The games described on this page are based on stud poker and draw poker. Our descriptions and instructions assume you already know how to play the basic poker games. If you ever have questions or want to know more about any of these games, please let us know via our Contact Us page.

Most of the games described may be played as high-low split. Playing high-low split games introduces additional factors that must be considered if you are going to be a winning player. Read our playing tips for high-low split poker.

Got a favorite dealers choice poker game that's not included in our collection? Send it in and we might add it.

Read our general tips for dealer's choice poker.

Deal 2 cards face down to each player followed by a round of betting. Now, deal piles with 3 cards in each pile on the table equal to the number of players plus one. Each pile is to have 2 cards face down and 1 card face up, with the face up card on the top. Starting with the player to the dealer's left each player selects 1 of the piles, which now gives them a 5 card hand. The one remaining group of cards is mucked. After a round of betting, each player may discard and draw up to 2 cards. May be played high-low split.

Played exactly like 7 card stud. The variation is that it is played high-low split. The "8 or better" refers to the low hand, which must be 5 unmatched cards each of rank 8 or below. If no one has a qualifying low hand the entire pot goes to the high hand.

Many high-low split games can be played "8 or better". Sometimes players forget this important qualification. Make sure the low hand is shown and meets this requirement. Read our playing tips for high-low split.

Played exactly like 7 card stud. In High Chicago the highest spade that is one of a player's hole cards (not exposed card) splits the pot with the highest hand. Low Chicago is similar, but it is the lowest spade hole card that splits the pot with the highest poker hand. If no one has a spade as a hole card, the highest hand wins the entire pot.

Standard 7 card stud, but to win the pot a player must have at least 2 of the following 3 qualifiers:
1. the highest spade in the hole.
2. the lowest spade in the hole.
3. the best poker hand.
If no single player has 2 of the above qualifiers, the game is played again.

Each player is initially dealt 7 cards all of which are dealt down. NO player is allowed to look at any of their cards, they must keep them face down in a pile in front of them. The player to the dealer's left turns over one card. There is a round of betting. The next player turns over his cards one by one until he has a higher hand. This is followed by another betting round. This continues with every player turning over his cards until he either runs out of cards or has the highest hand exposed on the board.

7 card stud. The first 3 cards (2 down, 1 up) are dealt in the usual manner. The variation occurs on 4th, 5th and 6th streets. For each of these the same number of cards as there are remaining players are dealt face up on the table. The player with the lowest hand at that time is first to select his card from among those cards. Players select in order from lowest/worst to highest/best hand. 7th street is dealt as a down card in the usual manner. This variation should only be played for high hand, not high-low. The reason for this, is that the lowest card on 3rd street will get the first pick. All they will have to do from then on is pick the lowest card round after round and virtually guarantee themselves the winning low hand.

7 card stud. To start the game deal 4 cards face down to each player. From these 4 cards each player selects 1 card as their first up card, 2 as hole cards, 1 card to discard. Play then procedes as usual for 7 card stud.

The "Pineapple Principle" can be applied to just about any version of stud. Just make the obvious modifications to fit the game. For example, to use it with 5 card stud make an initial deal of 3 down cards. 1 is kept as the hole card, 1 as the first up card and 1 is discarded.

Razz is 7 card stud played for low only. Best hand is 5432A. Straights or flushes do not disqualify a hand. The low hand on the board begins each betting round.

Deal first card down, next 4 cards up and last card down. May be played high or high-low split.

Played exactly like 5 card stud. However, after all the cards have been dealt each player has an option to exchange or replace one of his cards for a pre-set fee. (You can set the fee at any price you wish, but don't make it too cheap or too expensive. About 5-10 times the ante seems right.) If an exposed (up) card is exchanged, the replacement card is dealt exposed. If a hole (down) card is exchanged, the replacement is dealt face down. Replacement options are offered 1 player at a time starting from the left of the dealer. If the replacement option is originally declined it can not be taken later. Replacement is an option, not a requirement. May be played high-low split.

Version of 5 card stud. Deal first card face down to each player as usual. For the next 4 up cards each player is given a choice. Start each round of cards by dealing 2 cards face up on table. The next player due to be dealt a card has the option of selecting 1 of those cards as his up card or he can receive the next unseen card from the top of the deck. If he selects one of the exposed cards, another card is dealt face up on the table to replace it and the next player in rotation has the same options in chosing the card he/she wants. If a player passes on the exposed cards and takes his next card off the deck, the 2 exposed cards remain for the following player to choose from. Once a complete round of cards has been selected the remaining exposed card(s) are mucked. Each round of card selection starts fresh. As usual, betting occurs between each round of card selection. An alternate method is to provide a choice from only 1 exposed card, rather than 2. Another option is to charge a fee whenever a player passes on the exposed card(s) and chooses the card from the deck. May be played high-low split.

