the pot of $37 goes to Carol. Popularity Since its popularity during the American Civil War, five-card stud has seen a gradual decline in its popularity. Despite this drop in status, it is still enjoyed by many players. Major tournaments Five-card stud was one of the preliminary events in the World Series of Poker in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974. All four of these events were won by Bill Boyd (he won a total of $80,000 from these four events) – the only WSOP bracelets he won. Due to the declining popularity of five-card stud, it was left out of the 1975 World Series of Poker and has been absent from all subsequent World Series of Poker schedules. Although five-card stud has not been featured in major tournaments since the 70s, it was occasionally still offered in the 1990s in both Europe and North America. Cash games Five-card stud was limited to small home games and small casino games until becoming available at some online poker cardrooms. Variants Traditional five-card stud involves one hole card with four cards face-up, making it simple for even a novice to read the possible hand strength of an opponent effectively. The transparency of a player's hand cuts out much of the element of uncertainty found in more popular games like Texas hold 'em, Omaha hold 'em and Seven-card stud. In order to enlarge that element of uncertainty variants increase the number of hole cards, add a high-low split, play with a stripped deck, introduce a twist round, enable the player to do a 'roll your own' game or even create new and interesting hand rankings. High-Low The game can be played with low hand values, in which case the best low hand showing starts each betting round instead of the best high hand showing. Also, the highest-ranking card must pay the bring-in if it is played with a bring-in. At the end of all betting rounds, the total pot is split into two - one for low-ranking hands, the other for high-ranking hands - and the hands are evaluated based on both low-ranking criteria (for the low pot) and high-ranking criteria (for the high pot). When playing High-Low it is common to use the Ace-to-five low hand ranking to evaluate the low hands and use the standard hand ranking when evaluating high hands. In the United Kingdom, however, the use of Ace-to-six low hand