Follow the Queen Rules
Follow the Queen is a wild-card Seven-Card Stud variant with a moving target. Queens are always wild — and so is the rank of whatever card is dealt face up right after a queen. Every time a new queen turns up, that secondary wild rank shifts to the next card exposed. It is one of the most volatile home games around, because the wild cards can change late in the hand.
A quick caveat on rules
Follow the Queen is a dealer-choice home game, not a standardized casino variant, so some details vary from table to table — most notably how the "last queen" case is handled when a queen is the final up-card, whether queens always stay wild, and whether the pot plays high-only or high-low. The rules below describe the most common version. Confirm the house rules before the first deal.
The objective
Make the best five-card poker hand, just as in Seven-Card Stud — but with wild cards in play. Because the secondary wild rank can change with each new face-up queen, part of the game is tracking which rank is currently wild and how a late queen could suddenly transform every hand at the table.
How a hand plays out
Dealt like Seven-Card Stud
The deal follows Seven-Card Stud exactly: two down and one up to begin, three more up cards, and a final down card, with a betting round on each street. Only the wild-card rule is layered on top.
Queens are wild, and the card after a queen
Queens are always wild. When a queen is dealt face up, the rank of the very next face-up card also becomes wild — for every player, not just the one who received it. That secondary wild rank stays in effect until another queen appears face up.
The wild rank can shift late
Each new face-up queen resets the secondary wild to whatever card follows it. A queen appearing on a late street can suddenly change which rank is wild, upending hands that looked finished. If a queen is the last up-card with nothing after it, a common rule is that only queens are wild that hand.
Popular variants
Whether queens stay wild
In the standard game queens are always wild in addition to the shifting rank. Some tables treat queens only as the trigger for the secondary wild and do not count them as wild themselves. This is a big swing in hand values, so settle it up front.
The last-queen case
When a queen is the final up-card and no card follows it, tables differ: the most common ruling is that there is no secondary wild that hand, but some deal a replacement up-card to set one. Because it can decide the pot, agree on the ruling in advance.
High-only vs. Hi-Lo
Most play Follow the Queen for high only, but a Hi-Lo split version exists, dividing the pot between the best high hand and the best qualifying low. With this many wild cards, low hands can be tricky to evaluate, so many groups keep it high-only.
A worked example
On third street a queen is dealt face up to one player. The very next up-card, dealt to another player, is a 7. From that moment, sevens are wild for everyone, on top of the always-wild queens.
Players holding sevens are suddenly delighted, and betting picks up as several hands improve. The secondary wild stays as sevens through the next street while no new queen appears.
Then, on sixth street, a second queen is dealt face up. The next card exposed is a 4, so fours become wild and sevens are wild no longer. Anyone who was leaning on sevens must rethink their hand entirely before showdown.
Tips for the home game
The single most useful habit is to say the current wild rank out loud each time it changes — it is easy to misread a hand when the wild card shifted two streets ago. Remember that any exposed queen threatens to move the wild rank again, so a hand is never truly safe until the deal is complete. And because five of a kind is genuinely possible here, do not overvalue a straight or flush the way you would in a game without wild cards. Above all, agree on the queens-stay-wild question and the last-queen ruling before you deal.
Frequently asked questions
What is Follow the Queen?
Follow the Queen is a Seven-Card Stud variant with shifting wild cards. Queens are always wild, and the rank of the card dealt face up immediately after a face-up queen also becomes wild for everyone. Each new face-up queen changes that secondary wild rank to whatever card is turned up next.
Which cards are wild?
Queens are permanently wild. In addition, one other rank is wild at any moment: the rank of the up-card that followed the most recent face-up queen. If a queen is later dealt face up, the next up-card sets a new secondary wild rank, and the old one stops being wild.
What happens if a queen is the last up-card?
This is an edge case that varies by table. A common ruling is that if a queen is the final up-card of the deal with no card following it, there is no secondary wild that hand and only queens are wild. Because rulings differ, agree on how the last-queen case is handled before you play.
Can you make five of a kind?
Yes. With queens plus a shifting secondary wild rank, there are often several wild cards live, and five of a kind is possible and beats a straight flush. The abundance of wild cards is what makes Follow the Queen so swingy compared with standard Stud.
Is it otherwise played like Seven-Card Stud?
Yes. The deal, the betting rounds, and the structure are those of Seven-Card Stud — two down, four up, one down, with betting between streets. Only the wild-card rule is added. If you know Stud, you already know the mechanics.
Related games
Informational only — this guide explains how the game is played and doesn't mean it's offered on Salty Poker.