A version of 5 card stud. Played as high-low split with hand qualifying requirements for both the high and low. The minimum hand needed to win high is a pair of jacks. The low hand must be 5 unpaired cards. Lowest hand is 5432A and staights and flushes do not disqualify the low hand. If there is a qualifying hand in one direction, but not the other, the single qualifying hand wins the entire pot. If no player has a qualifying hand, the game is re-played, but only with those players who stayed in the previous hand to the end.

Deal each player 4 hole cards. The board cards consist of 6 cards arranged in the shape of a pyramid of 3 horizontal steps or rows. The bottom row has 3 cards, the middle 2 cards and at the top is a single card. Players make their hand in one of 3 ways: Using all 3 cards in the bottom row plus 2 hole cards, using the 2 cards in the middle row plus 3 hole cards, or using the single card in the top row plus all 4 hole cards. Reveal the single top card first, the middle two next, and the bottom 3 last, with a round of betting between. May be played high-low split.

"Hex" as in hexagonal. Each player is dealt 4 hole cards. Six cards are placed face down on the table in a hexagon shape. 2 cards are revealed at a time in this order (starting with 1 at the top): 1&3, 4&6, 2&5. Players make their hand by choosing from any 3 consecutive board cards (ie. 123, 234, 345, 456, 561, 612) along with their 4 hole cards. May be played high-low split.

Players are dealt 4 hole cards. Four sets of two board cards are placed face down on the table. One entire set is revealed after each round of betting. Players make their hands by using 3 or 4 hole cards PLUS 1 or both cards of one of the sets. May be played high-low split. Click here for playing tips for Rock-leigh.

Place 5 cards face down on the table with 1 vertical row of 3 cards, and one card placed on either side of the middle card to form a horizontal row of 3 cards. Four cards are dealt to each player. Players select any 5 cards from their 4 hole cards plus the 3 cards in either the vertical row or the horizontal row to make their hand. Each down card is exposed after a round of betting, with the middle card exposed last. May be played high-low split.

Each player is dealt 4 hole cards. The board cards consist of 2 vertical columns of 3 cards each. A single "elevator" card is placed between the 2 vertical columns. Reveal one entire column, then the other and finally the single elevator card, with betting rounds between. Players may use any 2 cards in a horizontal row, plus the elevator card (ie 3 cards in total from the board). That is: both top cards, both middle cards or both bottom cards, plus the elevator card. (ie. the elevator card "moves" up or down to what ever horizontal row you want.) Vertical or diagnonal cards may not be used. Hands are made from the best 5 of 7 cards. May be played high-low split.

Deal each player 5 hole cards and follow with a round of betting. Place 4 cards face down on board. Reveal one board card at a time followed by a round of betting. Players may use any combination of 5 cards from their 5 hole cards and the 4 board cards. May be played high-low split.

A combination of 5 card draw and 5 card stud. Start the game by dealing and playing 5 card draw in the normal manner. After the draw and that betting round the game turns into a variation of 5 card stud. Each player arranges their cards in any order they wish and places them face down on the table in front of them. Two cards are revealed initially, but thereafter reveal cards one at a time with a round of betting in between. May be played high-low split.

5 card draw poker played as high-low split. Played exactly like traditional 5 card draw, except that each player must reveal to the other players the cards that they are discarding when they make their draw. This will provide information regarding whether a player is going for the high hand or the low hand. It also gives players information regarding the chances of drawing to their hand.

Draw poker played as low only. The best hand is 5432A. Only the ranks of the cards are important as straights and flushes are ignored.

A variation of draw poker which includes some common board cards. Each player is dealt 5 hole cards. Two cards are placed face down on the table. After a round of betting 1 of the cards is turned face up, another betting round and the second is turned up. Players may discard and draw up to 3 cards to their hole cards. Players must use all 5 hole cards OR 3 hole cards and both board cards to make their hand. (4 and 1 is not permitted.) May be played high-low split. With 5 hole cards and a draw of up to 3 cards, "52" is not usually recommended for more than 7 players since you will often run out of cards. (Should that happen, collect and re-shuffle discards and use them.) Click here for playing tips for 52 draw poker.

A variation of draw poker and similar to "52". Each player is dealt 4 hole cards. Two board cards as in "52-draw". After a round of betting 1 of the board cards is turned face up, another betting round and the second is turned up. Players may discard and draw up to 2 cards to their hole cards. Players make their hand by using any 5 of the 6 cards available to them (4 hole cards and 2 board cards). May be played high-low split. With only 4 hole cards and a maximum draw of 2 cards, "42" will usually accomodate up to 8 players. Click here for playing tips for 42 draw poker.

