Rules for playing 7 Card Stud Poker

Only slightly more difficult to play 7 Card Stud is considered one of the easier variations of Poker to learn, only 5 card draw is easier. Like any Poker game, in 7 Card stud the winner is the player with the highest hand remaining in the game. Along with being an easier variation to master 7 card stud is also very easy to find as it is routinely played in casino’s and poker house’s the world over.

Depending on who is running a particular game of 7 Card Stud Game you may find that to join a game you will need to “buy in” to receive your chips. The buy in amount can vary from table to table but don’t be surprised if you find the odd table with a buy in that is 10 times the minimum wager.
Once you have paid your buy in and received your chips the game begins. Each hand begins with an Ante which is determined prior to the start of the game. After each player has anted up, they receive 2 cards face down (called hole cards) and 1 card face up. After each player has received their cards and have had a chance to look at their hand the player with the lowest up card begins the betting round with the “bring in” wager. The betting round continues with players either calling, raising, re-raising, or folding.
After the first round of betting has been completed a fourth card is dealt to everyone. This card is dealt face up and is called “fourth street”. After the fourth card has been dealt, a second round of betting starts.

Like before when the round of betting finishes will all remaining players calling, a fifth card is dealt face up. This card is referred to as fifth street. The alternating of betting and card deals continues for a 6th card which is called sixth street and the final 7the card.

The seventh card is dealt face down, and is followed by the final round of betting. A special rule is in place for the seventh card. Should there be 8 players remaining in the hand for the final card then a single card face up will be dealt to the middle of the table. This is required because there are not enough cards for all eight players to have 7 cards in their hands. This face up card is called a community card and can be used by all players in the game.

After the fifth and final round of betting has finished, the hand proceeds to the reveal in which all remaining players show their hands to determine the winner. Like all Poker games the player with the highest hand wins.

Rules for 7 Card Stud Poker can be adapted easily for other forms of Stud Poker with minor variances. An example of this can be found with 5 Card Stud where only 1 card is initially dealt face down and 1 face up.