Mike's Rules To 7 Stud Poker Variants

General Rules

1. Players use the best 5 of their 7 cards to make their hands.
2. In High-Low Split games, players may use one set of cards for their high and a different set for their low.
3. Every 7 stud game has a five stud variant, so unless the five stud variant has an actual name or is not obvious it will not be mentioned in the variants' sections.

7 Stud

• Maximum Number of Players: 7
• Wild Cards: None
• The Game:
  1. Players are dealt 2 down and 1 up.
  2. Bet, then deal 1 card up.
  3. Bet, then deal 1 card up.
  4. Bet, then deal 1 card up.
  5. Bet, then deal 1 card down.
  6. Bet and show. High hand takes the pot.
• Variants:
  • Make a card wild, or lowest card down is wild.
  • 7 Stud Low Ball: Low only.
  • 7 Stud High-low, Declare: High-Low Split, declare after the last betting round.
  • 7 Stud High-low, Cards Talk: High-Low Split, Cards Talk, 8 or better low.
  • V05: High-Low Split, Cards Talk, 8 or better low, maximum bet is $V.05, e.g. 305 would mean that the maximum bet is $3.05. We've been playing 105, 205, and 305 a lot lately, especially when there are only 4 players left at the end of a night.
  • High Chicago: High hand splits the pot with the player who has the highest spade down after the showdown.
  • Low Chicago: High hand splits the pot with the player who has the lowest spade down after the showdown, Aces are high only.
  • High San Francisco: High hand splits the pot with the player who has the highest heart down after the showdown.
  • Low San Francisco: High hand splits the pot with the player who has the lowest heart down after the showdown, Aces are high only.
  • Murder: If a player is dealt an up-card that matches in rank with another up-card in his hand (i.e. pairs up), then he has to match pot or fold.
  • No Murder, No Game: Same as Murder, but if in the course of the deal, all four up-cards have been dealt to each player and nobody has paired up, then the cards are re-dealt and each player re-antes. On the other hand, if a player is paired up and chooses to fold, the game is still good. All that matters is that someone paired up.
  • Homicide: Same as Murder, but cards are dealt 1 down and 6 up, and if the down-card pairs up, then it and all like it in that player's hand are wild, e.g. if a player has a 3 down, and has, as his up-cards, 3, 9, J, 2, 3, 7, then all of the 3s are wild.
  • Suicide: Same as Homicide, but up cards are dealt and revealed like in Roll-Your-Own.
  • Russian Roulette: Same as Homicide, but up cards are dealt like in Take It Or Leave It.
  • Two Of Three: In order to win the pot, a player must have (at one time) any two out of the following three: 1) high hand; 2) high spade (up or down); 3) low spade (up or down). If no player has two of the three at showdown, then the game is re-dealt, and any players who folded are not dealt in.
  • Follow The Queen (Ho): If a queen is dealt up, the next card dealt up and all cards of the same rank are also wild. If another queen is dealt up, the next card dealt up replaces the previous wild as the new wild card. If a queen is the last card dealt up, then nothing is wild. If no queens are dealt up, then the hands are thrown in, and it is dealt again to the players that have not folded.
  • Follow The Queen And Queens: Same as Follow The Queen, but Queens are also wild.
  • Black Mariah: Same as Follow The Queen, but if the Queen-of-Spades is dealt face up, the hand immediately ends. All players re-ante and the hand is re-dealt.
  • Follow The Queen In Chicago: Combine either Follow The Queen or Follow The Queen And Queens with either High or Low Chicago.
  • Cluster Fuck: Combine Follow The Queen And Queens with Low Chicago, and each player's lowest heart down is wild for that player. While I was involved with neither the creating nor the naming of this game, I was there that first night with the Baltimore crew. Let me just say this, fold with less than a Straight Flush if you're not holding the nut low spade.
  • Follow The Ho At Midnight: Combine Follow The Queen And Queens with Midnight Baseball. Note that as soon as a Queen is flipped up, the only wild cards are Queens; therefore, if the player now has the highest hand, he cannot flip another card, and the first card flipped by the next player will become the new wild card. Also, players who have flipped over all their cards and are beat may stay in the game in hopes that a Queen will show and somehow improve the hand. Jay, sorry about taking credit (more like responsibility) for this one. I forgot that you actually thought of it, but that I was able to call it before you had the chance. Anyway, you topped yourself, this game is definitely more screwed up than Cluster Fuck!
  • Follow The Ho Through Chicago At Midnight: Combine Follow The Ho At Midnight with Low Chicago. Players may opt not to flip cards, in hopes of having the low spade down, and stay in the game. OK, this one is on me. I had to prove to the Baltimore crew, specifically Jay, that I could come up with a game which was more confusing than either Cluster Fuck or Follow The Ho At Midnight. I believe we actually played this one. Once.
  • Touchies: If a player has 2 consecutive cards in the same suit, then both of those cards are wild. For example, if a player has 3H, 7C, and JS down and 4H, 2D, KS, and 3D up, then the 3H and 4H are wild and so are the 2D and 3D.
  • Hippity-Hops: If a player has 2 cards in the same suit that are 1 card apart, then both of those cards are wild. For example, if a player has 3H, 7C, and 2D down and 4H, 3D, JS, and KS up, then the JS and KS are wild.
  • Float Your Boat: Hands are evaluated as follows (from highest to lowest):
    1. Four-Of-A-Kind (Yacht) You've got money!
    2. Full House (Boat) That's the name of the game.
    3. Three-Of-A-Kind (Tub) It should keep you from getting wet.
    4. Two Pair (Raft) Two logs make a raft.
    5. Pair (Log) At least it floats.
    6. High Card (Brick) Bricks don't float!