A three card poker game. Each player is dealt 3 down cards. There is an initial ante, but no further betting. There is no draw; there are no common cards. Best 3 card hand wins with this ranking: high card, pair, flush, straight, trips, straight flush (why is straight ranked higher than flush? see the probabilities of 3 card poker) After receiving and looking at cards each player must decide if they wish to drop out or stay in game. This is done by all players simultaneously declaring in or drop by means of chips: no chip in hand = drop. One chip in hand = play. Here is what happens after declaration:

If all players drop there is no winner. All players ante again and the game is replayed.

If more than 1 player stays in game there is a showdown. The highest hand wins the pot. However, the game does not end. Each loser must fund a new pot by paying in an amount of chips equal to the pot that was just won. Additionally, each player must re-ante. A new hand is dealt to compete for this new pot.

When only one player declares "in" that player wins the pot and the game ends.

The key elements to 3 card drop is that the game can not end until only one player declares "in" and that the game keeps repeating and the pot keeps increasing until that happens. There is the potential to create huge pots, win or lose large sums and create a lot of tension and ill-will between players. This is not a game for the faint of heart. You can limit the pots by reducing the additional antes to a fraction of the initial ante, stoping re-antes altogether after a few rounds and by exempting a loser from also having to make a re-ante. You may also wish to place a maximum cap on the amount losers must pay.

When there is a lot of money in the pot it may occur to you that the other players will be afraid to remain in the game and that you will be able to steal the pot with any hand just by having the nerve to declare "in". Find out if that is a good idea and get more tips for playing 3 card drop.

Play exactly like 3 card drop, but deal an additional hand to the "ghost" player. The "ghost" hand is only revealed when just one player declares "in". When that occurs, the "ghost" hand is exposed. The "in" player's hand must beat the ghost hand in order to win to pot. If it does not, that player must pay the pot and the game continues.

This version of 3 card drop will result in a quicker game, smaller pots and reduced likelihood that it will cost the loser(s) a lot of money. As in the long version, when only 1 player declares "in" they win the entire pot and when no one declares in the players re-ante and play again. However, when more than 1 player declares in the winner takes the pot plus each loser must match the pot and pay it to the winner. The game then ends

This game is played as low only. Lowest hand being 32A. Deal 3 cards to each player. There are 3 opportunities to draw cards with a betting round between each. Players may discard and draw up to 3 cards in each round. Re-shuffle and use discards if necessary.

As the 3 card version this is played low only with lowest hand being 5432A. Three opportunities for each player to discard and draw up to 4 cards in each. Betting rounds between each draw. Re-shuffle discards and use if necessary.

Outhouse has 2 pots. One is refered to as the "main pot" which builds throughout the game and is awarded at the end of the game to the best 5 card poker hand. Each round also has a "side pot" which is awarded to the best 2 card poker hand at the end of each round. A new side pot is created on each following round. There are a total of 3 rounds. An equal amount is always placed into each pot on ALL bets or raises. (i.e. to bet 4 chips, place 2 chips in each pot.) Outhouse derives its name from its unique "no flushing" rule. i.e. common flushes are not recognized as legimate hands, although straight flushes are.

1st Round: Start the game by dealing a total of 5 cards face down to each player with a round of betting after the 3rd, 4th, and 5th cards. Each player then selects 2 of their 5 cards and places them face down in front of them. Each player's 2 card hand is revealed and the best hand wins the first "side" pot. The money in the main pot remains. Each player keeps their remaining 3 cards. The exposed 2-card hands are shuffled back into the deck.

2nd Round: Each player is dealt 3 more cards face down, one card at a time with a round of betting between each card. For this round the deal and betting starts with the player who won the first pot. Again, all bets are split between the main pot and the new side pot. At the end of this round each player is now be holding 6 down cards - 3 from the initial deal, and 3 new ones. Again, each player places 2 cards face down in front of them, those cards are revealed and the best 2 card hand wins the side pot.

Final Round: Each player now has 4 cards remaining. Deal each player 3 more down cards, one at a time with a round of betting between each card. Start with the player who won the 2nd side pot. Each player places 2 cards face down in front of them, those cards are revealed and the best 2 card hand wins the side pot. Each player's remaining 5 cards are revealed and the best 5 card hand (except flushes) wins the main pot.

More Dealer's Choice poker games on Dealer's Choice Poker page 1 & Wild Card Poker.