Home Game Tutorial #2: Seven Card Stud
Seven Card Stud was arguably the most popular form of poker in the twentieth century. Nowadays, it is regarded as an “old person’s game”, which I think is unfair. To change this, I will explain the rules of Stud here.
Betting: Stud is played limit, meaning that players can only bet or raise a fixed amount at a time. For example, at a 4/8 Stud game, the small bet is $4 and the big bet is $8. The small bet is used on the first two betting rounds, while the big bet is used on the last three. Additionally, the first better in a hand must bet either the small bet or a bring-in, which is less than the small bet. The next player can either call, complete the bet if the last player brought in, raise if they bet the small, or fold. On a given betting round, the bet can be raised a maximum of 3 times at most casinos for limit games. Finally, there is an ante, a very small bet all players put in to get dealt their cards.
How To Play: To start, everyone antes up. Every player is dealt two cards face down, known as hole cards, and one face up, called an upcard. Betting starts with the person who has the lowest upcard. In cases where people share the lowest card, the priority goes in alphabetical order, from clubs to diamonds to hearts to spades. The player who starts the action can bring-in or make a small bet. Then action passes to their left, where the bet can be raised or called. Once the first round of betting is complete, everyone gets a second upcard, called 4th Street. Then the person who has the best hand among their upcards starts the betting. No bring-in is required. After that round, the amount players can bet is doubled to the big bet. Next is 5th Street, where a third upcard is dealt, and another round of betting ensues. a fourth upcard is dealt on 6th Street with another betting round. Finally, on 7th Street, everyone still in the hand is dealt a card face down. If there aren’t enough cards for every player, then a community card is dealt, which can be used by all players. After another round of betting, players reveal their hands. Whoever has the best hand wins the pot.
Special Rules: There are variants of Seven Card Stud, the most common being Razz, where the pot goes to the hand that has the 5 lowest unique cards. Aces are low, so the best hand is A2345, A.K.A. The Wheel. Stud 8 or better gives half the pot to the high hand, and half to the best razz hand that is better than 8-high.
