Submitted by TwoGun on 2004-07-29
I'm not sure this is the proper name for the game; I think many people call it different names. Mexican Stud is another popular name I believe.
Basically, each player's lowest hole card is wild. Thus, if someone had 368 hole cards and 3999 showing, both 3's are wild. That person would have five of a kind 9's as his hand.
Some players play according to standard 7 card stud rules. However, others will add a little twist to the game by dealing all players 3 cards face down at first. The players all choose a card to flip up at the same time. Play then proceeds in normal 7 card stud/Hi-Lo Cherry'O fashion. However, for the seventh card, players can choose whether or not the card is dealt face up or face down.
The reason players may want the card dealt face up is in case they want to keep their wild card and the wild card is fairly high. For example, if you hold 99 in the hole and 9AA4 on the board, you certainly want to keep your 9's wild. As of right now, you have the best hand possible- 5 aces. However, if you are dealt a deuce down, then your hand would change to four 9's (now the deuce would be wild, not the 9). Thus, you would opt to have your final card dealt face up, so your 9's are kept wild for sure.
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