Poker info X
Declaration in a poker game which is played as high/low split is followed by showdown whereby the player who declared he would play high and happens to be with the highest hand wins the top half of the pot with the bottom half going to him who declared to play low and holds the lowest cards. If none of the players declared for playing in either high or low, then the winner of one half of the pot also gets the other half. So, if no player declared to play for high, then the one who had the lowest hand also wins the entire pot.
For players who declare to swing, that is play for both high and low hands, qualifying hands are must to compete for the pot. One among several rules of gameplay for this situation says a player intending to swing must either win or tie both high and low to get his pot share. If ties are acceptable then he who has the highest hand but a tie in the low, wins three quarters of the pot and the rest is won by the other tied player. If gameplay forbids ties, then the player who swings must emerge as a single winner on both sides and even getting a tie on one side and winning the other does not give him any pot. This is a very common poker rule but it robs the game of its thrill as players do not risk a swing declaration. This has led to adaptation of rules where ties are accepted.
If a swing player fails to win one of the two hands, then the player with second best hand is awarded even that half of the pot which the swing player won. This rule is popular among players as it makes declaration a very tactical affair. So if a swing player wins the high and loses or ends up with a tie in the low, in a game that don’t allows ties, then the player with the best low hand would win the entire pot.
