to it as simply “poker”. For instance, a gambler might say “I played poker” if he played seven card stud, but probably would not if he played Caribbean stud.)
The following rules are typical of U.S. casinos, but some of the details (the payouts and limits) vary from casino to casino.
To play, every player places his ante on the layout where indicated; all ante wagers must be placed prior to the dealer announcing “No more bets“. Each player and the dealer will then receive 5 cards, face down. The dealer will turn over one of his cards, then push the cards toward the players, after which the players may look at their cards. They may only look at their own cards, and may not discuss what they have with any other player at the table.
Players have the option to play or fold; if they choose to play, they place their bets (twice the amount of their respective ante) in the bet box. If they choose to fold, they forfeit their ante. After all the players have made their decisions, the dealer reveals his hole cards. The dealer only plays with an ace/king or higher; he then compares his cards to the players’ cards (individually, right to left), and the best poker hand wins.
There are some major rules in Caribbean Stud Poker that must be observed at all times while playing:
Only one hand per player. Players cannot hold or wager on multiple hands at the table.
Players choosing to play the Progressive Payout feature are responsible for ensuring their $1 wager has been inserted into slot and the “Indicator Light” is ON.
Players may not exchange or communicate information regarding their hands to other players or the dealer. Player violation will result in a dead hand and forfeiture of all wagers.
Incorrect amount of cards to the player constitutes a dead hand (or push) for that player only.
The decision of the table/casino supervisor is final.
If the dealer is dealt four cards of the five-card hand, the dealer shall deal an additional card to complete the hand. Any other misdeal to the dealer shall result in all hands being void and the cards shall be reshuffled.
Each player shall be required to keep the five cards in full view of the dealer at all times. Once each player has examined his or her cards and placed them face down on the layout, they may not touch the cards again.
If a hole card is exposed prior to the dealer announcing No More Bets, all hands shall be void.
If a player’s cards beat the dealer’s cards, the player will receive even money (1-1) on the ante, and the following on his bet (with a maximum payout of $5,000 U.S. Dollars per hand on each bet wager):
Royal flush
100 to 1
Straight flush
50 to 1
Four of a kind
20 to 1
Full house
7 to 1
Flush
5 to 1
Straight
4 to 1
Three of a kind
3 to 1
Two pair
2 to 1
One pair or less
1 to 1
If the dealer does not have at least ace/king, all bet wagers will be void, and players will receive even money on their ante bet only. If the dealer’s cards beat a player’s cards, the dealer collects both the ante and bet.
In addition, in Caribbean stud poker, players can also bet on their poker hands and win the “progressive feature”; this is done by dropping a 1.00 dollar gaming chip into the chip acceptor on the table after placing the ante. Players with a flush or higher win, regardless of the outcome of their table bets:
Royal Flush
100% of Progressive Meter
Straight Flush
10% of Progressive Meter
Four-of-a-Kind
$500
Full House
$100
Flush
$50
Winning progressive payout hands are paid in accordance with the amount on the meter when it is the player’s turn to be paid. However, if more than one player at a table has a royal flush progressive payout hand, each player shares equally in the amount on the meter when the first player with a royal flush is to be paid.
Player Strategy
Using optimal strategy the house edge is 5.224% of the player’s ante bet. This strategy can be complicated and does not lend itself to practical use in a casino. Using a strategy of raising with Ace/King/Jack/8/3 or better the house edge is 5.316%, very close to the optimal strategy house edge.
Knowledge of what other players hold can decrease the house edge. It has been estimated with the knowledge of 6 other player’s hands (30 cards) and associated optimal strategy the player can gain an edge of 2.3%. Given that sharing information is against the rules and that a computer would be needed to calculate the appropriate strategy it is unlikely this could ever be achieved in a real life casino.
Stud poker is any of a number of poker variants in which each player receives a mix of face-down and face-up cards dealt in multiple betting rounds. Stud games are also typically non-positional games, meaning that the player who bets first on each round may change from round to round (it is usually the player whose face-up cards make the best hand for the game being played). The cards dealt face down to each individual player are called hole cards (which gave rise to the common English expression ace in the hole, which suggests that one has something valuable that is hidden from view).
Five-card stud first appeared during the American Civil War, and became very popular. In recent years, Seven-card stud has become more common, both in casinos and in home games. These two games form the basis of most modern stud poker variations.