Anaconda (Pass The Trash)

• Maximum Number of Players: 7
• Wild Cards: None
• High-Low Split
• The Game:
  1. Each player is dealt 7 cards down.
  2. Each player passes 3 cards to the left, then 2 cards to the left, and finally, 1 card to the left.
  3. Each player then discards two cards -- this means that players wishing to go both ways must use the same set of five cards for high and low.
  4. Players put their cards face-down in front of them in a stack, such that their top card is the first card that they want exposed. Players may not re-order their cards later.
  5. The dealer says, "1-2-3-flip," and all players flip their top card.
  6. Bet, then flip. Continue betting and flipping until the top 4 cards have been exposed.
  7. Bet, declare and show. High and low split the pot.
• Variants:
  • Progressive Passing: Pass 3 cards left, 2 cards 2 players left, 1 card 3 players left. Note that this means at least 4 people are playing.
  • Bet after each pass.
  • Hold all 7 cards.
  • Pansy: Pot-limit betting.
  • Rich's Revenge: Pass right and low only. Tired of being passed crap all night? Do what Rich did, and get a chance for some sweet revenge.
  • Love Thy Neighbor: High only and split the pot between the high hand and the player on his right that's still in. A great game to call if you've been passing winning hands away.
  • Rich's Taste Of The Unpleasant: Pass right, low only and split the pot between the high hand and the player on his left that's still in.
  • Howdy Doody: 3s are wild in hands going high, and Kings are wild in hands going low.
  • Python: High only, deal five cards, pass 2, pass 1, best 5 card hand and best 3 card Guts hand split the pot. Note that this changes the maximum number of players to 10.
  • Bisexual: Pass 2 both left and right then pass 1 both left and right.
  • Colored Anaconda: More a variant of Colored Poker, which is not actually poker, and is mentioned here only for completeness.

Auction

• Maximum Number of Players: 7
• Wild Cards: None
• High-Low Split
• The Game:
  1. The game is dealt and played like High-Low 7 Stud, except that players bid for their up-cards as follows:
     1. At the start of each round of dealing up-cards, the dealer puts exactly the same number of cards as there are players still in into the middle of the table.
     2. Players take chips into their hands as bids, then players hold their bids in their fist over the middle of the table. The dealer says "1-2-3-show" and players open their hands.
     3. The player with the most amount of money puts it into the pot and then chooses a card, followed by the player with the next most, etc., until all players have put their bids into the pot and have chosen a card. If there's a tie on a bid, then the player with the highest hand gets to choose ahead of the other, if there's still a tie (i.e. they both have the same hand showing), then the player closest to the dealer's left chooses ahead of the other.
• Variants:
  • Have the maximum bet be the maximum bid.

