Chapter 8 - SEVEN CARD STUD, 9 - RAZ, 10 - HIGH LOW

-- NOTE -- Place your cursor over This Color text to see the term definition.

Seven-card stud is played with a starting hand of two Cards that are dealt facedown in a stud game. downcards and one upcard dealt before the first betting round. There are then three more upcards and a final downcard, with a betting round after each, for a total of five betting rounds on a deal played to the The final act of determining the winner of the pot after all betting has been completed. showdown . The best five-card poker hand wins the pot. In all fixed-limit games, the smaller bet is wagered for the first two betting rounds, and the larger bet is wagered for the last three betting rounds (on the fifth, sixth, and seventh cards). If there is an open pair on the fourth card, any player has the option of making the smaller or larger The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet . Deliberately changing the order of your upcards in a stud game is improper because it unfairly misleads the other players.


RULES OF SEVEN-CARD STUD

1. If your first or second holecard is accidentally turned up by the dealer, then your third card will be dealt down. If both The cards dealt facedown to a player. holecards are dealt up, you have a A hand that is not legally playable. dead hand and receive your A prescribed amount posted before the start of a hand by all players. ante back. If the first card dealt faceup would have been the The lowest upcard at seven-card stud, which is required to bet. lowcard , A fold, check, call, bet, or raise. For certain situations, doing something formally connected with the game that conveys information about your hand may also be considered as having taken action. Examples would be showing your cards at the end of the hand, or indicating the number of cards you are taking at draw. action starts with the first hand to that player’s left. That player may To throw a hand away and relinquish all interest in a pot. fold , open for the forced The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet , or open for a full The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet . (In tournament play, if a downcard is dealt faceup, a misdeal is called.)
2. The first round of betting starts with a forced The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet by the lowest upcard by suit. On subsequent betting rounds, the high hand on (1) The board on which a waiting list is kept for players wanting seats in specific games.
(2) Cards faceup on the table common to each of the hands.
board
initiates the A fold, check, call, bet, or raise. For certain situations, doing something formally connected with the game that conveys information about your hand may also be considered as having taken action. Examples would be showing your cards at the end of the hand, or indicating the number of cards you are taking at draw. action (a tie is broken by (1) The relation of a player\'s seat to the blinds or the button. (2) The order of acting on a betting round or deal. position , with the player who received cards first acting first).

3. The player with the forced The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet has the The choice to raise a bet given to a player with a blind. option of opening for a full The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet .

4. If the player with the The lowest upcard at seven-card stud, which is required to bet. lowcard is all in for the A prescribed amount posted before the start of a hand by all players. ante the person to that player's left acts first. If the player with the The lowest upcard at seven-card stud, which is required to bet. lowcard has only enough chips for a portion of the forced bet, the wager is made. All other players must enter for at least the normal amount in that structure.

5. When the wrong person is designated as low and bets, if the next player has not yet acted, the A fold, check, call, bet, or raise. For certain situations, doing something formally connected with the game that conveys information about your hand may also be considered as having taken action. Examples would be showing your cards at the end of the hand, or indicating the number of cards you are taking at draw. action will be corrected to the true The lowest upcard at seven-card stud, which is required to bet. lowcard if the next player has not yet acted. The incorrect The lowest upcard at seven-card stud, which is required to bet. lowcard takes back the wager. If the next hand has acted after the incorrect The lowest upcard at seven-card stud, which is required to bet. lowcard wager, the wager stands, A fold, check, call, bet, or raise. For certain situations, doing something formally connected with the game that conveys information about your hand may also be considered as having taken action. Examples would be showing your cards at the end of the hand, or indicating the number of cards you are taking at draw. action continues from there, and the real The lowest upcard at seven-card stud, which is required to bet. lowcard
has no obligations.

6. Increasing the amount wagered by the opening forced The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet up to a full The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet does not count as a To increase the amount of a previous wager. This increase must meet certain specifications, depending on the game, to reopen the betting and count toward a limit on the number of raises allowed. raise , but merely as a completion of the The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet . For example: In $15-$30 stud, the The lowest upcard at seven-card stud, which is required to bet. lowcard opens for $5. If the next player increases the The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet to $15 (completes the The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet ), up to three raises are then allowed when using a three-raise limit.

7. In all fixed-limit games, when an open pair is showing on The second upcard in seven-card stud or the first boardcard after the flop in hold\'em (also called the turn card). fourth street (second upcard), any player has the The choice to raise a bet given to a player with a blind. option of betting either the lower or the upper limit. For example: In a $5-$10 game, if you have a pair showing and are the high hand, you may The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet either $5 or $10. If you The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet $5, any player then has the The choice to raise a bet given to a player with a blind. option to call $5, To increase the amount of a previous wager. This increase must meet certain specifications, depending on the game, to reopen the betting and count toward a limit on the number of raises allowed. raise $5, or To increase the amount of a previous wager. This increase must meet certain specifications, depending on the game, to reopen the betting and count toward a limit on the number of raises allowed. raise $10. If a $10 To increase the amount of a previous wager. This increase must meet certain specifications, depending on the game, to reopen the betting and count toward a limit on the number of raises allowed. raise is made, then all other raises must be in increments of $10. If the player high with the open pair on /> The second upcard in seven-card stud or the first boardcard after the flop in hold\'em (also called the turn card). fourth street checks, then subsequent players have the same options that were given to the player who was high.

