Hi Low Poker Online

High-Low Five-Card Stud

This is a dynamite poker game and also a rather poor one since the ace becomes so valuable. A pair of aces beats any other pair both ways. An ace-seven-four-three-two beats seven five-four-three-two both ways, etc. Bad players feel they can stay with anything in this game. Don't stay with a high card up and a low card in the hole. Anything less is playable, but again bewares of the man with an ace up or a man who catches an ace. Unlike most High-Low games, where the proper tactics are to play for low, in this game the best start is a high pair back to back. The reason for this is that, no matter how good your hand may look for low, you can be ruined if the last card pairs you. On the other hand, if you start out for high, your hand can get no worse.

It is customary in each game player to have the option of turning up his hole card and taking his last card face down. The correct procedure in this connection is for all players, starting at the dealer's left, to announce their wishes either by saying "up," if they want the last card up, or by turning up their hole card if they want the last card down. The dealer should not deal to anyone until all players have made their announcements. In the event that the dealer turns up a card that he should have dealt down, the same rules apply as in the case of a card exposed in error in Draw Poker.

Get Some Advantages

The last players to receive cards have a slight advantage in this game, but the advantage is much less than if the dealer gives cards before getting all decisions. There is opportunity for a considerable amount of maneuvering in connection with that last card. There are certain plays that are normal, but you should depart from the normal on occasion. For instance, suppose you show an eight, six, and five and have a deuce in the hole and every other player shows a nine or higher card. You turn up your deuce, take your last card face down, and now, if you draw a three, a four, or a seven, you have an absolute "immortal" for low against the rest of the poker online game. On the other hand, if you draw a second eight, you can still bet just as if you had an "immortal," and you are at least in an excellent position to have your bluff succeed. Accordingly, in this situation the average player automatically asks for his last card face down. Hence, when he fails to do so, there is a strong presumption that his hole card is either a very high one or pair’s one of the small cards he shows, and that actually he hopes to win the high half of the pot-not the low half.

Table Stakes Game

And now here is where the real expert in a Table Stakes game occasionally builds up a big pot. Even though he has a deuce in the hole, he takes his last card up. Now if he draws a three, the other players are very unlikely to suspect that he has an "immortal" low, since if he had it he would normally have taken his last card down. Therefore, he stands a very good chance of collecting all of someone's chips. On the other side of the picture there is the case of the player who shows a small pair. Now, if his other card gives him either three of a kind or a second pair, he naturally is not going to turn it up; whereas if it doesn't help him, he will turn it up so that if the fifth card helps him, his hand will be concealed. But the winning player should reverse this situation on occasion and, even though his hole card does not help his pair, take his last card up.