In a home game, you can play that straights and flushes count, or that they don't. It should be clarified before play begins, or before each high-low game, if the dealer wants to change the house rule. In a casino, straights and flushes are ignored for low, but home players can and do set their own rule. In addition, you should know how to handle "pigs" in advance (going for both high and low). If a player loses one way and loses the other, does the second place player who was beaten by the pig split the pot, or not? If a "pig" ties either way, can they still split the pot? There are other basic questions, but that's all I can think of right now.

In other words, it depends.

Michael Siskin