8. If you are not present at the table when it is your turn to act on your hand, you forfeit your A prescribed amount posted before the start of a hand by all players. ante and your forced The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet , if any. If you have not returned to the table in time to act, the hand will be killed when the betting reaches your seat. (In tournament play, the dealer is instructed to kill the hand of any absent player as soon as all the players have received their entire starting hands.)

9. If a hand is folded when there is no wager, that seat will continue to receive cards until the hand is killed as a result of a The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet (so the To throw a hand away and relinquish all interest in a pot. fold does not affect who gets the cards to come).

10. If you pick up your upcards without calling when facing a wager, this is a To throw a hand away and relinquish all interest in a pot. fold and your hand is dead. This act has no significance at the The final act of determining the winner of the pot after all betting has been completed. showdown because betting is over; the hand is live until In a draw game, to throw cards out of your hand to make room for replacements, or the card(s) thrown away; the muck. discard ed.

11. A card dealt off the table is treated as an exposed card.

12. The dealer announces the The lowest upcard at seven-card stud, which is required to bet. lowcard , the high hand, all raises, and all pairs. Dealers do not announce possible straights or flushes (except for specified low-stakes games).

13. If the dealer burns two cards for one round or fails to burn a card, the cards will be corrected, if at all possible, to their proper positions. If this should happen on a final downcard, and either a card intermingles with a player's other The cards dealt facedown to a player. holecards or a player looks at the card, the player must accept that card.

14. If the dealer burns and deals one or more cards before a round of betting has been completed, the card(s) must be eliminated from play. After the betting for that round is completed, an additional card for each remaining player still active in the hand is also eliminated from play (to later deal the same cards to the players who would have received them without the error). After that round of betting has concluded, the dealer burns a card and play resumes. The removed cards are held off to the side in the event the dealer runs out of cards. If the prematurely dealt card is the final downcard and has been looked at or intermingled with the player's other The cards dealt facedown to a player. holecards , the player must keep the card, and on sixth street betting may not The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet or To increase the amount of a previous wager. This increase must meet certain specifications, depending on the game, to reopen the betting and count toward a limit on the number of raises allowed. raise (because the player now has all seven cards).

15. If there are not enough cards left in the deck for all players, all the cards are dealt except the last card, which is mixed with the After the initial round of cards is dealt, the first card off the deck in each round that is placed under a chip in the pot, for security purposes. To do so is to burn the card; the card itself is called the burncard. burncard s (and any cards removed from the deck, as in the previous rule). The dealer then scrambles and cuts these cards, burns again, and delivers the remaining Cards that are dealt facedown in a stud game. downcards , using the last card if necessary. If there are not as many cards as players remaining without a card, the dealer does not burn, so that each player can receive a fresh card. If the dealer determines that there will not be enough fresh cards for all of the remaining players, then the dealer announces to the table that a A card dealt faceup to be used by all players at the showdown in the games of stud poker whenever there are insufficient cards left in the deck to deal each player a card individually. common card will be used. The dealer will burn a card and turn one card faceup in the center of the table as a A card dealt faceup to be used by all players at the showdown in the games of stud poker whenever there are insufficient cards left in the deck to deal each player a card individually. common card that plays in everyone’s hand. The player who is now high using the A card dealt faceup to be used by all players at the showdown in the games of stud poker whenever there are insufficient cards left in the deck to deal each player a card individually. common card initiates the A fold, check, call, bet, or raise. For certain situations, doing something formally connected with the game that conveys information about your hand may also be considered as having taken action. Examples would be showing your cards at the end of the hand, or indicating the number of cards you are taking at draw. action for the last round.

16. An When you have put all of your playable money and chips into the pot during the course of a hand, you are said to be all-in. all-in player should receive The cards dealt facedown to a player. holecards dealt facedown, but if the final holecard to such a player is dealt faceup, the card must be kept, and the other players receive their
normal card.

17. If the dealer turns the last card faceup to any player, the hand now high on the (1) The board on which a waiting list is kept for players wanting seats in specific games.
(2) Cards faceup on the table common to each of the hands.
board
using all the upcards will start the A fold, check, call, bet, or raise. For certain situations, doing something formally connected with the game that conveys information about your hand may also be considered as having taken action. Examples would be showing your cards at the end of the hand, or indicating the number of cards you are taking at draw. action . The following rules apply to the dealing of cards:

(a) If there are more than two players, all remaining players receive their last card facedown. A player whose last card is faceup has the The choice to raise a bet given to a player with a blind. option of declaring When you have put all of your playable money and chips into the pot during the course of a hand, you are said to be all-in. all-in (before betting A fold, check, call, bet, or raise. For certain situations, doing something formally connected with the game that conveys information about your hand may also be considered as having taken action. Examples would be showing your cards at the end of the hand, or indicating the number of cards you are taking at draw. action starts).

