How to Play Seven Card Stud

Seven Card Stud poker is a popular poker game for 2 to 8 players using the standard 52 deck of cards. It is a game most popular with home games but has now spread to online poker rooms such as Full Tilt Poker and live casinos.

Object of the game

Stud is played using antes instead of blinds and there are no community cards.

The cards received by each player can only be used by that player. During each hand players will receive seven cards in total and from these seven cards they must make the best five card poker hand from the poker hand rankings to win the pot.

Three of the cards will be dealt face down and can only be seen by that player and four cards will be dealt face up for all to see.

Seven Card Stud also has five betting rounds in total unlike the four betting rounds you get in Texas Holdem or Omaha.

Antes

At the start of every hand all players at the table must put an ante into the pot. This ensures there are chips to be won on every hand. The ante amount is normally 1/10th of the full bet for the table limit you are at. So for example on a $5/$10 table the ante would normally be $1. This may vary slightly depending on the poker room you play at.

The Dealer Button

The dealer button is a marker that goes around the table with each hand. This marker is moved to each player in a clock wise rotation. In Seven Card Stud Poker the dealer button determines who receives the first cards at the start of each hand. The player to the left of the dealer button is that player.

Hole and Door Cards

Once all the antes have been put into the pot each player receives three cards. Two cards face down which are called the Hole cards and also one card face up which is called the Door card.

Bringing In and the First Round of Betting

The player with the lowest Door card will Bring In. This term is referring to a forced bet that player has to make. The size of this bet is normally more than the ante but smaller than the minimum bet. On a $5/$10 table the bring in will be $2. Alternatively the player who has to bring in can raise and this would have to be the minimum amount.

The first round of betting will continue going round the table starting with the player to the left of the player who had to bring in. Each player will have three options when it is their turn.

The first option is to fold which means to throw there cards away and take no further part in that hand.
The second option is to call which means to put in equal amount of chips than the bring in or raise.
The third option is to raise which means that player will increase the amount that all other players need to put in to continue in the hand. In the first round of betting all raises must be in increments of the low betting amount. So on a $5/$10 table each raise must be $5 and no more. There are only four raises permitted on each betting round. If this limit is reached all players must call the amount to continue in the hand.

Fourth Street

Once the first betting round has finished each player will receive one card face up which is called the fourth street. The next round of betting will start and each player has two options on how to proceed.

The first option is to check which means they do not have to put any chips into the pot and are happy for the action to continue to the next player. If all players decide to check no one needs to put any chips into the pot and the hand moves onto the next stage.
The second option is to bet and again on this round all bets will be of the lower betting amount for that table. If a player makes a bet, all remaining players will have the option to either fold, call or raise. Once all players have acted and have put an equal amount of chips into the pot the next stage comes about.

Fifth Street

A fifth card is dealt to each remaining player again face up and this card is called the fifth street. Another round of betting will start but this time the raises are of the high amount set on the table. So on a $5/$10 table all bet amounts will be in increments of $10 with a maximum of four raises per round.

Sixth Street

Once the betting has finished after the fifth street another card is dealt face up to all remaining players which is called the sixth street. Another round of betting will start again using the higher betting limits.

Seventh Street

The last card called the seventh street is dealt to all players face down. At this point all players will know what their best five card hand is. A final round of betting is made at this point using the high betting limits of that table.

The Showdown

When two or more players have put in an equal amount of chips into the pot after the seventh street. All cards face down are revealed and the player who has the best five card hand wins the pot. In an event where there is a tie, the pot is split equally between these winning players. If at any stage some one makes a bet or raise and no other players decide to continue, the pot is won by that player with out having to reveal any cards.

Where to Play 7 Card Stud Poker

Seven Card Stud is not as popular online as it is as part of home games and not all online poker sites will offer Seven Card Stud as a game. We recommend Full Tilt Poker which is one of the largest and most reputable online poker operators and there are always lots of Seven Card Stud tables available to play at during all hours of the day.