Open Card (Stud) Games

1 SCS - NUMBER OF PLAYERS. The game is typically played with a maximum of eight players, although sometimes it is played with nine. When played with nine however the situation sometimes arises where there are not enough cards to finish the deal, and special procedures have to be instituted using burn cards and dead cards to complete the hand. It is best to avoid this by limiting the game to eight, although it is possible to run out of cards even in an eight-handed game. (See Back Man Out and Rovers In Article 16, Miscellaneous Rules for possible solutions to handle too many players in this or any other game.)

2 SCS - ANTES. Players ante before receiving a hand. The dealer deals a hand to every seat that has anted, and does not deal to any seat that has not anted. If a player seated at the table has not anted, the dealer shall ask him if he wants a hand before dealing. If a player away from the table has anted before leaving, the dealer shall give him a hand. As noted elsewhere, the size of the antes is not a matter for rules but one for house policy; however suggested antes for various stakes are set forth at Appendix A.

3 SCS - INITIAL CARDS AND BRING-IN. At the beginning of the hand players receive two downcards and an upcard. This is followed by the initial betting round, on which the lowest upcard (by suits if two players have the same lowest upcard) is required to initiate the betting with a forced bring-in bet. The player required to make the forced bet has the option of opening for the partial bet or a full bet. An example would be in a $15-$30 game, where the forced bring-in is for $5, and the opener has the option of bringing it in for the $5 or for $15. (The game is occasionally played where the high card instead of the low card must bring it in, but this is not the standard rule.) As in all other poker games, the action then moves clockwise around the table until it is back around to the opener.

4 SCS - RESPONDING TO THE BRING-IN. Subsequent players react in clockwise rotation to the initial action. They can call the bet, complete the opening bet by increasing it to the full amount of the small bet (from $5 to $15 in the previous example; if the opener brought it in for a full bet they can raise to $30) or fold. (Alternate Rule. In some cardrooms the opener is allowed to complete the bet if when the action has passed all around the table no other player has completed the bring-in. This is the preferred rule, because it induces action, but it is in fact the less common rule. In other cardrooms if the opener wishes to complete the bring-in he must do so when he opens. This rule remains more common. Each establishment shall decide in its best business judgment which rule to implement.) A player raising a forced bet when the bring-in is for less than a full bet shall be deemed to have completed the bet rather than having raised. Thus, where the rules of the establishment permit one bet and four raises, then the completion of the forced bring-in does not constitute a raise, and four raises remain open.

5 SCS - FOURTH STREET. Players receive a fourth card up, followed by a betting round. On this betting round if any player's two upcards are of the same rank (a pair) then the size of the bet doubles. The doubling of the bet is optional, not mandatory, and any active player may exercise this option. If a player pairs his door card on fourth street then he has the option of checking, betting the small fixed limit amount or the large fixed limit amount. If the player bets the small limit amount then the player(s) after him have the option of calling the small amount, raising the bet the amount of the small amount or raising the bet the amount of the large limit. (For example, in a $10-$20 game, where the initial betting rounds are $10, if a player's board pairs on fourth street, then any player in action may bet or raise $20 or $10, whichever he prefers.) Once the stakes are raised to the large bet amount they cannot go back down.

6 SCS - FIFTH & SIXTH STREET. Then a fifth card is dealt up, followed by a betting round. On fifth street the betting automatically moves to the higher limit, regardless of whether or not it did on the previous betting round. Then a sixth card is dealt up followed by a betting round.

7 SCS - SEVENTH STREET. The seventh and final card is dealt down, followed by a betting round. Thus a player has four upcards and three hole cards from which to make his best possible five card hand, and there are five betting rounds.

8 SCS - ORDER OF PLAY. After the first round of betting the high hand on board initiates the action. If two players have the same high hand then the suit of the high card in the players' hands breaks ties. IE if both players have A, Q showing, the player with the Ace of Hearts would be deemed to have a higher hand than a player with the Ace of Clubs, and thus would act first. (Alternate rule: Ties shall be broken by position, with the player closest to the dealer's left acting first. The disadvantage of the alternate rule is that it creates a positional advantage in players starting at the dealer's right.)

9 SCS - DEALER ANNOUNCEMENTS. In the course of dealing the hand, the dealer shall announce the low card on the initial betting round, the high hand on all subsequent betting rounds, and all pairs on board. Dealers do NOT announce possible straights and flushes. (Alternate rule: The house may require dealers to announce possibles in low-limit games as a courtesy to inexperienced players. In such cases the dealer shall only announce that a straight or flush is possible, and not which cards are necessary to complete the possible. )

10 SCS - ABSENT PLAYER WHO HAS ANTED. A player who has posted an ante but is not present at the table when it is his turn to act forfeits his ante. If that player was required to bring in the forced bet, then the amount of the forced bet shall be taken from his stack by the dealer and placed in the pot. If he has not returned to the table by the time he faces action the forced bet shall also be forfeited. In each case where the player has not returned to the table in time to act on his hand when facing action the hand shall be killed.

