Stud Poker Card Game Rules

Poker is one of the oldest card games that is being played since the 16th century. Stud poker and Draw poker are the most popular types of poker games card gamers enjoy playing. Stud poker originated in the mid 19th century overshadowing Draw poker. The game, especially the seven-card stud variant, is quite popular across regions.

The stud poker game is a non-positional game as the player to make the first bet keeps changing in different rounds. Unlike the other popular poker games like Texas Hold'em and Omaha Poker, the players are dealt a mix of face up and face down cards over a number of betting rounds in this game.

While it can take a lifetime to master this game, it's never too late to learn how to play poker. Learn the rules of seven-card stud poker and get to know the other popular variants of stud poker here.

How to Play Seven-Card Stud Poker?

In the 7-card stud online poker variant, each player is dealt seven cards over several rounds to make the best poker hand with five cards. The game is played with a limited betting structure, where bets are in fixed increments. For instance, in a seven-card stud game of 2/4 limited betting structure, the bets will be in increments of 2 in the first two rounds and increments of 4 in the following three rounds.

Objective

The objective for every playing 7-card stud poker is to win the pot containing all the bets that players make in one deal. A player must make the best five-card poker hand to win the pot.

7-Card Stud Poker Hand Rankings

The hand rankings in the seven-card stud poker game vary slightly from those used in Texas Hold'em or Omaha games. Here are the hand rankings from the highest hand to the lowest hand.

Five of a Kind - The highest possible hand, five of a kind, is a poker hand combination that occurs rarely. At least one wild card, such as a Joker, is required to make this hand. For instance, 10♥️ 10♠️ 10♣️ 10♦️ Joker.

Straight Flush - The highest possible hand when a standard pack is used without wild cards or jokers. A straight flush is made using five cards in sequence and of the same suit. For instance, 10♥️ 9♥️ 8♥️ 7♥️ 6♥️.

Four of a Kind - A four of a kind is made using four cards of the same rank and one card of a different rank. For instance, 7♣️ 7♥️ 7♠️ 7♦️ 3♠️.

Full House - A full house is made using three cards of the same rank and two cards of a different rank. For instance, 8♣️ 8♥️ 8♠️ 5♥️ 5♣️.

Flush - A flush is made with five cards of the same suit but not in a sequence. For instance, Q♠️ 9♠️ 8♠️ 5♠️ 4♠️.

Straight - A straight is made using five cards arranged in a sequence but not of the same suit. For instance, Q♣️ J♦️ 10♣️ 9♠️ 8♣️.

Three of a Kind - A three-of-a-kind is made using three cards of the same rank and two cards of different ranks. For instance, 10♥️ 10♣️ 10♠️ 6♦️ 4♣️.

Two Pairs - A two pair hand is made with two cards of the same rank, two cards of different rank, and one card of another rank. For instance, J♠️ J♣️ 9♦️ 9♠️ 6♦️.

One Pair - A one pair hand is made with two cards of the same rank and three cards of different ranks. For instance, Q♥️ Q♣️ K♠️ 10♠️ 7♦️.

High Card - A high card is a common hand that has nothing. The five cards can be of any rank and not in a sequence. for instance, K♥️ 10♦️ 6♣️ 5♠️ 3♦️.

Dealing

When the game begins. The dealer deals two cards face down to all the players and then one card face up to each player one at a time.

Gameplay

After the first deal, there is a betting interval after which every active player receives three face-up cards and one face-down card. There's a betting interval after every deal in a round.

The gameplay goes through betting rounds such as Ante, Third Street, Fourth Street, Fifth Street, Sixth Street, Seventh Street or the River, and the Showdown (if required). These rounds are explained below.

Every player must flip their hole cards face up in the showdown and select five cards to make the best hand per their 7-card strategy. These cards must be separated from the other two cards that must be discarded. After discarding two cards, the players cannot reclaim them to make a better hand.

Betting Options

In a game of stud poker, the players have several actions they can make during a round. As per the rules of poker, the available actions for a player depend on the action taken by the previous players. For instance, if no player has made a bet, then a player can choose to check or bet.

If a player has made a bet, the subsequent players can choose to fold, call or raise.

When a player doesn't wish to play the round, they put their cards face down and push them away to imply folding.

Check - when a player declines to bet but keeps the cards.

Bet - when a player chooses to play based on their hand and puts forward chips to place a bet.

Call - when a player calls, they match the amount of the previous player's bet.

Raise - when a player chooses to match the previous bet but increases the amount.

Rules for Seven Card Stud Poker

Ante

Before beginning the stud poker game, each player antes a nominal amount. Ante is the cost for a hand dealt by the dealer. For instance, in a 1/2 game, the ante is 0.15.