The number of betting rounds in a game influences how well the game plays with different betting structures. Games with four or fewer betting rounds, such as five-card stud and Mississippi stud (described below), play well with any structure, and are especially well suited to no limit and pot limit play. Games with more betting rounds are more suited to fixed limit or spread limit. It is common (and recommended) for later betting rounds to have higher limits than earlier ones. For example, a “$5/$10 Seven-card Stud” game in a Nevada casino allows $5 bets for the first two rounds and $10 bets for subsequent rounds. Also common is to make the final round even higher: a “$5/$10/$20″ game would allow $20 bets on the last round only. Another common rule is to allow the larger bet on the second round if there is an “open pair” (that is, at least one player’s upcards make a pair). Some casinos (typically in California) use the smaller limit on the first three rounds rather than just the first two.
It is a common convention in stud poker to name the betting rounds after the number of cards each player holds when that betting round begins. So the bet that occurs when each player has three cards is called “third card” or “third street”, while the bet that occurs when each player has five cards is “fifth street”. The final round, regardless of the number of betting rounds, is commonly called the “river” or simply the “end”.
The variations described below assume that you are already familiar with five-card stud and seven-card stud, and with the game play of poker in general.
General variations
Some rule variations can be applied to almost any game, and combinations of these variations can be used to create ad-hoc games. These include roll your own, rollouts, blind stud, and twist rounds.
Any game can also be changed by adding one or more jokers to the deck to act as wild cards, or by designating certain other cards as wild. Some specific common variations include Low hole card wild, in which each player’s lowest-ranking downcard (and all other cards of that same rank) are wild in that player’s hand only, and Follow the queen, in which each time a Q is dealt face up to anyone, the next face up card (and all others of that rank) become wild. The usual practice in the latter case is that if a second Q appears among the upcards, the previous wild card loses its status to the new one.
One can also vary any stud game by dealing extra downcards and requiring either that one or more hole cards be discarded at some point in the game or adding a restriction on how many of those hole cards may be played in the final hand. For example, five-card stud can be modified by dealing each player an extra downcard at the start of the game, adding the restriction that each player may only use one of his two downcards in his final hand. This game is called Crocodile stud. Likewise, seven-card stud can be modified by dealing each player three downcards instead of two on the first round, but adding the restriction that a player may use no more than two of those cards in his final hand (called Buffalo stud; if the extra hole card must be discarded after the first betting round, then it is Australian stud). If playing one of these games without the requirement to discard the extra hole card at some time during play, it is recommended as a practical matter to ensure compliance that each player physically discard one hole card immediately before showdown, before revealing the “live” hole cards (so that there can be no confusion about which cards were down).
Variations can be made by eliminating betting rounds, dealing more than one upcard at a time for one or more rounds. For example, Mississippi stud (see below) is basically seven-card stud with the second betting round removed, and the last card dealt face up instead of face down. Further adding an extra hole card as above makes it Murrumbidgee stud.
Games that mix stud-like rounds with community cards are discussed on the Community card poker page. In general, one can mix upcard rounds with community card rounds in many ways. See in particular Oxford stud on the community card game page.
Specific variants
As mentioned above, seven-card stud is probably the most common form of the game, with most other games being variants of that, although five-card stud is also a basic pattern upon which many variations are built. These games are described on their own page. Most of the games described below started as ad-hoc variants, but they have either become popular enough to have a common name, or else have some unique feature to merit including them here.
Six-card stud
Six-card stud is usually played as identical to seven-card stud, except that the last face-up round is removed (Thus it is two down, three up, one down). It can also be played as 1-4-1, where the first betting round occurs after only two cards are dealt (one down and one up). This latter form more closely resembles five-card stud with an extra downcard.
A variation called Alligator stud starts with one hole card and one upcard, followed by a first betting round; then two upcards are dealt to each player followed by a second betting round; then a fourth upcard and betting round, and finally a fifth upcard and betting round. This game plays well at no limit and pot limit. The same game, but with each player initially dealt two downcards and one upcard, and restricted to using only one of his downcards in his final hand, is called Zanetti stud.
Razz (and London lowball)
Razz is seven-card stud played with ace-to-five low hand values. It is usually played with a bring-in, paid by the player with the highest-ranking upcard on the initial deal (aces are always low cards in Razz, even for the purpose of assigning the bring-in). On the second and subsequent rounds, the player with the lowest exposed hand starts the betting.
London lowball is seven-card stud played with ace-to-six low hand values. It is usually played at pot limit or no limit, and is otherwise identical to Razz.
