7-Card Stud Hi/Lo (Regular)

7-Card Stud Hi/Lo Regular is a 7-Card Stud variant where the best High hand wins half the pot and the best Low hand wins the other pot. Unlike Texas Hold'em and Omaha, there are no shared community cards in this game.

In 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo Regular, players are dealt seven cards throughout the hand - three faced down and 4 faced up – and players use those cards to create their best five-card hand and, if applicable, their best best hand. Straights and flushes do not count against you when determining the low.

The “Lo” or Low Hand:
Unlike Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better, there is no qualifier in Hi/Lo Regular.

Stud Hi/Lo uses the ‘Ace to Five’ ranking for Low hands. Straights and flushes do not count against the hand, and Aces are always low. The best possible hand is a "wheel": 5, 4, 3, 2, A.

Also remember that straights and flushes do not count against your low hand, so making a low as well as a straight or a flush is a very powerful hand which could win both the high and low halves of the pot. Winning both high and low pots is called a ‘Scoop’.

The Deal and Betting Rounds:
Before a hand of 7-Card Stud begins, all players must post an Ante – a forced bet to ensure all players are incentivized to win the hand. Once the dealer has collected all the antes into the pot, gameplay will proceed as follows:

Third Street: Each player is dealt two (Hole) cards face-down and one face-up, the “Door Card”. The player with the lowest door card starts the betting with either a "bring-in" – a small, forced bet for an amount specified by the tournament structure, or they may “Complete” the bet by betting the Limit – also specified by the tournament structure. If the player with the lowest door card opts to post the bring-in, a player wanting to raise may “Complete” to the limit, which will be considered the first bet.
• For the purpose of determining the bring-in in 7-Card Stud, ties in card rank are broken by suit. The suits are ranked in alphabetical order – clubs (lowest), diamonds, hearts and spades (highest). The lowest suit breaks a tie, so if the 3 of hearts and 3 of clubs are visible at the beginning of the hand, then the 3 of clubs would be the bring-in.
Fourth Street: Once action is complete on Third Street, each remaining player will receive a fourth card dealt face-up. Now, it’s the player with the best hand showing on the table begins this round of betting. If two or more players’ two up cards are of identical rank, the player with the highest high card by suit will be begin the round of betting.
Fifth Street: A fifth card is dealt face-up to each player still in the hand. The player with the highest hand showing on the table starts the betting. However, now the betting limit double.
Sixth Street: A sixth card is dealt face-up. Again, the player with the best hand showing begins the betting.
Seventh Street (The River): The final card is dealt face-down to each player. This is followed by one last round of betting, which is also started by the player with the best hand showing.

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 whose exposed cards have the highest ranking value shows their cards first. Further hands involved in the Showdown are exposed or mucked clockwise around the table.

The player with the best five-card high (‘Hi’) hand wins half the pot. The player with the best five-card hand for low (‘Lo’) wins the other half of the pot.

Additional Stud Rule:

• If there is an odd chip when the pot is split amongst the High and Low hands, odd chip will be awarded to the High hand. If two or more players tie for the High hand and there is an odd chip in their half of the pot, odd chip will be awarded to the highest high card in their winning five-card hand. Likewise, if two or more players tie for the Low hand and there in an odd chip in their half of the pot, odd chip will be awarded to the highest high card in their five-card Low hand.