seven card stud Poker
Seven-card Stud Poker has always been more popular then Five-card in the United Kingdom, and has also become so in the United States, making it possibly the most popular form of poker for home play at the moment. The object of each player is to achieve the best poker hand using any five of the seven cards available to him.
The extra cards, both of which are known only to their holders, make for better hands and more betting, and there is more scope for better players, too. In theory the game is limited to seven players, since if all stay in to the showdown 49 cards will be in action, but it is safe to play with eight players as some players are likely to fold before the showdown.
Preliminaries
The preliminaries regarding the seating, the first dealer, special rules if any, the stake limits and the playing time should all be agreed. The deal rotates to the left as usual and there are up to five betting intervals.
The ante
It is not usual to have an ante, as the betting is quite robust.
Stakes and limits
It is best to have limits to the bets and raises, but what they are is a question of taste:
- Limit each bet and raise to one or two chips.
- Limit all bets and raises to between one and five chips.
- Compromise and limit the first three betting intervals (by which time each player still in will have five cards to one or two chips, and then increase the upper limit to five chips for the last two betting intervals.
The usual convention in Five-card Stud, of increasing the limit as soon as a pair is showing, is not usually bothered with in Seven-card-Stud as the two hole–cards reduce the significance of the cards showing.
The deal
After the usual shuffle and cut, the dealer deals one card to each player face down, then a second face down, then a third face up. Players carefully look at their face-down cards.
The play
As with Five-Card Stud, at the first betting interval the player with the highest up-card must bet, and subsequent players fold, call or raise. When all active bets are equal, a second face-up card is dealt to all still in and a second betting interval takes place. As with Five-card Stud, the highest hand showing speaks first, but now, and on subsequent rounds, he may check.
The dealer has the same obligations as in Five-card Stud, and must specify who is to speak first at each betting interval, and on the third and subsequent betting intervals should point out the possibility of flushes and straights as he deals the cards.
After the third betting interval (when each player has five cards), a sixth card is dealt, face up. There is a fourth betting interval, and then a seventh card is dealt to all players still in, but this time face down.
Players look at this last face-down card (but without revealing it to other players) and a fifth and final betting interval takes place. At this time all the players still in the deal have three face-down cards and four face up.
The showdown
If two or more players remain in the deal after the bets are equalized in the fifth betting interval, a showdown takes place. Each player exposes his three hole-cards and from the seven cards available to him forms his best poker hand. The player with the best hand takes the pot.