Nearly all video poker games feature standard 5 card hands. But Big Split Poker is an exception because you're dealt 8 cards and arrange them into 5 and 3 card hands. This creates an interesting dynamic that's not seen in other video poker variations. In fact, it feels like Pai Gow poker, where you create 5. Split Card Poker is available in the following base game versions: Bonus Poker Bonus Poker Deluxe Deuces Wild Deuces Wild Bonus Poker Double Bonus Poker Double Double Bonus Poker Jacks or Better Joker Poker Super Aces Bonus Poker Super Double Bonus Poker Triple Double Bonus Poker. Withafivecreditsidebetplayersaredealtthe SplitCard™thatisonerankhigher,onerank lower,orthesamevalueofthecardthatissplit. Split Card is a video poker variant that is spread at a few Las Vegas casinos. Like many new video poker game these days, the bet must be doubled to participate in the bonus split card feature. The split card is a card that comes up about once for every ten dealt hands. It is two cards in one. When to Split Pots. Pots get split in a variety of situations: When two or more players have the exact same five-card hand. Keep in mind that in Texas Hold'Em, it's possible that every player plays the board, meaning that everyone's best hand is made by the five community cards; in this case, every player would take an equal portion of the pot.
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.[1]
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 is 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 a hand of eight-high or lower 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 cannot 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).
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.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Zee, Ray (1992). High-Low-Split Poker, Seven-Card Stud and Omaha Eight-or-better for Advanced Players. Two Plus Two Pub.; 2nd edition, ISBN9781880685105[page needed]
How to Split Pots
On the surface, splitting pots is easy enough: simply take the pot, split it evenly, and each player takes their winnings.
This is especially easy when two players have the same five-card hand: each takes half. If it's three or four or more players all with the same hand, divide the pot by the number of players, and each player collects their winnings.
Split Card Video Poker
But things can get tricky fast.
Especially when using the ace-to-five low method, it is 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 a hand of eight-high or lower 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 cannot 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).
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.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Zee, Ray (1992). High-Low-Split Poker, Seven-Card Stud and Omaha Eight-or-better for Advanced Players. Two Plus Two Pub.; 2nd edition, ISBN9781880685105[page needed]
How to Split Pots
On the surface, splitting pots is easy enough: simply take the pot, split it evenly, and each player takes their winnings.
This is especially easy when two players have the same five-card hand: each takes half. If it's three or four or more players all with the same hand, divide the pot by the number of players, and each player collects their winnings.
Split Card Video Poker
But things can get tricky fast.
High-Low
In high-low games, the easiest split pot is when one player wins the high and the other wins the low. Here, you simply divide by two and each player collects their winnings. A player with the best high and the best low hand 'scoops' the whole thing.
But, especially in games like Omaha High-Low, when lots of players might all have the same low or the same high, the pot needs to be split along more complicated lines.
For instance, more than one player might all have the same low hand--this is easy enough if a board contains lots of low cards. On the other hand, multiple players might share the same high--for example, they are all able to make the same straight.
Video Poker Split Card
In these cases, the easiest way to manage the pot is to first split it in two: one high pot and one low pot. Then, the players who share the same high divvy up the high pot, and the players with the same low divvy up the low pot. (This is the same way you would divvy up a pot in a game like Chicago: split the pot in two, with one half going to the player with the high spade in the hole, and the other half going to the player with the best five-card hand--and yes, sometimes those halves get scooped by the same player!)
The most common example of this is quartering: two players have the same low hand, but one has a better high hand. So they split the low, and one player takes the high, so that one player gets 75% of the whole pot and the other gets 25%--a quarter. But it's not uncommon for three or more players to play for the same high or low, so players might get one sixth or one eighth or an even smaller fraction of the pot, while one player ends up take two-thirds of five eights for themselves.
Sidepots
When one player is all in, they can win the main pot: the pot that every active player can theoretically win. But other players can continue betting amongst each other by placing their chips into a side pot: a pot that only some active players can win. And yes, sometimes the side pots can get even bigger than the main one!
On the surface, side pots are relatively simple: the main pot usually gets stacked near the player who is all in, and the other two players can bet into the side pot. But, when multiple players are all in, there might be more than one side pot: for instance, a player is blinded all in, another player goes all in on the flop, and other players continue betting through the river and turn. Imagine what can happen if there are three or four or more players all in at the same time, with side pots stacked all around the table, while two big stacks keep betting into one another--complicated enough at a Texas Hold'Em table, and even more so at a High-Low game, where all those pots could get split up even more!
How To Play Split Poker
In these cases, the key is remembering who can win each pot. At casinos, this is simple enough, since the dealer sorts out each pot. But at home games, it's crucial to remember who can win each pot: every player can win the main pot, including the player who went all in first; then the next side pot can be won by everyone who could match the next all-in bet; and so on and so on. If it sounds complicated, don't be afraid to take extra steps to sort it out--if you play a lot of Omaha High-Low, you might consider keeping a pad and paper at the table!