11 SCS - MONEY NECESSARY TO RECEIVE A HAND. A player shall not be eligible to receive a hand unless he has at least the amount of an ante and the forced bring-in in chips or playable cash in front of him or in transit. (Alternate Rule: A player may receive a hand if he has the ante. If he is all-in for the ante and must bring it in, the player to his left has the same choices as if the all-in player had made the forced bet--come in for the forced bet, make the maximum bet or fold the hand.)

12 SCS - FOLDED HAND NOT FACING ACTION. If a player folds his hand after making a forced bet or when not facing action then that player's seat will continue to receive cards until a bet is made. Cards shall be dealt the same way (up or down) as to all other players. A player who has folded, however, cannot be required to initiate action. In this circumstance, the highest-ranking live hand shall initiate the action.

13 SCS - CHANGING ORDER OF UPCARDS. It is a violation of the rules tantamount to cheating for a player to deliberately change the order of his upcards in any open card game.

14 SCS - TURNING UPCARDS DOWN; MIXING UPCARDS & DOWNCARDS. A player who turns upcards facedown or mixes upcards and holecards together when facing a bet is deemed to have folded and his hand is dead. (Alternate Rule: Only if another player then acts behind the player who has so folded or mixed his cards shall the hand be declared dead.) This rule should be loosely enforced in low limit games and when dealing with inexperienced players, so long as there is no suspicion of intent to deceive in the action.

15 SCS - WRONG PLAYER DESIGNATED AS LOW. If the wrong player is designated as low and that person brings it in, the action will be corrected to the proper low card so long as there has not been substantial action (two or more players acting in turn behind the improperly designated bring-in), so that the true low card bets. In such a case the player with the improperly designated low card may take back his wager and make a decision whether or not to enter the pot when it is his turn. If there has been substantial action then the hand shall play as if the improperly designated bring-in were correct.

16 SCS - PROCEDURAL ERRORS IN DEALING. All procedural errors regarding the deal shall be corrected to the extent possible so that each player receives the proper card.

• 1 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, so long as their has been no action. If the improper card has been dealt as a final down card and is intermingled with a player's downcards or a player looks at the improper card, then the deal shall not be corrected.

• 2 If a dealer burns and deals one or more cards before a round of betting has been completed, the improperly dealt card or cards shall be eliminated from play, together with an additional card for each remaining player active in the hand, with these cards set aside from the muck to be available in the event the dealer runs out of cards before the completion of the hand. When the round of betting is completed the dealer re-burns and play resumes. If the improper card has been dealt as a final down card and is intermingled with a player's downcards or a player looks at the improper card, then the deal shall not be corrected.

1. 3 A card dealt off the table must play. If the card so dealt was to have been a player's downcard it shall be turned face-up on the table and treated as an exposed card, as if the dealer had dealt a final downcard face-up to a player.

• 4 If the dealer accidentally turns up a player's first or second hole card, then the third card will be dealt face down. If both a player's hole cards are dealt face up his hand shall be declared dead and his ante refunded from the pot. In the event a hand is declared dead for this reason, and the third card dealt would have resulted in that player making the forced bring-in, the low card among live hands shall bring it in. (Alternate Rule. The first active player to the immediate left of the dead hand shall make his action as if responding to the forced bring-in by folding, opening for the amount of bring-in or opening for a full bet.)

• 5 If a player has not posted his ante but is dealt a hand, then that player shall be dealt an entire starting hand (two downcards and an upcard) and his hand shall then be killed. If this player would have been required to make the forced bring-in, then the player who would have been required to make the bring-in had that player not been dealt a hand shall have the obligation of initiating action. Dealing a player who has not anted a hand does NOT constitute a misdeal.

• 6 If a dead seat is mistakenly dealt a card, or not dealt a card when it should have been pursuant to Caro & Cooke's Rules, then if there has not been substantial the situation shall be remedied by moving the cards to the proper player. If there has been substantial action or if the error is on a round of downcards then the cards shall stand as dealt. Once the error has been discovered, the deal shall continue properly, with the dead hand either getting or not getting cards as it should pursuant to Caro & Cooke's Rules.

17 SCS - LAST CARD FACE-UP. If the dealer turns the last card face-up to any player, the procedure shall vary depending upon the circumstances and how many players remain in the hand.

• 1 If there are more than two active players in the hand, all remaining players receive their last card face down. Prior to action for the final betting round, the player whose last card is exposed shall have the option of participating in the wagering or being treated as an all-in player who neither contributes to the pot on the final round nor is eligible to win any bets put into the pot on the final round. In the event the player elects to be treated as all-in, all bets of the other players in the hand shall go into a sidepot for which that player is not eligible

• 2 If there are only two players remaining and the first player's final hole card is dealt face-up, then the second player's final downcard will also be dealt face up and the betting proceeds as normal.

