Tony M Dec 9, 2013:

Hyphens It is more understandable, and typical GB usage, to include the hyphens, whereas US usage tends to omit them.

However, many writers are a bit fuzzy in their understanding of the usage, and so it is not at all uncommon to find the 'with' and 'without' versions in the same document; bear in mind, too, that sometimes documents are the work of multiple writers.

So I wouldn't say that the inconsistency of hyphen usage alone should cause you to doubt the plausibility of any particular interpretation — though of course there may be other clues in your wider text.

Marie Martin (asker) Dec 9, 2013:

Guillaume I know! Excellent point! Very confusing. The client couldn't be reached over the weekend, but I did submit the question. Hopefully the client will answer today. Thank you!

Guillaume Budin Dec 9, 2013:

Both? I'm kind of confused, is there both with and without hyphen ? I which case it can't possibly both mean the same.
Anyway, I'm not 100% sure because we would need you to name the game in order to be certain, but it could also mean the height.
First of all, there is no "s" at the end of "cards". So, unless there's a mistake, it shouldn't describe the number of cards.
It seems to be a Hi/lo game, where the pot is split between a high hand (with the normal poker ranking) and a low hand (which could be as in Razz (Ace is both the highest and lowest card, meaning the best hand is 12345) or deuce to seven (ace is only the highest card - which means the best hand is 23456 and 34567 is still a pretty good low hand)).

So there are three options :

- When playing a 6- or 7-card game (such as 7-card stud for example)
- When you have a 6 or a 7, you should try and hit a low straight - in which the 6 or seven is the highest card - or flush to try and scoop the pot (win both the low and the high hand).
- When you have 6 or 7 cards, play a low straight to scoop the pot. (this one sounds not very likely though, cause with 7 cards there should be no more cards to come)

Marie Martin (asker) Dec 7, 2013:

I am not an expert either, that's why I am asking to make sure, because there are other similar expressions where the card rank determines the value of the hand, ex: straight to the Jack. I have learned never to assume of anything! When in doubt, ask! ;)