Oxford Stud

Even though it’s called “Stud”, Oxford is more like a hybrid between Stud and Community Card poker. It mixes elements from both genres, and the result is something that will drive even the best poker player bananas. Add to all that the fact that it’s usually played with a high-low split.

If you can determine what position gives you an advantage at this table, you have all my respect.

The game begins just like 7-Card Stud, with each of the players getting two hole-cards and a face-card. It is usually played with a bring-in, so the guy with the lowest face-card will have to start the betting.

After the first round concludes, (it all goes down in a clockwise direction as usual) two community cards are tossed onto the board.

The second betting round begins with the person who has the highest showing poker hand, made up by his face-card and the two community cards. (pairs beat high-cards, trips beat pairs and so on) After the second betting round is over, each player gets another up-card.

The next round of betting –again – starts with the player who has the best partial poker hand (this time made up of 4 cards – two off the table and the his two upcards)

The third community card brings about the final betting round. The person with the best showing poker hand will start the betting, and mind you, because there are three community cards out there, and each player has two upcards, this poker hand will be made up of 5 cards. In this respect, note that straights and flushes are also considered in deciding which of the hands are higher.

The last betting round is followed by the showdown upon which – I almost said it – the player with the highest hand wins. In fact, the pot is split between the highest hand and the lowest qualifying low-hand.

I am an adept of basing my decisions on position – especially when I play Texas Holdem. Omaha Hi-Lo is more of a headache, but this game has to be the definition of position-nightmare.