seven card stud
Where the Pot’s Get Bigger
PLAYERS: 2 to 7.
CARDS: Seven total: three in the hole, four up cards.
BETTING: Five rounds. Intensifies in the later rounds.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Is your hand improving? Are your opponents’ hands? Are the cards you need still “live”?
WHAT WINS: Usually two pair or better wins, with one of the pairs being a high pair.
As the name suggests, seven card stud is a stud game with seven cards, in which four are up and three are in the hole. Each player selects five of his or her cards to make the best hand (the other two cards are irrelevant to the outcome of the game). With several rounds of betting, pots can get pretty big pretty quickly, and betting intensifies in the late rounds. seven card stud is a fun game and hands take longer to develop, which entices many players to stay in longer. The three hole cards provide suspense and opportunities for bluffing. seven card stud is also demanding-good players keep a close eye on their opponents’ up cards, notice how their opponents’ betting changes with each new card, and remember what cards stud as a Hi-low game, which adds yet another element of strategies to the game.
In the first round, the dealer gives each player one card facedown, starting with the player on his left. He continues with a second down card and finishes by dealing third card up. This up card is sometimes referred to as the door card.
Generally, in the stud game, poker player with the highest up card starts the betting (some play with the low card opening the first round). If two or more players share the highest-ranking up card, the person closet to the dealer’s left begins the betting. This first round, sometimes known as “third street” (each player has three cards), ends after each player has either placed his or her bet or folded. Next comes “fourth street”; at this point, all remaining players get another up card, followed by another round of betting.
There are two more rounds of up cards and betting (fifth street and sixth street), followed by the final card, which is dealt facedown to all remaining players. At this point, all remaining players have four up cards and three cards in the hole. After the final round of betting, the players show their poker hands and the one with the best hand takes the pot.