7 Card Stud Poker is a game that requires a lot of strategy and skill to play, which is one of the main reasons why it has remained popular over the years. It is highly respected as a professional poker game, because even those who are considered masters at it are still learning new strategies and tricks to improve upon the way they play this version of stud.

Rules of the Game

7 Card Stud can be played with no less than 2 players, and no more than 8 players.  A standard 52 card deck is used, and during the game each player is dealt 7 cards in total, three of which are facing down, and the remaining four are face up.  The player with the best 5 card hand, that is made from any combination of their 7 cards as determined by the dealer in a live casino, or the computer software online, wins the pot.

Ante

7 Card stud usually has a 10% ante that is based on the low limit of the bet size, which each player must pay before the hand starts.  For instance, if you are playing at $5 - $10 table, the ante for each player would be $0.50. As the table limit becomes higher so does the ante.  Regardless of the amount, any ante that is paid is not recognized as part of any bets that take place during the hand.

Betting Limits

7 Card Stud is defined by betting limits that will change from table to table.  Lower tables that are around $2-$4 are usually for beginners, while the higher limit games such as $10-$20 are for those who are interested in making more money with their strategies.  The betting limit that will be used for the purpose of the rules below will be a $5 - $10 limit.

Dealing and Third Street

The dealer - or player with the dealer button - will begin by dealing one face down card (pocket or hole card) to every player, starting from the dealers left and continuing clockwise.  This is followed by a second face down card, and finally a third card that is dealt face up (“door” card).  By the end of this round, each player should have two pocket or hole cards, and one door card.  The player with the lowest door card must begin the betting by wagering half the low limit bet size, which is twice the ante.  For the purposes of our game, this means a total of $1.  This act is known as the “bring in”.

If more than one player is tied for the lowest card, the player that must bring in can be decided in two ways.  Either the person closest to the dealers left is elected for the task, or the suit of the card resolves the problem beginning with spades being the highest followed by hearts, diamonds and clubs.

The wager placed by the player who brings in counts as their first bet, and as long as every other player calls and no one raises, the bring in player will not need to contribute more than they have already put in the pot.  If, however, the lowest door card player does not want to bring in, he or she will be forced to fold, and betting will begin starting to the left of the player who volunteers the first bet (known as the opener).  During the Third Street round, players can not bet or raise more than the fixed low limit.  In our case that would be $5.

Fourth Street

During the Fourth Street round, the dealer gives each player another face up card, now known as the “open” card.  For this round, and all those following, the player who has the highest open card is the one who begins the betting round.  If a tie occurs, the same process takes place as describe in Third Street.  At this time, the designated player with the highest card may choose to check, fold or raise.  If the player chooses to check or fold, the remaining players starting clockwise from his or her left have the same betting options until a player chooses to raise.  As in Third Street, the maximum betting amount is the lowest limit.

The one exception to this low limit betting rule is if the high hand is showing an open pair.  In this case, the opener is allowed to bet the maximum limit ($10), which means that for the rest of the round all raises meet the same limit.

Fifth Street

During this round every player is dealt one more face up card, and the betting round proceeds just as it did in Fourth Street, with the exception that now all bets and raises must equal the maximum bet limit ($10).

Sixth Street

This round follows that same pattern as in Fifth Street.

Seventh Street

This round follows in the same pattern as the last two streets, except that the last card distributed is a face down pocket or hole card.  However, in the rare case that all 8 players remain in the hand, there will be not enough cards for every player to receive their last card, also known as the river.  If this happens, no player is dealt their last pocket card, and in stead, one card is placed face up in the middle as a community card for all players to use.

Showdown

All players left in the game are now given the option to either show or muck their hand.  The last player to bet is the first to show their hand, and it continues clockwise from that player.    The player with the best 5 card hand using any combination of their 7 cards wins the pot as decided by the dealer or computer software. 

You should be aware that in a live casino it is a players right to see any mucked hands, but you will find that in most online poker rooms you are provided with the option to automatically muck your losing hand, and it is generally a good idea to use this as a strategy so that the other players won’t see your hand.