7 Card Stud Poker

How to play 7 Card Stud Poker

7 Card Stud poker is a type of poker game that is very similar to Texas hold em where you use five out seven cards to form your best hand. However, the similarity between 7 Card Stud poker and Texas hold em ends at this point. Unlike Texas hold em or Omaha high, 7 Card Stud poker has no community cards to share. Instead, players are dealt with seven private cards with four cards being dealt faced up for all to see.

The game begins with three cards being dealt to each player which consist of two cards faced down and one card faced up for all to see. This round of card dealing is also known as the “third street” in 7 Card Stud poker.  Unlike Omaha or Texas hold em, in 7 Card Stud poker there are no blind bets imposed on the players. Instead, each player in 7 Card Stud poker has to post a bet called the “Ante” to help simulate the game action. The player with the lowest faced up card value is then forced to make the first bet after the initial three cards have been dealt out.

In 7 Card Stud poker, suits are also used to determine the rank of the cards. The lowest suit is the clubs ?, followed by the diamonds ? and then the hearts ? with the spade ? being the highest value suit. Thus, the lowest ranking card in 7 Card Stud poker is the 2?. Therefore, if this happens to be the “door card” (lowest face up card) of any players, he is obliged to post a bet.

After the “third street”, each player will again be dealt with another card faced up known as the “fourth street”. At this point lay another difference between Texas hold em and 7 Card Stud poker. Here, in this round the player with the highest hand will be the first to act in the betting round. After the betting round is completed, another card called the “fifth street” will be dealt to all the players again followed by another betting round until the “seventh street”.  The last card being dealt out is also known as the “River” in 7 Card Stud poker and this final card is dealt faced down. After this, a final round of betting will ensue followed by a showdown.

Although 7 Card Stud poker seem to be a relatively simple game to learn, it is more difficult to master as compared to Texas hold em. This is because 7 Card Stud poker is comprises of “live cards” whereas Texas hold em is a game of “high hands”. What this mean is that when your opponents in 7 Card Stud poker fold their cards, you have to remember them as you might need one of those cards to complete your hand. Thus, to be able to play well in 7 Card Stud poker, you need to master this critical concept.