Here’s a sample Razz deal (suits are omitted here because they are never of consequence in Razz; in London lowball, a flush cannot play as a low hand but otherwise they don’t generally matter either). Alice deals each player two downcards and then one upcard: Bob’s upcard is a J, Carol is dealt a , David an A, and Alice a
. Bob’s J is the high card (David’s A is low), so he pays a $1 bring-in. Carol, David, and Alice all call. Now Bob is dealt a
, Carol another , David a , and Alice a . The best low hand showing is now David’s -A, just beating Alice’s -2. David bets $1, Alice calls. Bob folds his J-9, and Carol calls (her pair of s is the worst hand showing, but there are still many cards to come). Alice now deals Carol an A, David a K, and herself an . The low hand showing is now Alice’s -4-2, so she bets $2. Carol raises $2, and David folds. Alice calls, ending the round. Carol is now dealt a , and Alice another . Now the lowest hand showing is Carol’s -3-6-A, a pair of s being lower than Alice’s pair of s. She bets $2 and Alice calls. A final downcard is dealt, Carol again best $2, and Alice calls. Alice reveals that her downcards are
-J-A, making her lowest five-card hand an
-7-4-2-A. Carol reveals her downcards to be a -6-7, making her lowest five-card hand a
-6-4-3-A, which wins the pot.
Eight-or-better high-low stud
Also known as “seven eight” or “stud eight”, eight or better is the most common form of high-low split stud. Played as seven-card stud, but the pot is split between the player with the highest hand and the player with the lowest hand (using the ace-to-five low values). An 8-high hand or lower is required to win low. Betting takes place as if playing standard high-hand stud; that is, low card pays the bring-in, if any, on the first round, and subsequent rounds start the betting with the highest showing poker hand. The showdown is cards speak, that is, there is no declaration for high and low. Each player may choose a different subset of five cards to play for high and low. For example, a player with A-A-8-6-6-4-3 can play a high hand of A-A-6-6-8, and a low hand of
-6-4-3-A. A player with K-9-8-7-6-5-4 can play a
-high straight for his high hand, and -7-6-5-4 for low (which is the worst possible qualifying low, but it does qualify). A player with K-9-8-7-7-6-5 can play the
-high straight for high, but cannot play any low hand, because he cannot make an -high or lower. If there is no qualifying low hand, high hand takes the entire pot.
This game plays well with a bug or two in the deck.
Mississippi stud
Mississippi stud was created to make seven-card stud play better at no limit and pot limit, and is slowly becoming popular for that reason. It is also often played with a betting structure more typical of Texas hold ‘em: fixed limit with the last two rounds double the limit of the first two. The bring-in should be less than the first-round limit.
Initial deal as in standard seven-card stud. After the first betting round, two upcards are dealt to each player, so each now has two down and three up (so unlike standard stud there is no betting on “fourth street”). A second betting round is followed by one more upcard and a third betting round. Finally, the last card is dealt face up, so that each player ends with two downcards and five upcards. Because each player has five upcards on the last round, straights, flushes, and full houses count as “high hand exposed” for the purpose of determining who must bet first. After the seventh street bet there is a normal showdown.
Can also be played with low hands, or high-low split. If three downcards are dealt initially instead of two, with the restriction that no more than two of them can be used in the final hand, this variation is called Murrumbidgee stud.
Mexican stud
Various forms of roll your own five-card stud, often with a stripped deck and wild cards, are called Mexican stud, Mexican poker, or Stud loco. One such variant played by the Casino San Pablo in northern California has these rules:
s,
s, and 0s are stripped from the deck, and a single joker is added (the deck therefore contains 41 cards). The
-spot and the J become consecutive, so that
-6-7-J-Q is a straight. A flush beats a full house (with fewer cards of each suit, they are harder to get). The joker plays as a bug if it is face up, and fully wild if it is face down. The game is played as five-card stud choose-before roll your own. It is usually played with a very high ante, and the high card on the first round pays the bring-in.
The game of Shifting sands is Mexican stud in which each player’s hole card (and all others of that rank) are wild for that player only.
Blind stud
Blind stud is is a variant of stud poker in which all cards are dealt face down. Any stud poker game can be played “blind” by having all cards dealt face down.
Blind stud poker was commonly played in California cardrooms until 1985. The California gambling law makes specific games named by the law illegal, including twenty-one, faro, fantan, and “stud-horse poker”. Until 1985, the California attorney general’s office interpreted this to mean that draw poker was legal and all forms of stud poker were not, so California cardrooms played exclusively draw poker (mostly lowball). Blind stud was considered a form of draw poker, because like in draw all cards are hidden. Unlike draw, players do not discard cards they intend to replace. In 1985, cardroom owners convinced the state that “stud-horse poker” was an obsolete house-banked game, and that all forms of modern poker were legal. Today, the most popular game in the state is Texas hold ‘em.
