Sok
A Finnish five-card stud variant (also called Sökö) that inserts two extra hand categories — a four-card straight and a four-card flush — below a standard pair in the ranking hierarchy.
Coming soon — not yet playable
Rules
Sok is dealt like standard Five-Card Stud: one down card and four up cards to each player, one card at a time, with a betting round after each up-card is dealt.
The distinctive feature is an expanded hand-ranking hierarchy: below a standard pair, Sok recognizes two additional categories not found in standard poker — a four-card straight (four consecutive ranks, ignoring the fifth card) and a four-card flush (four cards of the same suit, ignoring the fifth) — both of which rank below a pair but above simple high-card hands.
Showdown: the best hand among remaining players wins, evaluated using this expanded ranking system rather than standard five-card poker categories.
Historical note: Sok (sometimes spelled Sökö) is documented as a traditional Finnish and broader Nordic card game, representing an independently-evolved regional variation on stud-style poker hand rankings.
Strategy notes: Because four-card straights and flushes count for something here (unlike standard poker, where they're worthless without a fifth matching card), hands that would be discarded as "high card only" in standard stud can have real value in Sok — players need to watch opponents' up-cards for these near-miss combinations, not just pairs and better.
Common house rules
Four-card straights and flushes rank below a pair
This is Sok's defining rule: unlike standard poker, a four-card straight or four-card flush has real value here, slotting in just below a pair in the hand-ranking hierarchy — make sure every player understands this before the first showdown.
Standard five-card stud deal otherwise
Aside from the expanded hand rankings, Sok deals and bets exactly like standard Five-Card Stud — one down card, four up cards, with betting after each up-card.
A regional variation worth comparing
Sok is a good example for a mixed table of how different card-gambling cultures independently arrived at extending standard hand-ranking hierarchies — worth pairing with other regional stud variants for comparison.
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