Third Street

The dealer deals three cards initially to each player (two hole cards face down and one card face up). The player with the lowest face-up card must start the action and make either a nominal bet or a full bet of the lower betting increment. The other players follow and make an action in a clockwise direction until the betting for that round is complete.

Fourth Street

After the third street, the dealer deals one more card face up to every player, called the Fourth Street. The player with the highest rank of exposed cards makes an action. For instance, if a player has an exposed pair of Kings and no other player has a pair of Aces or better, that player will play first. The player can either check or bet the lower structured betting amount. Then there's a round of betting.

Fifth Street

The dealer then deals another exposed card to each player, called the Fifth Street. The player with the highest value of exposed cards acts first. There is a round of betting held. From the Fifth Street onwards, the bets are made in significant bet increments (4 in a 2/4 game).

Sixth Street

Then, the dealer deals another exposed card to each player, called the Sixth Street. The player with the highest value of exposed cards acts first. A round of betting is held.

Seventh Street/The River

The dealer then deals the final seventh card to each player, called the River or Seventh Street. This card is dealt face down and is only known to the player. Again, the player with the highest value of exposed cards acts first. A final round of betting is held, and if more than one player remains in the game, they reach the Showdown.

The Showdown

The Showdown is the round held if more than one player remains after the final betting round. The last raiser or bettor shows their cards first, or the player in the earliest seat shoes their cards first if there was no bet in the final round of betting.

The player that has made the best five-card hand combination wins the pot. If the players have made identical poker hands, the pot is divided equally between the players.

Other Rules of Stud Poker

In seven-card stud poker games, if there's a tie in card rank, it is broken by suit. The suits, in the order of the highest to lowest rank, are Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. However, this rule does not determine the ranking of equal hands on the Showdown.

On the Third Street, if the player with the lowest exposed card goes all-in for the ante but is unable to make the required bring-in bet, the action of bring-in will move clockwise to the next player, irrespective of the value of the next player's exposed card.

If a player shows a pair on the Fourth Street, the player has an option to open or raise the betting for one big bet. For instance, 4 in a 2/4 game. If a player makes the big bet in this situation, a bigger bet amount will continue for the remaining betting round.

Stud games are usually played between 8 players with a standard deck of 52 cards. It is possible for the dealer to run out of cards to deal before the Seventh Street. In such situations, the dealer deals a single community card, face-up, which is shared by the remaining players.

Other Stud Variants

Stud poker features several other variants played commonly in different poker rooms. Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, also known as Eight or Beter or Stud/8, is one of the variants where there can be two possible winners in each hand. One winner holds the best high hand, while the other winner holds the best low hand.

Another popular variant of stud poker after seven-card stud poker is the 5-card stud poker.

5 Card Stud Poker

While 7-card stud online poker is more popular than 5-card stud poker, the latter is the most primitive stud poker variant. In this variant, the player receives one hole card and one face-up card each. The two initial cards determine the first bet. The players then receive three cards face up to have a full hand. The next round, the second round of betting, ends in a showdown. A no-limit betting structure is the best for a five-card stud game.

5 Card Stud Poker Rules

The player who has the highest-ranking card from the open cards starts the betting.

When players have similar highest-ranking cards, the suits are compared to decide which player will start the betting in that round.

In situations of a tie between two similar hands, the suit of the highest cards is compared to determine the winning hand.

5 Card Stud Poker Tips

One of the most important poker tips to use in 5-card stud poker games is that you should fold straight away if an opponent's cards beat your face up or face down cards. If you want to call the first bet, you must hold an Ace or King hole card or a pair.

You should not bet again if a player calls with unpaired cards of higher value exposed when you bet an open pair.

You must not chase straight or flush draws to continue the game as that is the fastest way to destroy your 5-card stud poker game.

Stud Poker Vs Draw Poker - What's the difference?

The main difference between Draw poker and Stud poker is the upcards and downcards. In Draw poker, each player is dealt cards face down, and each player's cards are concealed from the other players. The hands remained concealed for all players until the showdown.

Whereas, in Stud poker, the players are dealt both upcards and downcards over several rounds. Therefore, the upcards are visible to all players, while the downcards are like hole cards which aren't visible to all players.

The betting rounds in draw poker are fewer (about two betting rounds and a Showdown) than the betting rounds in stud poker (6 betting rounds and a Showdown).

In draw poker, the players can discard up to 3 cards in exchange for drawing replacement cards from the deck. While in stud poker games, the players do not discard any cards, and only the dealer can deal cards to each player. The players only discard two cards in the end to make the best hand combination of five cards.