How To Play Seven Card Stud Poker

How To Play 7 Card Stud Poker

Until Texas Hold 'Em's rise in popularity, 7 Card Stud Poker was the most played poker game in casinos and it remains popular today with both casino and online poker players.

7 Card Stud Poker is different from both Texas Hold 'Em and Omaha in that it does not use community cards at all. All players must also place an ante bet before play begins to ensure that there is money in the pot.

The basics

A game of 7 Card Stud Poker begins with each player posting an ante bet before play begins.

7 Card Stud Poker has five rounds of betting. During the course of the game each player is dealt seven cards, three face down so only the player can see them and four face up so that other players can see them.

The object of 7 Card Stud Poker is to make the best five card hand possible using the seven cards dealt.

The winner is the player with the best hand or the last player in the game if the other players have folded and chosen not to bet against the last player.

If two or more players have equally strong hands at the end of the game then the pot is shared equally between them.

The start

Once the ante bets have been placed by all players, the dealer deals cards clockwise until each player has three cards. The first two cards are dealt face down and are called hole cards, but the third face is dealt face up for everyone to see and is called the door card.

As wel as the ante bets, it is common in casinos and during online poker stud games for the player with the lowest-ranking up card to start the game with a token bet called the bring-in. If two players have up cards of equal value, then the suit of the card is used to decide who pays the bring-in. The suits are ranked alphabetically in this case - clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades.

Third Street

Once the bring-in bet has been made, each player (starting with the player to the left of the bring-in) can call, raise to the betting limit or fold (if there is no bring-in, the player to the left of the dealer starts).

To call a bet in this instance means to match the agreed minimum bet.

To raise a bet is to increase the amount bet. After a player raises, the remaining players in the hand must match the raise, raise again or fold.

To fold is to stop playing and forfeit any interest in the current pot. No further bets are required by a folding player.

The play then continues clockwise around the table until each player has had a chance to act on their hand.

Fourth Street

Each player is then dealt another up card. At this point, the player with the highest two up cards starts the betting. During this round of betting only, if a player has two open cards of the same value - a pair of fives for example - he or she can make a double bet.

Fifth Street

Each player is dealt another up card. The player with the highest combination of up cards starts the betting.

Sixth Street

Each player is dealt a fourth up card. The player with the highest combination of up cards once again starts the betting.

Seventh Street or The River

Everyone is dealt their final down card. The same player who started the last round starts the betting.

The Showdown

If a player bets and all other players fold in any of the betting rounds, then that player is awarded the pot and is not required to show his hole cards.

If there is more than one player left in the game after the final round of betting, then there is a showdown in which the remaining players reveal their cards. The highest five card hand from the seven cards dealt wins.