How to Play 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo

7 Card Stud Hi/Lo puts an interesting twist on the traditional game of 7 Card Stud, giving two players the chance to split the pot by winning the Highest Hand and the Lowest Hand. 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo is played in the exact same manner as 7 Card Stud, except that the highest ranking poker hand will only take half of the pot, followed by each player using their same 7 cards to develop a "Qualifying Low Hand" (we’ll talk more about that in a minute). The lowest qualifying hand will claim the other half of the pot.

Qualifying Low Hand (8 or Better)
Okay, pay close attention here because this is very important (and we'll refer back to it several times). Misunderstanding of these rules have caused a lot of inexperienced players to lose what they thought was a winning Low hand. So, here are the Rules of a Qualifying Low Hand:

1. Must contain no card higher than an 8

2. Must contain no pairs or other combinations

3. Straights/Flushes are not considered combinations

4. Aces are always low in a Low hand (but still highest in the High hand)

From these guidelines, the best possible Low Hand is: A-2-3-4-5

The worst possible hand that still qualifies to win the Low Hand is: 4-5-6-7-8

Notes:

1. Should no player qualify for a winning low hand, the high hand winner takes the whole pot.

2. The same player can win both the High and Low hand – it’s rare, but it is possible.

3. 7 Card Stud Hi/Low can be played with as few as 2 players, or a maximum of 8. A single, 52-card standard deck is used.

Object of 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo
The object of 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo is to use the 7 cards available to you over the course of a hand to develop the strongest 5-card poker hand, and then develop the lowest qualifying 5-card poker hand (see “Qualifying Low Hand” above.) The winner of each hand splits the pot. If no hand is low enough to qualify, the high hand winner takes the entire pot.

Betting Structure of 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo
Generally, 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo is played in Fixed Limit, though No Limit and Pot Limit games aren’t uncommon. Instead of Blind Bets, as found in Hold’em style poker games, 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo uses an Ante Bet from each player and a Bring-In Bet from one player after the initial deal.

All limits and bets are detailed below.

Fixed Limit: A betting structure that restricts all Bets and Raises to equal the low-end stakes during the first three rounds of betting, increasing to match the high-end stakes during the final two betting rounds. Fixed Limit also enforces a 3-Raise maximum per betting round.

No Limit: Like Fixed Limit, the stakes define the lowest possible Bet/Raise per betting round, but there is no limit on maximum Bets/Raises.

Pot Limit: Again, the stakes define the lowest Bet/Raise amount, but the maximum Bet/Raise is determined by the pot size. If the pot has $5, the max Bet is $5. If a player wagers the maximum $5, the pot is now $10, increasing the max Bet/Raise to $10.

Ante: Every player must place an Ante bet into the pot before the hand starts. The Ante is based on a percentage of the low-end stakes, but varies from 10% to 25%, depending on the rules where you play 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo.

Bring In: This is a forced bet placed by the player with the lowest Door Card (face-up) after the initial deal. The Bring-In is generally 50% of the low-end stakes. When two or more players tie for the lowest Door Card, the lowest suit determines the Bring-In bettor. Suits are ranked alphabetically, lowest to highest - Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades.

Check: When no player has Bet in the current betting round, a player may Check, declining to Bet, but staying active in the hand.

Bet: The first wager in a single betting round is called the Bet.

Call: To match the previous Bet in a single betting round.

Raise: To wager more than the previous bet in a single betting round.

Fold: To forfeit the hand and any chips in the pot.

All-In: To bet it all! Pushing your chips All-In can be a big risk – if you lose, you’re out. An All-n bet is kept separate from the main pot because the bettor cannot win a higher amount from any player than his own All-In bet.

General Game Play of 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo
Note: For this example of how to play 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo, we'll use a Fixed Limit betting structure with $2/$4 stakes - $2 being the low-end stakes, $4 being the high end stakes.

A 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo hand begins as each player tosses their Ante into the pot. 3 cards are then dealt to each player, the first two face-down Hold Cards, and the last face-up, or Open, called the Door Card. The player with the lowest Door Card must place the Bring-In Bet.

The first round of betting begins, starting with the player left of the Bring-In. Since all Bets/Raises must be $2, the first bettor must Bet $2, Raise to $4 or Fold. Betting continues in this fashion until the returning to the Bring-In bettor, who may Call or Raise by adding enough chips to his/her Bring-In Bet to do so; or Fold, of course. If no player has Raised, betting ends with the Bring-In bettor.

4th Street: Each player is dealt another face-up card, followed by another round of betting. For this and all remaining betting rounds, the player with the highest Open (face-up) hand will start the round of betting.

5th Street: Each player is dealt a fifth face-up card, followed by another round of betting, same as the last.

6th Street: Each player is dealt a sixth face-up card. For this (and the last) round of betting, all Bets/Raises must match the high-end stakes of $4.

7th Street: The final card is dealt to each player as a Hole Card (face-down). The last round of betting begins same as the last.

The Showdown: If a winner has not already been declared (because everyone else Folded), a Showdown will occur between all remaining players. First, each player attempts to develop the strongest (highest ranking) 5-card poker hand. The highest ranking poker hand wins half of the pot. Next, players will attempt to develop a qualifying Low hand (see "Qualifying Low Hand" rules at the top of this page). If any hand qualifies, the lowest ranking hand wins the other half of the pot. If no hand qualifies, the High hand winner claims the entire pot.

Note that the same player could conceivably win both High and Low hands.

Not Enough Cards?
Yes, it's very rare, but it is possible to run out of cards before the 7th Street is dealt. With a full table of 8 players, should no one Fold, you would need 56 cards to complete the deal; obviously, that's higher than the standard 52-card deck. Should this occur, the dealer will play a single 7th Street card face-up in the center of the table. All players will assume this to be their final card.

Poker Hand Ranks (highest to lowest)
Royal Flush (Ace-high straight suited)
Straight Flush (straight suited)
4 of a Kind (4 cards of the same value)
Full House (3 of a Kind + 1 Pair)
Flush (all cards suited)
Straight (all cards in sequence)
3 of a Kind (3 cards of the same value)
2 Pair (1 Pair + 1 Pair)
1 Pair (2 cards of the same value)
High Card (none of the above combinations)