• 3 If there are only two players remaining and the first player's card is dealt facedown and the second player's card is exposed, the player with the exposed card will have the option of being treated as an all-in player, in which case there will be no wagers permitted on the final betting round.

• 4 In all cases the player who is high on board shall initiate the action regardless of whether he has four or five upcards.

18 SCS - NOT ENOUGH CARDS. If there are not enough cards left in the deck for all players to receive a final card then the dealer shall deal all cards except the last card. The last card shall then be set aside with the burn cards, together with any cards, which have been removed from the deck pursuant to the rule relative to setting aside cards that have been eliminated from play. These cards shall be scrambled and cut, and the dealer shall burn again and deal the remaining downcards, using the last card if necessary. The discarded hands in the muck are NOT included in this procedure. If the cards available will still not be sufficient to give every active player a final downcard, but skipping the sixth street burn would result in enough cards being available, then the dealer shall not burn prior to dealing the sixth street card. If there will not be enough cards available regardless of the burn, then the dealer will burn a card and turn one card up in the center of the table which card shall play in ALL players' hands as a community card. In this event, the player who is high on board including the community card shall initiate action on the final betting round. The bottom card of the deck shall never be dealt.

19 SCS - COMPLETE HAND TO WIN POT. A player must have exactly seven cards in his hand to be awarded the pot at showdown.

20 SCS - CALLING UNABLE TO BEAT BOARD. A player who calls a bet even though his hand cannot beat an opponent's upcards shall not be entitled to a refund.

SEVEN CARD STUD, HIGH-LOW SPLIT (SCS/HL)

(a.k.a. Seven Card Stud Eight-or-Better) DEFINED. In this game the high hand and the low hand each win half the pot.

• 1 SCS/HL - STUD RULES APPLY. Seven-card Stud High-Low Split is played by the same rules as Seven-Card Stud except that the high hand and the low hand split the pot.

• 2 SCS/HL -- QUALIFIERS. A qualifier of eight-or-better for low is necessary to win the low half of the pot, unless a table sign advising otherwise is posted. If no player's hand qualifies to win the low, then the high hand shall win the whole pot.

• 3 SCS/HL - THE BRING-IN. The low card initiates the action on the first betting round. If the low card is tied, then the low card by suit brings it in. (Alternate Rule. The high card initiates the action.) On subsequent rounds the high hand initiates the action. If the high hand is tied, the first player clockwise from the dealer initiates the action. (Alternate Rule. If the high hand is tied, then the highest card by suit as between the tied hands initiates the action.)

• 4 SCS/HL - PLAY ANY FIVE CARDS. A player may use any five cards to make the best high hand and any five cards to make the best low hand, whether the same cards or other card.

• 5 SCS/HL - ACES, STRAIGHTS, FLUSHES. Aces may be used for high or low and straights and flushes do not affect the low hand in any way. Sometimes, however, the game is played by Kansas City Rules, with Aces playing as high only, and straights and flushes counting against the low hand. (See Article 8 for more details regarding Kansas City Rules.)

• 6 SCS/HL - OPEN PAIRS. In limit games, an open pair on fourth street does not affect the limit.

RAZZ

Razz is Seven Card Stud played for low only.

• 1 STUD RULES APPLY. Razz is played by exactly the same rules as Seven-Card Stud, with several major differences. The game is sometimes played pot limit and no-limit.

• 2 LOW HAND WINS. The lowest hand wins the pot. Aces play for low only. A pair of Aces is always lower than a pair of deuces.

•  3 HIGH CARD BRINGS IT IN. The high card is required to make the forced bring-in bet.

•  4 LOW HAND ACTS FIRST. On subsequent rounds the low hand rather than the high hand acts first. If two players have the same low hand, then the suit of the lowest card in the hand shall determine who acts first. If two players both have a deuce as their lowest card, the deuce of diamonds would act first as opposed to the two of spades. (Alternate Rule: If two players have the same hand, the first player clockwise from the dealer acts first. However this creates positional advantage in seating, so it is not recommended.)

•  5 OPEN PAIRS. In Limit games, an open pair does not affect the limit. Dealers announce all pairs the first time they occur; except pairs of facecards, which are never announced.

FIVE-CARD STUD

Five-Card Stud was the game of the Old West and is the game best known to movie-goers (It was the game in the classic poker movie The Cincinnati Kid), with the possible exception of Draw. It is almost never spread anymore, but is included here both because it provides a reference point for those familiar with the game, and because it is one of the poker games permitted by various state gaming authorities. Because of its place in the history of the game of poker it is an important foundation of the rules of poker. All the rules of Seven-Card Stud apply to Five-Card Stud. Players receive two cards to start, an upcard and a downcard. This is followed by a betting round. Players then receive three more upcards one at a time, each followed by a betting round, for a total of four betting rounds. Sometimes the game is spread with the last card dealt as a downcard rather than an upcard. The bet doubles on the third upcard unless there is an open pair on the second upcard, in which case the same rules as in seven card-stud apply relative to increasing the limits. The game can be played high-low split, with Aces playing both high and low.