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Poker/Miscellaneous game
Though called "stud", this is a combination stud/community card game that was popular at MIT in the 1960s, in which players receive individual downcards, individual upcards, and community cards. Many variations on this are possible by changing what kinds of cards and how many are dealt in various rounds.
One difficulty with such a combination is deciding the betting order: in stud games, the player with the best upcards showing bets first in each round (except sometimes the first, where the worst upcard is forced to begin the betting with a /Bring-in). In community card games, each betting begins with the same player (because there generally are no upcards), making it more positional. Oxford stud chooses to use the players' individual upcards for this purpose, which makes it play more like stud.
First, each player is dealt two downcards and one upcard as in seven-card stud, followed by a first betting round. Like stud, the game is usually played with a /Bring-in, the lowest upcard being forced to pay it, and betting follows after that. After the first round is complete, two community cards are dealt to the table, followed by a second betting round, beginning with the player with the highest-ranking incomplete poker hand (as in stud) made from his upcard plus the two community cards. For example, if one player has a K upcard, and a second player has a 7 upcard, and the community cards are 10-7, the second player bets first (since he has a pair of 7s, and the other player only has K-high). Then a second upcard is dealt to each player, followed by a third betting round, again beginning with the player who can make the best partial hand with his two upcards and the board. Finally, a third community card is dealt to table, followed by a fourth betting round and showdown. Note that as with Mississippi stud, each player has five cards of his hand exposed at this point (two of his own plus three on the board), so it is possible for a flush or straight to be the high hand for the purpose of first bet. At showdown each player makes the best five-card hand he can from the four cards he is dealt plus the three community cards, in any combination. This game is usually played /High-low split.
Just as Oxford stud is a mixed stud/community card version of Texas hold'em, Billabong is a mixed version of Manila. Each player is dealt two downcards and one upcard. Low upcard starts the betting with a /Bring-in if you are playing with one, otherwise high card starts the betting. Next, two community cards are dealt, followed by a second betting round, beginning with the player with the best exposed partial poker hand (counting the community cards, as in Oxford stud). Then a third community card is dealt, followed by a third betting round. Finally a fourth community card and fourth betting round and showdown. Each player plays the best five-card hand he can make from the three in his hand plus the four on the board in any combination.
Shanghai is the same game with an extra hole card, but no more than two hole cards play. That is, the game begins with each player being dealt three downcards and one upcard; each player must discard one of his hole cards at some point during the game as determined ahead of time. The most common variation is to discard immediately as in Pineapple; the second most common is to discard just before showdown as in Tahoe.
Each player antes a predetermined amount, usually 5 times a regular ante. Each player is given two face down cards. The players each then take a poker chip underneath the table to declare "in", or "out". All hands are declared at the same time. The "out" players may throw in thier cards and have nothing to fear for now. The "in" hands are compared. Two aces is the highest hand followed down by pairs accordingly, then high card. The highest "in" hand takes the pot, while the other "in" hands MATCH the pot (that is, if the pot was $50, each losing "in" player puts $50 in the pot). The cards are gathered, shuffled, and delt again. Should there be a tie, (i.e. two aces vs. two aces) all "in" players are considered to have lost. Should nobody be "in", the pot stays and the cards are delt again. Should nobody else be "in" to replace the pot. The "in" player recives what is called a "leg", an arbitrary way of keeping track of how many times a person was "in" unopossed. The first player with three legs wins the pot and the game is over.