What is the house edge in Mississippi Stud?

With optimal strategy the house edge is about 4.91% of the ante. Because the average total wager runs around 3.6 units, the loss measured against everything you bet, the element of risk, is only about 1.37%.

How do you play Mississippi Stud?

You make an ante, then receive two hole cards and three community cards face down. You see your two cards, then each community card is revealed one at a time. Before each reveal you either fold or raise one to three times the ante. Your final five-card hand is paid on the pay table; there is no dealer hand to beat.

What is the basic Mississippi Stud strategy?

Score your cards: a Jack through Ace is 2 points and a 6 through 10 is 1 point. With two cards, raise 3x with any pair and 1x with at least two points. As community cards appear, raise 3x with made hands and strong straight-flush draws, and 1x with flush draws, low pairs, and enough points. Never make a 2x raise; the right raise is always 1x or 3x.

Is the Mississippi Stud trainer free?

Yes. The trainer runs entirely in your browser with nothing to download, and it grades every decision against optimal play for free.

Casino Trainer Practice mode · play money

Strategy Trainer

Mississippi Stud Trainer

Make the raise or fold call on 3rd, 4th, and 5th Street. Every decision is graded against optimal play, with the reason it is right.

Place your ante Pick a chip, then deal.

Community cards

Your hand

Ante · $10

$1,000

Bankroll

Decision accuracy

Hands played

Net result

Auto deal next hand

Recent hands

No hands yet. Deal to start.

This is the complete optimal strategy. Score every card first: a Jack through Ace is worth 2 points, a 6 through 10 is worth 1 point, and a 2 through 5 is worth nothing. Read each list top to bottom and take the first line that fits your hand. The right raise is always 1x or 3x; a 2x raise is never correct.

High J Q K A · 2 pts Mid 6 7 8 9 10 · 1 pt Low 2 3 4 5 · 0 pts

3rd Street · two cards

Raise 3xAny pair.
Raise 1xTwo or more points (any two of J through A, or one high plus a mid).
Raise 1x6-5 suited.
FoldEverything else.

4th Street · three cards

Raise 3xAny made hand: a pair of 6s or better, or trips.
Raise 3x3 to a royal flush (suited 10 through A).
Raise 3x3 to a straight flush, no gaps, low card 5 or higher.
Raise 3x3 to a straight flush, one gap, with at least one high card.
Raise 3x3 to a straight flush, two gaps, with at least two high cards.
Raise 1xAny other 3 to a flush.
Raise 1xA low pair, 2s through 5s.
Raise 1x3 or more points.
Raise 1x3 to a straight, no gaps, low card 4 or higher.
Raise 1x3 to a straight, one gap, with two mid cards.
FoldEverything else.

5th Street · four cards

Raise 3xAny made hand: a pair of 6s or better, two pair, trips, or quads.
Raise 3x4 to a flush.
Raise 3x4 to an open straight, 8-high or better.
Raise 1xAny other straight draw.
Raise 1xA low pair, 2s through 5s.
Raise 1x4 or more points.
Raise 1x3 mid cards, only if you already raised 3x on an earlier street.
FoldEverything else.

Pay table

Royal flush	500 to 1
Straight flush	100 to 1
Four of a kind	40 to 1
Full house	10 to 1
Flush	6 to 1
Straight	4 to 1
Three of a kind	3 to 1
Two pair	2 to 1
Pair, J or better	1 to 1
Pair, 6s to 10s	Push
Anything lower	Loss

Pays on your final five-card hand against the multiple of your total wager. There is no dealer hand to beat.

Common mistakes

Folding small pairs. Even a pair of 2s is worth a 3x raise on 3rd Street. A pair never loses outright and can grow.
Raising 3x too early. On 3rd Street only a pair earns 3x. Two high cards is a 1x raise, not 3x.
Chasing weak points. A single mid card with junk is a fold on 3rd Street. Two points is the floor.
Limping with a made hand. A pair of 6s or better on a later street is always 3x, never 1x.
The 2x trap. A 2x raise is never the right call on any street.

Strategy by Joseph Kisenwether, verified optimal by Michael Shackleford. Source: Wizard of Odds. Optimal play gives a house edge near 4.91% of the ante, about 1.37% of the average total wager.

About this Mississippi Stud trainer

Mississippi Stud is a five-card poker game where you are not trying to beat a dealer. You ante, then build one five-card hand from two hole cards and three community cards, and you get paid only if that hand is a pair of 6s or better. The skill is knowing when to put more money in and when to let the ante go, because you choose to raise one or three times the ante before each community card is turned over.

Why decisions matter

Most of the house edge in Mississippi Stud comes from players raising on hands they should fold and folding hands they should push. The math is unusual: a pair of 6s through 10s only returns your money, yet you still raise mid pairs hard because they cannot lose and they make trips, full houses, and quads. A weak two-card holding that misses should be released before you pour three more bets into it. This trainer drills exactly those moments.

How the trainer works

Pick an ante and deal. You see your two cards, then face the 3rd Street decision: raise 3x, raise 1x, or fold. The first community card turns over and you decide again on 4th Street, then once more on 5th Street. After each call the trainer tells you whether it matched optimal play and explains the reasoning, so the chart turns into instinct. Your decision accuracy, bankroll, and net result update on every hand, and a running log keeps your last several hands in view.

Practice without the cost

Everything here is play money. You can test the strategy through hundreds of hands, see how often a fold was correct even when the cards would have hit, and learn to trust the chart before you ever sit at a real table. The full strategy, points system, and pay table live under the Strategy tab for reference while you play.