How to play Stud

Author: Jesse McLean

Summary: This article explains the basic rules of 7 Card Stud.

Seven card stud used to be the game, but it’s been overtaken by holdem over the last decade or two. Still, it’s fun, and still pretty popular.

The basic structure of a seven card stud game is as follows.

1) Everyone antes (this is typically a 1/10th of a small bet).
2) Everyone gets three cards (two down and one up – the “door card”)
3) There is a betting round, started by the bring in. The bring in is the player with the lowest door card. The bring in bet makes a half or a whole small bet.
4) All active players get another face up card (fourth street).
5) There is a round of betting.
6) All active players get another face up card (fifth street).
7) There is a round of betting. All active players get another face up card (sixth street).
9) There is a round of betting.
10)All active players get one last face down card (the river).
11) There is one last round of betting.

The best five-card hand wins the pot. If two or more players show the same best hand, the pot is split between those players.