Everything about High-low Split totally explained
» For methods of splitting a pot, see split (poker).
In traditional
poker games, the player with the best traditional
hand wins the whole
pot.
Lowball variations award the pot to the lowest hand, by any of several methods (see
Low hand (poker)).
High-low split games are those in which the pot is divided between the player with the best traditional hand (called the
high hand) and the player with the
low hand.
There are two common methods for playing high-low split games, called
declaration and
cards speak. In a declaration game, each player declares (either verbally or using markers such as chips) whether he wishes to contest for the high hand or the low hand. The lowest hand among those who declared low wins that half of the pot, and the highest hand among those who declared high wins that half (for further details, see
declaration). In a cards speak game, all players simply reveal their cards at
showdown and the hands are evaluated by all players; high hand wins half of the pot and low hand wins the other half.
Especially when using the
ace-to-five low method, it's possible for one player to have both the low hand and the high hand, and therefore win all of the pot (called "scooping," "hogging" the pot, or "going pig"). In the event more than one player ties for either high or low, the pot can be further split into quarters or smaller fractions. For example, if one player has the high hand on showdown, and two other players tie for the best low hand, the high hand wins half of the pot and each low hand wins only a quarter of the pot.
It is common, especially in cards speak games, to require a certain hand value or better to win the low half of the pot, called a
qualifier. For example in an "eight or better to qualify low" game, a player with an eight-high hand (or better low such as seven-high) is entitled to win the low half of the pot (assuming his hand defeats all other low hands), but a player with a 10-high or 9-high hand can't win, even if his hand is the lowest. In this case, the high hand wins the entire pot. There is generally no qualifier to win high, although one common variant is
any pair/no pair, where a hand of at least a pair is required to win high and any hand with
no pair is required to win low.
In high-low split games where each player is dealt more than five cards, each player chooses five of his cards to play as his high hand, and/or five of his cards to play as his low hand. The sets may overlap: for example, in
seven-card stud played high-low split, a player dealt
7-7-6-4-4-3-2 can play a high hand of
7-7-4-4-6 (two pair, sevens and fours) and a low hand of
7-6-4-3-2 (seven-high).
Note that
bluffs can be especially powerful in high-low split games, because a player making a successful bluff wins the whole pot rather than having to share it. This fact also makes bluffs less likely to succeed.
Further Information
Get more info on 'High-low Split'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://high-low_split.totallyexplained.com">High-low split Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
