How to Play Seven Card Stud Eight or Better

Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo is a split-pot variation of Seven Card Stud, which means the pot is split (or ‘chopped’) between the player who makes the best high hand and the player who makes the best low hand (if the hand qualifies for a low). The game is also known by several other names, including Hi/Lo Stud, Stud Eight or Better and Stud 08.

The basic goal in stud is to create the best five-card poker hand. While players will be dealt up to seven cards by the end of a hand in Stud, they will only use five cards to create a high hand, a low hand, or in the best case scenario, one of each. If you don’t know how to rank high and low hands, see the detailed poker hand rankings page.

Highs, Lows and Scoops

You must remember that players will only be able to make a low hand if there is no card higher than an eight in their five card poker hand. For a low hand to qualify, it must also not contain a pair. In other words, a qualifying low hand must consist of five cards that are no higher than an eight and are each of different ranks. Aces can be used as both high cards and low cards, which makes them a valuable commodity in split pot games.

Flushes and straights are ignored when creating a low hand, and so the best low hand is A-2-3-4-5, which is called a ‘wheel’. The most valuable hands are those that qualify for both a high and a low, because winning them both will earn you the entire pot, known as ‘scooping the pot’.

If a player’s hand does not qualify for a low, then they are only eligible to play for the high hand, and can only win more than half the pot if no other player has a qualifying low. On occasion, two or more players will have hands that are identical in ranking for either the high or the low. In that case, the pot is split up between them; they will receive a quarter of the pot (called ‘getting quartered’) or sometimes even less. It is therefore possible to ‘win’ the hand but actually lose money or break even.

Unlike flop games such as Texas Hold’em and Omaha, Seven Card Stud does not use shared community cards. Instead, each player is dealt their own complete hand, as explained below.

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Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo Betting Rules

In a full Stud game, you will usually find eight players. Stud Hi/Lo is typically a limit game, which means that the bets and raises must be made in predetermined increments. The betting limits are ‘small’ bets for the first three betting rounds and double to ‘big’ bets for the last three rounds.

For instance, if you were playing $10/$20 Stud Hi/Lo, the small bet would be $10 and the big bet would be $20. Therefore, you must bet and raise in increments of $10 for the first three betting rounds, then double your bets and raises to $20 for the last two rounds.

Stud Hi/Lo Antes

Before any player receives their cards, they must post a small predetermined amount called an ante. These are collected before the cards are dealt and serve to seed the pot and create action. You will not be dealt into a Stud hand without first posting an ante.

Stud Hi/Lo Third Street Action

Once the antes are collected, each player receives two hole cards (which are face down and kept private from all other players) and a single up card (face up and often referred to as a ‘door card’). These three cards make up Third Street.

On Third Street, the player who is showing the exposed card of the lowest rank must post a small amount (depending on the stakes) called the bring-in. If two or more players are showing cards of the same rank, the suit of the card will dictate which is lowest. An easy way to remember how suits are ranked is that they increase in strength in alphabetical order, with clubs being the lowest, then diamonds, followed by hearts, and finally spades. When there is a tie on Third Street, the lowest ranking suit must post the bring-in. If the player with the lowest up card is all in for their ante and cannot post the bring-in, the burden is put on the player to their immediate left with no regard for their exposed card’s ranking.

Once the bring-in has been posted, the action proceeds clockwise around the table and each player has a chance to act. They have several choices: complete the bring-in (increasing the amount of the bring-in to a full-sized small bet), call the amount of the bring-in, or fold their hand. Checking on Third Street is not an option because in order to continue with the hand, players must pay at least the bring-in amount. Once any player completes the bring-in, the remaining players are now limited to calling that amount, raising in small bet increments (e.g. $10 in a $10/$20 game), or folding their hands.

In limit games, there is generally a fixed number of raises that can be made on each street. At PokerStars, four bets are allowed before the raising must stop, which is called ‘capping the pot’. This means that if a bet is made, only three raises are permitted before the pot is capped.

Stud Hi/Lo Fourth Street Action

After the initial betting round is completed, each active player is dealt a second up card which can be seen by all their opponents. This is called Fourth Street. Now, players each have two down cards and two exposed up cards.

Unlike Third Street, the action on Fourth Street starts with the player who is showing two up cards that make the highest ranking poker hand. For instance, if one player was showing two nines and another player was showing two queens, the player with the pair of queens would start the Fourth Street action. This player can now check or make a small bet (e.g. $10 in a $10/$20 game). From there, the action moves clockwise and each player can choose to check (if not facing a bet), or to bet or raise in small bet increments.

Unlike regular Seven Card Stud, players in Stud Hi/Lo cannot double the bets if a pair is showing on Fourth Street. All bets and raises must be made in small bet increments until the next street.

Stud Hi/Lo Fifth Street Action

Another exposed up card is now dealt to each player, called Fifth Street. All active players now hold two down cards and three up cards. Like the previous street, the player showing the highest ranking exposed poker hand must act first.

The betting limits are now doubled and all bets and raises must be in big bet increments (e.g. $20 in a $10/$20 game). Betting continues clockwise until all players have acted on their hands.

Stud Hi/Lo Sixth Street Action

Each active player now receives their last up card of the hand, called Sixth Street. Players now each hold two down cards and four exposed up cards. Once again, the player showing the highest ranking poker hand will be the first to act and must either check or bet in large increments. Continuing clockwise around the table, each player acts on their hand.

Stud Hi/Lo Seventh Street Action

The final card, called Seventh Street or The River, is dealt to each active player face down. Players now hold three down cards and four exposed up cards.

It is possible that there will not be enough cards in the 52-card deck to deal Seventh Street. While this situation is rare, a solution is reached when one shared community card is dealt in the middle of the table and is used by all active players.

Again, the player showing the highest ranking hand goes first and the betting (in big bet increments) continues clockwise.

Stud Hi/Lo Showdown

Once the final betting round is over, a winner is determined when the remaining hands are compared in a Showdown. The winners or winner of the hand are determined and the pot is split up (or scooped) appropriately.

If, at any time during the hand, only one player remains, they are immediately awarded the pot and no Showdown occurs.

Play Stud Hi/Lo Poker Online

Download the free PokerStars software and to start playing Stud Hi/Lo. If you just want to practice at first, you can play for free now. And if you’re up to the challenge, Stud High Low is offered every day in both tournaments and cash games for real money.