How to Play Seven Card Stud Poker
In seven-card stud, each player generally posts an ante prior to the cards being dealt (although some low-limit games require no ante). To begin the hand, all players are dealt two downcards and one upcard. The player with the lowest upcard is required to start the action on the first betting round with a small bet, which is called the bring-in. If more than one player has the same rank of low card, then suit in alphabetical order — clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades — determines who must start the action.
The first player to the left of the bring-in has three options: He may throw away his hand, call the bring-in, or raise to a full bet. If he folds or calls the bring-in, the person to his left has the same options; however, if the first player raises to a full bet, the next person now has the options of folding, calling the full bet, or raising again. The action proceeds clockwise in this manner until all players have exercised their options and all bets have been called.
All players remaining in the hand then receive three more upcards and a final card face down, with a betting round after each card is dealt. In these subsequent four betting rounds, the player with the high hand on board acts first. If two hands are of equal high value, the player to the left of the dealer initiates the betting action. At the showdown, the player who makes the best five-card poker hand from the seven cards he possesses wins the pot.
Structured-limit or fixed-limit seven-card stud games have a double limit, with the lower limit used in the early betting rounds and the higher limit (which is usually double the lower limit) used in the later rounds. Thus the lower bet is allowed on the first and second betting rounds — referred to as third street and fourth street — which correspond to the first three cards and the fourth card, and a double-sized bet is required on the third, fourth, and fifth betting rounds. These later rounds correspond to the fifth, sixth, and seventh cards, and are called, respectively, fifth street, sixth street, and seventh street, or the river. There is one exception: If a player has an open pair on fourth street, either a single or a double-sized bet may be made.
Here’s an example. Suppose you are playing $3-$6 seven-card stud. Everyone will ante 50 cents, the player with the low card will bring it in for $1, and the first player to his left will have the options of folding, calling the $1 bring-in, or raising to $3. Once the bet has been raised to $3, all subsequent bets and raises on both third and fourth streets will be in $3 increments, unless a player makes an open pair on fourth street. In this case, any active player has the options of betting or raising either $3 or $6. All bets and raises on the last three betting rounds will be in $6 increments. Typically, cardrooms allow three or four raises. But heads up (two players), the number of raises is unlimited.
Many low-stakes seven-card stud games also are played with spread limits, where each player has the option to bet or raise an amount that is not fixed. As an example, in a typical $1-$4 spread-limit stud game, there is no ante, the low card brings it in for $1, and all bets and raises can be any amount from $1 to $4 at the bettor’s discretion.
Finally, in some low-limit stud games, a jackpot is awarded when a very strong hand gets beat by an even better hand. To seed the jackpot pool, the house usually sets aside a small amount of money from each pot, although sometimes an additional ante is required to support the jackpot. When a good hand, such as aces full of queens, gets beat, the player holding the losing hand wins either the entire jackpot or a large percentage of it. In most cardrooms, the player holding the winning hand also receives a portion of the jackpot, and sometimes all players dealt in the hand are awarded a token amount of the prize money.
Jackpot poker is currently very popular in many locations where poker is legal. Depending on the game, typical jackpots range from $2,000 to $10,000, but some have exceeded $50,000.