Not constrained by obscure California law, home games generally do not play blind stud, though some of the forms of blind stud are challenging and well-balanced, including some of those previously offered by California cardrooms. Some of cardrooms got very creative with blind stud games so they could offer players some variety. For example, a club in the Sacramento suburbs used to offer a seven-card high-low split blind stud game which was played 3-2-1-1 (four rounds; three cards dealt on the first, two on the second, then one and one), with two jokers in the deck acting as bugs, and with the double-ace flush rule.
Miscellaneous
Five-card stud played high-low split with an added twist round is called Option alley or five-card option. The game Canadian stud or Sökö is five-card stud with two new hand values added: a four-card straight beats one pair, a four-card flush beats a four-card straight, and two pair beats both of the above.
The term English stud is used ambiguously to refer to several games, including six-card stud played 1-4-1 with a twist (also called six-card option), London lowball, and a seven-card stud game where both sixth street and seventh street are twist rounds.
In the game of seven-card flip, each player is dealt four cards face down, and chooses two of them to turn up. All cards are turned up simultaneously after everyone has chosen. As this point, the game proceeds as if it were standard seven-card stud starting on fourth street.
Kentrel, or “48″, is a seven-card stud variation which starts with each player being dealt four downcards. Each player must then discard one, choose one of the remaining three to turn face up (leaving two down and one up as normal), and then proceed as with eight-or-better high-low stud.
The game of Chicago is seven-card stud in which the high hand splits the pot with the player who has the highest-ranking spade “in the hole” (among his downcards). There is also Little Chicago, in which the lowest ranking spade in the hole splits the pot; players who play Little Chicago call the high spade variant Big Chicago.
The Bitch is a variant on Chicago above, played with a combination of up and down cards, usually two down, four up, and one down. The twist is that the Queen of Spades is designated as the highest ranking Spade, followed by the Ace, King, Jack, and so on. Also, if the Queen of Spades is ever dealt as an upcard to any player, all players turn in their cards, re-ante, and replay the game. This can lead to quickly increasing pots, especially if the re-ante amount is increased on each iteration. The high hand splits the pot with the high spade.
Several different games played only in low-stakes home games are called Baseball, and generally involve many wild cards (often s and
s), paying the pot for wild cards, being dealt an extra upcard upon receiving a , and many other ad-hoc rules (for example, the appearance of the queen of spades is called a “rainout” and ends the hand). These same rules can be applied to no peek, in which case the game is called “night baseball”.
Cowpie poker is played as seven-card stud until after the seventh-street bet. All remaining players then split their hands into a five-card hand and a two-card hand. The five-card hand must outrank the two-card hand, and the latter must contain at least one downcard. After the split there is one more betting round and showdown. Upon showdown, the highest five-card hand and the highest two-card hand split the pot. The name of the game is a pun on Pai Gow.
Number Nine is a variant of seven-card stud in which 9s are wild, and any two number cards that add up to 9 may make one wild card, at the player’s option. Aces count as 1 for wild card purposes. The player is not obliged to make any wild cards, and can play cards that could make 9s at face value or as wild cards, at his option. Cards used to make wild cards may not figure in the resulting hand twice. The player cannot add three or more cards. Sometimes, 9s themselves are not wild, and wild cards can be made only by addition.
Dr Pepper is a stud variant where 10′s, 2′s, and 4′s are wild (the name comes from one of the original Dr Pepper advertisements of the 1920s: “Drink a Bite to Eat at 10, 2, and 4 o’clock”).
Draft (or “socialist poker”) is usually a variant of seven-card stud in which the second and subsequent upcard rounds are dealt this way: for each player remaining, one upcard is dealt to the center of the table (not to any specific player). The player with the worst showing hand gets to choose which of them he will take for his next upcard, then the player with the second-worst showing hand chooses his upcard from those left, and so on, until the player who previously had the best showing hand takes the remaining card. Then betting occurs as normal. In seven-card stud, this makes for three “draft” rounds (the first three cards are dealt normally, as is the final downcard).
Auction is a similar variation in which each upcard round (or possibly just those after the first) begins with an “auction” phase. Instead of dealing each player one upcard, the first card is dealt to the center and all players bid on it; the player who bids the highest amount places that amount into the pot, and then has the right to either keep the auction card as his own upcard, or designate another player who is required to take it as his. After the first card is auctioned off and placed, the remaining players are dealt a random upcard as usual, and betting proceeds as usual. This variation is commonly played as high-low split, so it is common for a player to “purchase” a high card to force it upon an opponent seeking low, for example.
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