Stud Hi Lo Poker, also known as Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, is one of poker's more technically demanding table formats. Each player receives seven cards across the hand, some hidden and some on show, and only the best five of them count at the end.
The twist is in the name. The pot is carved in two: half goes to the strongest traditional 'high' hand, and half to the best Ace to Five lowball hand. Two winners, one deck, and a table full of people squinting at each other's face-up cards like suspicious neighbours over a garden fence.
Because part of every hand is dealt face up, the exposed cards around the table are visible to all remaining players as the streets are dealt.
Bets, Payouts & Rules
The hand is built street by street, with a round of betting after each new card. The available actions are the standard poker set: fold, check, bet, call or raise, depending on what the player before you has done. In Limit games, bets and raises come in pre-set increments.
How the hand unfolds
- Ante: each player posts an ante before the cards come out, with the amount shown in the table's title bar.
- Third Street: three cards each, two face down and one face up. The lowest exposed card is the bring-in and must open the action, either with the bring-in itself or a full bet at the lower increment.
- Fourth Street: another face-up card. The player with the highest-value exposed cards acts first and may check or bet. Unlike standard Seven Card Stud, pairing on Fourth Street does not unlock a double-sized bet, so everything stays at the lower increment.
- Fifth Street: another face-up card, action again starting with the strongest exposed hand. From here to the end of the hand, all bets and raises move to the big bet increment.
- Sixth Street: one more face-up card and another betting round, opened by the best exposed hand.
- Seventh Street (the River): the seventh card is dealt face down, for that player's eyes only. Final betting round, then showdown if more than one player remains.
The Showdown
If a bet or raise landed on the final round, the last bettor or raiser shows first. If the round was checked through, the earliest seat exposes first, then the rest of the hands are shown clockwise.
The best five-card high hand takes one half of the pot. The best qualifying low hand takes the other. Where two or more players hold identical high or low hands, that half is divided between them.
The eight or better qualifier
Low hands are played with an 'eight or better' requirement. To claim the low half, a player needs an unpaired five-card holding made up entirely of cards no higher than an eight. If nobody manages that, no low qualifies and the best high hand takes the whole pot.
Additional rules and situations
- Ties for the bring-in are broken by suit, ranked alphabetically: clubs lowest, then diamonds, hearts, and spades highest. The lowest suit takes the bring-in.
- If the player showing the lowest card on Third Street is all-in for the ante and cannot post the bring-in, the obligation moves clockwise to the next player, whatever card they are showing.
- Stud tables seat up to eight players against a 52-card deck, so on very rare occasions the deck runs short before Seventh Street. In that case a single face-up community card is dealt and shared by everyone still in the hand.
Features & Bonus Rounds
This is a pure poker variant, so there are no bonus rounds. The interest sits in how the low half of the pot is ranked and won.
Ace to Five low ranking
Lows use the 'Ace to Five' or 'California' system. Straights and flushes do not count against a low hand, and Aces are always low, which makes the best possible low a 'wheel': 5, 4, 3, 2, A. Five humble cards that swagger about like royalty.
Sample qualifying lows, running from the weakest up to the strongest:
- 8, 7, 6, 5, 4
- 8, 7, 6, 5, 3
- 8, 6, 4, 2, A
- 8, 4, 3, 2, A
- 7, 6, 5, 4, 2
- 7, 6, 5, 2, A
- 7, 5, 4, 3, 2
- 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
- 6, 4, 3, 2, A
- 5, 4, 3, 2, A
A low is always read from its highest card downwards, so 6, 4, 3, 2, A is a 'Six-low'. When two lows are close, you keep reading downwards: a 'Six-Four low' edges out a 'Six-Five low'.
The scoop
Because straights and flushes do not hurt a low, a qualifying low that also happens to be a straight or a flush is a seriously strong holding, capable of taking both halves of the pot. That outcome is known as a 'scoop'.
Related Stud and Hi/Lo variants
- Seven Card Stud, played for high only, with no split pot.
- Razz, where the entire pot goes to the best low hand and there is no qualifier at all.
- Omaha Hi/Lo, which determines low hands the same way and offers a change of pace from Texas Hold'em.
If Stud poker is already familiar territory, Hi/Lo tends to click quickly. If it is new to you, standard Seven Card Stud is a sensible place to get comfortable with the street-by-street rhythm first.
Taste & Feel
Stud Hi Lo Poker feels older and more deliberate than the modern flop games. There is no shared board to stare at, just a slowly widening spread of face-up cards, each one whispering something about the hand behind it.
The atmosphere is patient and quietly conversational. With two halves of the pot in play, a single hand can end with one player holding the strongest high and another holding the best qualifying low.
The streets unfold at their own unhurried pace, one card and one betting round at a time.