(b) If there are only two players remaining and the first player's final downcard is dealt faceup, the second player's final downcard will also be dealt faceup, and the betting proceeds as normal. In the event the first player's final card is dealt facedown and the opponent's final card is dealt faceup, the player with the faceup final card has the The choice to raise a bet given to a player with a blind. option of declaring When you have put all of your playable money and chips into the pot during the course of a hand, you are said to be all-in. all-in (before betting A fold, check, call, bet, or raise. For certain situations, doing something formally connected with the game that conveys information about your hand may also be considered as having taken action. Examples would be showing your cards at the end of the hand, or indicating the number of cards you are taking at draw. action starts).

18. A hand with more than seven cards is dead. A hand with less than seven cards at the The final act of determining the winner of the pot after all betting has been completed. showdown is dead, except any player missing a seventh card may have the hand ruled live.

19. A player who calls a The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips
put into the pot.
bet
even though beaten by an opponent’s upcards is not entitled to a refund. (The player is receiving information about an opponent’s hand that is not available for free.)


SECTION 9 - RAZZ (SEVEN-CARD STUD LOW)

The lowest hand wins the pot. Aces are low only, and two aces are the lowest pair. The format is similar to seven-card stud high, except the high card (aces are low) is required to make the forced The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet on the first round, and the low hand acts first on all subsequent rounds. Straights and flushes have no ranking, so the best possible hand is 5-4-3-2-A (a wheel). An open pair does not affect the betting limit.

RULES OF RAZZ

1. All seven-card stud rules apply in razz except as otherwise noted.

2. The lowest hand wins the pot. Aces are low, and straights and flushes have no effect on the low value of a hand. The best possible hand is 5-4-3-2-A.

3. The highest card by suit starts the A fold, check, call, bet, or raise. For certain situations, doing something formally connected with the game that conveys information about your hand may also be considered as having taken action. Examples would be showing your cards at the end of the hand, or indicating the number of cards you are taking at draw. action with a forced The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting round, or the chips put into the pot. bet . The low hand acts first on all subsequent rounds. If the low hand is tied, the first player clockwise from the dealer starts the A fold, check, call, bet, or raise. For certain situations, doing something formally connected with the game that conveys information about your hand may also be considered as having taken action. Examples would be showing your cards at the end of the hand, or indicating the number of cards you are taking at draw. action .

4. Fixed-limit games use the lower limit on third and The second upcard in seven-card stud or the first boardcard after the flop in hold\'em (also called the turn card). fourth street s and the upper limit on subsequent streets. An open pair does not affect the limit.

5. The dealer announces all pairs the first time they occur, except pairs of A king, queen, or jack. facecard s, which are never announced.


SECTION 10 - SEVEN-CARD STUD HIGH-LOW

Seven-card stud high-low split is a stud game which is played both high and low. A qualifier of 8-or-better for low applies to all high-low split games (unless a specific posting to the contrary is displayed).
This means to win the low half of the pot, a player's hand at the showdown must have five cards of different ranks that are an eight or lower in rank. (An ace is the highest card and also the lowest card.) If there is no qualifying hand for low, the best high hand wins the whole pot. A player may use any five cards to make the best high hand, and the same or any other grouping of five cards to make the best low hand.

RULES OF SEVEN-CARD STUD HIGH-LOW

1. All rules for seven-card stud apply to seven-card stud high-low split, except as otherwise noted.

2. A player may use any five cards to make the best high hand and any five cards, whether the same as the high hand or not, to make the best low hand.

3. An ace is the highest card and also the lowest card.

4. The low card by suit initiates the A fold, check, call, bet, or raise. For certain situations, doing something formally connected with the game that conveys information about your hand may also be considered as having taken action. Examples would be showing your cards at the end of the hand, or indicating the number of cards you are taking at draw. action on the first round, with an ace counting as a high card for this purpose. On subsequent rounds, the high hand initiates the action. If the high hand is tied, the first player in the tie clockwise from the dealer acts first.

5. Straights and flushes do not affect the value of a low hand.

6. Fixed-limit games use the lower limit on third and The second upcard in seven-card stud or the first boardcard after the flop in hold\'em (also called the turn card). fourth street s and the upper limit on subsequent rounds. An open pair on The second upcard in seven-card stud or the first boardcard after the flop in hold'em (also called the turn card). fourth street does not affect the limit.

7. Splitting pots is only determined by the cards and not by agreement among players.

8. When there is an odd chip in a pot, the chip goes to the high hand. If two players split the pot by tying for both the high and the low, the pot shall be split as evenly as possible, and the player with the highest card by suit receives the odd chip. When making this determination, all cards are used, not just the five cards used for the final hand played.

9. When there is one odd chip in the high portion of the pot and two or more high hands split all or half the pot, the odd chip goes to the player with the high card by suit. When two or more low hands split half the pot, the odd chip goes to the player with the low card by suit.