The Eight-or-Better High-Low Stud

Stud poker games, like draw poker games, have variants that are high-low split. As the term implies, the winning pot is divided into two. One half of it goes to the poker player who holds the best high hand, and the other half is taken by the poker player who has the best low hand. Among stud poker games, the most popular high-low variant is the one called "Eight-or-better High-Low Stud". This particular poker variant has rules that hinges on the 8-card.

Here are the specific rules:

- To qualify in winning the low half of the pot, a poker player must have an 8-high hand or lower. This means that if the poker player has formed 8-7-6-5-4, he may win the low hand. Of course, other low hand combinations are better than the one already described. The best low hand is 5-4-3-2-A.

- Since each player will receive seven cards, there will be several hands that can be formed. Sometimes, a poker player can compete for both the high hand and the low hand. For example, a poker player receives these seven cards: A-A-8-6-6-4-3. These cards can form a high hand of A-A-6-6-8. And these cards can also form a low hand of A-3-4-6-8. There are also times that a poker player can play the low hand only or the high hand only. For example, a poker player may be dealt with K-9-8-7-7-6-5. These cards can form the 9-high straight, but there is no 8-high or lower.

- Betting rules for the Eight-or-better high-low stud are almost similar to other high-low split poker games, with few modifications. But, basically, the betting adheres to the standard high-hand stud. The low card provides the forced bet called "bring in" during the first round. Then, betting is begun by the player with the highest showing poker hand in the second and later rounds.

- During the showdown, the poker players don't conduct a declaration phase. The "card speak" rule applies. That is, the poker players do not indicate which half of the pot they intend to win. Winning hands will be based on the cards only and not on the intent of the poker players.

- The winning pot, as stated before, is split into two equal parts. One part is awarded to the poker player with the best high hand. The other part is for the poker player with the best low hand. But if there is no poker player who qualifies for a low hand, the entire pot will be taken by the poker player who won the best high. And if there is no poker player who qualifies for a high hand (a rare case), the whole pot goes to the poker player who has the best low hand.

Other names for the Eight-or-better high-low stud are the "Seven Eight" or simply the "Stud Eight". The former indicates that this particular poker game is derived from the basic Seven-Card Stud

Additional note: This particular poker variant is sometimes played with one bug placed in the deck. Other poker players opt to place a second bug.