Rules of High-Low Split

This name covers several popular forms of poker. The game may be five-card draw, five-card stud, or seven-card stud, and in the showdown the best low hand and the best high hand split the pot. Sometimes, however, the rules may require that players have to declare - either simultaneously or consecutively - whether they are going for high, for low, or for both.

In five-card high-low split games the best low hand is always A,2,3,4,5, as in draw lowball. In seven stud games the best low hand is sometimes A,2,3,4,6, with straights and flushes counted as high. Aces always count both as low cards and high cards. (Hence, two aces may be a low pair as well as a high pair.) In stud high-low split games, the high hand on board usually starts each betting round.

A variation of high-low split requires a player to have an 8 low or better to qualify for low. If no one has an 8 low or better, the best high hand wins the whole pot.