How to play Seven-card stud

It is fairly well accepted that when someone says “let’s play poker” they mean the Texas hold ’em version. However Texas hold ’em’s popularity is only a recent occurrence and before its rise in popularity Seven-card stud was the most popular variant of poker in both homes and casinos. Bigfreebet.com provides a basic betting guide to the game.

Basic idea

Seven-card stud can be played with anywhere between two and nine players, much like the now more popular Texas hold ’em variant.

Seven cards are dealt to each player and the idea is to make the best five-card hand from these cards. Seven-card stud is however not a flop game so there are no community cards that are shared. This requires you to think differently to other poker variants.

Seven-card stud is also a limit game so any betting must be done in specific increments. As the game progresses though, the increments increase. For example you may enter a £10 – £20 Seven-card stud game. This means that the game starts off with £10 betting increments, but later in the game the increments increase to £20.

Unlike Texas hold ’em which unless you are betting the big or small bling, in Seven-card stud every player is required to put in an ante in order to be dealt a hand. If no ante is put into the pot, then no hand will be dealt.

Playing procedure

The dealer deals each player three cards going clockwise around the table. Two face down and one face up card is given. This is called the “third street”. The player who receives the up-facing card of the lowest value is required to post a pre-decided amount called a “bring-in” into the pot. Then each player to the left of this player must either call the bring-in, raise or fold.

Once the betting on the third street is over a second up-card is dealt to each player remaining in the game. This card is referred to as the fourth street. Then the player that has the highest ranking up-facing cards continues the game by calling or betting, before everyone else in a clockwise motion around the table.

Having a pair on fourth street enables you to increase the betting increment, which will then remain for the rest of the game.

After the betting is over again other card is dealt to each player, referred to as the fifth street. In this round, if it hasn’t happened already, the betting increments increase to the bigger amount. This round progresses like the previous with the player possessing the highest hand of up-facing cards starting the betting.

In the sixth street a final up-facing card is dealt leaving each player with four up-facing cards and two down-facing. This round also progresses like the previous.

The seventh street occurs the same as the previous as well, but with one difference. The card that is dealt to each player is dealt face-down.

After this the showdown happens. The player with the best five-card hand from their seven cards wins the pot.