Auctioneer

• Maximum Number of Players: 7
• Wild Cards: None
• High-Low Split
• The Game:
  1. The game is dealt and played like High-Low 7 Stud, except that players have a choice on up-cards as follows:
     1. If no cards are exposed:
        1. The top card of the deck is exposed: The player can either fold, buy that card for $0.10, or see the next card. If he buys the card, the dealer moves to the next player, but if he wants to see the next card, then he can no longer fold nor buy the card exposed.
        2. The next card is exposed: The player can buy this card for $0.20 or see the next card. If he buys the card, the dealer moves to the next player, but if he wants to see the next card, then he can no longer buy the card exposed.
        3. The next card is exposed: The player can buy this card for $0.30 or buy the next card for $0.50 blind.
        4. Any cards exposed remain up for the next player.
     2. If 1 card is exposed:
        1. The player can either fold, buy that card for $0.10, or see the next card. If he buys the card, the dealer moves to the next player, but if he wants to see the next card, then he can no longer fold nor buy the card exposed.
        2. The next card is exposed: The player can buy this card for $0.20 or see the next card. If they buy the card, the dealer moves to the next player, but if they want to see the next card, then they can no longer buy the card exposed.
        3. The next card is exposed: The player can buy this card for $0.30 or buy the next card for $0.50 blind.
        4. Any cards exposed remain up for the next player.
     3. If 2 cards are exposed:
     4. The player can either fold, buy the first card for $0.10, buy the second for $0.20, or see the next card. If they buy the card, the dealer moves to the next player, but if they want to see the next card, then they can no longer fold nor buy the card exposed.
     5. The next card is exposed: The player can buy this card for $0.30 or buy the next card for $0.50 blind.
     6. Any cards exposed remain up for the next player.
     7. If 3 cards are exposed:
        1. The player can either fold, buy the first card for $0.10, buy the second for $0.20, buy the third card for $0.30, or buy the next card for $0.50 blind.
        2. Any cards exposed remain up for the next player.
  2. Each round of dealing up-cards should start one player further to the left then it did the last time, and should start with the cards that were exposed during the last round. Down cards always start to the dealer's left.
  3. Any cards that are still exposed when the round of down-cards is to be dealt are buried.

Baseball

• Maximum Number of Players: 6
• Wild Cards: 3s and 9s
• The Game:
  1. If a player is dealt a 3 up, then that player has to pay $0.50 or fold before another card is dealt.
  2. If a player is dealt a 4 up, then that player gets an additional card dealt face up before the next player gets dealt to, if this card is also a 4 then that player gets an additional card dealt face up.
  3. The game is dealt and played like standard 7 Stud.
• Variants:
  • Make 3s cost more/less -- when I first learned Baseball, 3s meant match the pot or fold.
  • Make 3s free, but players pay for 4s.
  • 4-of-clubs does not get a player a card, this way 7 people can play.
  • Add a joker (or two), give it a name and meaning (i.e. pinch-hitter: wild, umpire: player dealt it is out, ...), now 7 people can play.
  • Midnight (Blind, Night) Baseball: All 7 cards are dealt down to each player, players cannot look at their cards. Play goes as follows:
    1. The player to the dealers left flips over a card, then starts a betting round.
    2. The player to his left flips over cards until he has the highest hand showing or reveals all of his cards, then starts a betting round.
    3. Play continues around the table until players have exposed all of their cards and/or one player is left.
    If a players flips over a 3, then that player has to pay $0.50 or fold. If a player flips over a 4, then that player gets an additional card down.
  • Baseball With Rain-outs: If the Queen-of-Spades is dealt up (or is flipped up in Midnight), then the hand immediately ends. All players that are still in muck their hands, re-ante, and the hand is re-dealt to just those players. After three rain-outs, a dome is built over the stadium, preventing further rain-outs.
  • Baseball With Strikes: If the Ace-of-Diamonds is dealt up (or is flipped up in Midnight), then the game is over, the pot stays, and the new dealer can call any game he wishes. Everyone loves when this happens, and what makes them happier is calling a friendly game of Deadly 69s or some other suitable Match Pot game as the next dealer.
  • Little League: Five Stud Baseball. Note that this changes the maximum number of players to 9.
  • Football: 3s and 6s are wild, 3s cost, and 4s get you another card.

