OBJECTIVE: The best five card poker hand, out of seven cards, wins the pot.

1. Ante, then deal two cards down and one up: Low card must bet in limit-betting games, high card must bet or fold in big-bet games.
2. Deal each active player two more upcards; bet from highest hand.
3. Deal each player a fourth upcard: bet from highest hand.
4. Deal each player a fifth upcard: bet from highest hand and showdown.

Starting and raising requirements in Mississippi are about the same as seven-card stud, with some marginal hands being made playable by the two card flop: high pairs decrease in profitability, while straights and flushes improve. Small pairs with kickers do better against the high pairs, but lose more often to straights and flushes, so they remain about the same. Rolled-up trips occur in 1/424 hands. Mississippi is playable (in the last-card-down limit-betting version) on any seven-card stud simulator by turning off all fourth-street betting.

Betting structures: Half-pot, pot-limit and no-limit betting: in big-bet (i.e., non-limit) games, all forms of stud require an ante from each player, with the highest card or hand speaking first in all rounds of play: in the first round the high card must either bet or fold, in later rounds the high hand can either bet or check. The initial bet size is at the discretion of the opener and can usually be as small as one ante, or up to the maximum bet size allowed in the form used: i.e., half the total antes in half-pot, the total antes in full-pot and as much as you wish in no-limit.

Limit betting structures: there is an ante, a compulsory bring-in from the low card and bets typically double for the last two rounds, though this can be varied according to player's tastes. The bets are usually capped at three per round, except in head-to-head pots. (There is a good case for doubling the bet again in the last round of all limit betting games - or even in every round - to increase the effect of bluffing, but that's another story.)

1. Low ante: ante one unit, bring-in 2 units, raise 10 units. The maximum bet for the first two rounds is 10 units, with bets doubling for the third and fourth rounds.
2. High ante: ante four units, bring-in five units, raise 10 units. Bets double to 20 units for the third and fourth rounds.