7 Card Stud Basic Rules
Even though Texas Hold’em is poker’s premier game which gained in popularity over the last decade, 7 Card Stud has been a casino table favorite for a long time, and is a favorite game by many old school players. Seven Card Stud is still a very popular card game, and there are plenty of stud poker games to be found at the leading online poker sites.
The game of 7 Card Stud has practically come to dominate the stud poker scene. Seven card stud is one step beyond the six card game, and puts the probabilities of draw poker into stud poker. This makes seven card stud the ideal form of poker, in the estimate of many players.
In 7 Card Stud, typically the game is played with 2-7 players using a standard 52 card deck. Unlike Texas hold’em and Omaha there are no community cards, but each player has exposed cards so there is more information.
The basic rules for 7 Card Stud are as follows.
In what is considered the first betting round in 7 Card Stud, three cards are dealt to each player. Two are down cards or hole cards, the third is an up card and the players bet exactly as in five card stud. The highest card showing, nearest to the dealer’s left in case of a tie, must make a bet or fold.
A fourth card is dealt to each player. Now, the high hand can either check or bet. The same applies to fifth card and a sixth, each being dealt face up. The seventh card is dealt face down, and another round of betting follows.
After all the remaining players call, the hole cards are turned up and the player showing the best five cards wins. In the scenario of a tie pot, the pot is divided evenly between the winners.
To recap the 7 Card Stud rules: Rounds of betting follow the deal of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th cards. At the finish three cards are down and four are up. Thus the players do not show their complete hands until all bets are called.
There is one important point to remember. In draw poker or 5 Card Stud, the hands are self-evident and must be judged accordingly. But in 7 Card Stud, the hands go according to the players own declaration. For example, if he holds a hand such as king of spades, queen of diamonds, jack of diamonds, ten of hearts, nine of diamonds, five of diamonds, and three of diamonds, he might call it a king-high straight (K-Q-J-10-9) by discarding the five and three of diamonds. But he would do better to call it a diamond flush and throw out the king and ten.