Change the Diaper (Dirty Schultz)

• Maximum Number of Players: 7
• Wild Cards: See below
• The Game:
  1. 7 Stud, but whenever a natural pair is dealt up to a player, the next card in the deck is dealt up in the center as a marker. All cards with the same rank of the marker are wild. If another pair is later dealt up, the next card from the deck replaces the marker, which means that the wild card will probably change.
  2. Each player's seventh card is dealt up. However, a player may pay $0.25 and have their seventh card dealt down, thereby decreasing the chance that the wild card marker will change.

Indian Poker

• Maximum Number of Players: 7
• Wild Cards: The card on your forehead
• The Game:
  1. Each player takes the first card they were dealt, and without looking at it puts it on his forehead so that everyone else can see it.
  2. The rest of the game is dealt and played like standard 7 Stud, except the card on each player's forehead is wild for him and is part of his hand.

Position Poker

• Maximum Number of Players: 7
• Wild Cards: 8s and see below
• The Game:
  1. The game is dealt and played like standard 7 Stud, with the following additional rules:
     1. In addition to 8s being wild for all players, each player has another, different wild card depending on position from the dealer's left. The first player to the dealer's left has Aces wild, the second player has 2s wild, the third player has 3s wild, etc.
     2. If a player gets his specific wild card in Spades down, then he wins half the pot after the showdown. If more than one player gets his Spade wild card down, then those players split that half of the pot. For example, if the first player to the dealer's left gets the Ace-of-Spades down, then he will win (or split) half of the pot after the showdown.
     3. If a player gets his specific wild card in Spades up, then the hand immediately ends, all players still in re-ante, and the game is re-dealt to those remaining players. For example, if the first player to the dealer's left gets the Ace-of-Spades up, then the game will be re-dealt to those players that have not folded.
• Suggestions: Nate, the person who sent me this game, had the following two items as rules in his game. Because my friends and I don't like anting too much money, I've left them out of my "standard" rules.
  • Start with a $1.00 ante.
  • Make the antes grow progressively by $0.25.

Roll-Your-Own

• Maximum Number of Players: 7
• Wild Cards: Low card down
• The Game:
  1. Each player is dealt 3 cards.
  2. Players choose which card they would like to show, then the dealer says, "1-2-3-flip," players flip over the card chosen.
  3. Bet, deal 1 down, then players choose and flip a card as described above.
  4. Bet, deal 1 down, then players choose and flip a card as described above.
  5. Bet, deal 1 down, then players choose and flip a card as described above.
  6. The dealer then asks each player if he'd like his last card up or down, if he wants it up it costs $0.50 and if he wants it down it's free. Players may want the last card up to protect high wild cards.
  7. Bet and show. High hand takes the pot.
• Variants:
  • Roll-The-Other-Guy's: Players randomly pick which card the player to their right should flip. Players still get to choose for themselves if they want the last card dealt up or down.

Show Five

• Maximum Number of Players: 7
• Wild Cards: None
• High-Low Split
• The Game:
  1. Deal 7 cards down to each player. Players can look and arrange their cards at any time.
  2. Dealer says, "1-2-3-flip," and players flip over their top card.
  3. Bet, then flip the next card as described above.
  4. Bet, then flip the next card as described above.
  5. Bet, then flip the next card as described above.
  6. Bet, declare, and show. High and low split the pot.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

• Maximum Number of Players: 7
• Wild Cards: See below
• The Game:
  1. Players are dealt 2 down and 1 up, and 3 cards are put in the middle of the table.
  2. Bet, then deal 1 card up, and then flip the first of the 3 cards in the middle of the table. This is The Good, and all cards of the same rank are designated wild (but The Good card itself is not shared).
  3. Bet, then deal 1 card up, and then flip the second of the 3 cards in the middle of the table. This is The Bad, and all cards of the same rank (face up or face down) must be discarded.
  4. Bet, then deal 1 card up, and then flip the last of the 3 cards in the middle of the table. This is The Ugly, and all players who have an up-card of the same rank must fold.
  5. Bet, then deal 1 card down.
  6. Bet and show. High hand takes the pot.
• Variants:
  • High-Low Split, declare after the last betting round.