How To Play | Seven Card Stud Rules

Seven card stud is one of the more traditional forms of poker, and by learning the rules of this well loved game, you can perfect your own strategy and have endless fun with this poker game, as well as its variations: RAZZ and Seven-Card Stud High-Low. Seven card stud situational rules may vary slightly, depending on the house rules at the venue of play.

Seven Card Stud Basic Play

The following situations are considered misdeals:

• In this game, play is started with the dealer burning a card from the deck and then dealing three cards to each player. The first two of these cards will be dealt face down, while the final card will be dealt face up. This is commonly called Third Street.
• This first round of betting will begin with the player who has the lowest upcard after the third street is dealt. This player must bring in the bet with at least the low bet limit at the table, as a forced bet. Play continues to that player's left, with subsequent players choosing to raise, call, or fold.
• Once the first round of betting is complete, the dealer will then deal another round of cards to players, face up, also called Fourth Street. The order of betting is decided, in this and the remaining rounds of betting, by the player showing the high exposed hand in both cases the betting round then proceeds, in a clockwise fashion, around the table with each player acting in turn. The betting in the second round is set at the lower limit stake and the betting in the third round is set at the table's higher limit stake.
• If at the beginning of the second round of betting, one of the players is "showing" a pair with their two face-up cards, players have the option to bet in multiples of either that table's lower or higher limit stake. If a player bets at the players higher limit stake, all following players are required to continue betting at the table's higher limit stake.
• There will be two more rounds of an exposed card being dealt to each player, followed by a round of betting. This is generally referred to as Fifth Street and Sixth Street.
• The final round of dealing will commence, with players being given a seventh card face down on the table. The River will be followed by another round of betting, with play starting with the player showing the high hand.
• Following the final round of betting, the "Showdown" will commence. The player with the high hand showing will reveal first, if there had been no betting in the final betting round. Otherwise, the last player to have placed a bet or raise will reveal his cards first. The rest of the players will reveal their cards in a clock wise fashion from the first player to show his cards. Any of the remaining players in the "Showdown" can choose to either reveal their cards or "muck" their hand, pushing the cards in and folding their hand without revealing their cards. The best five card poker hand of those revealed wins the pot.

Seven-Card Stud Situational Rules and Tips

• In most casino games, seven-card stud is played with an ante. Any player at the table who wishes to participate in a hand must pay the ante before the deal begins. The ante will vary in accordance with the stakes at the table. The ante is occasionally passed over in home games.
• Seven-card stud is generally a high hand wins game, however there are variations where the low hand is the winner (Razz) or where the pot is split between the high and low hands (High-Low.) Standard rules of play are pretty much the same in these games; however, strategy in betting will change significantly, so play wisely.
• When there are eight players in a seven-card stud game, and everyone remains in the hand until the River, there will not be enough cards to deal to the table with a single deck. In this case, the dealer will turn a single community card up as the River, and players will share this last card to finalize their hands.
• In the case of a tie with the high hands to begin a round of betting, ties will be broken by position nearest the dealer.