Stud Poker Rules

Stud poker is poker variants where each player receives a mix of cards face-down and face-up. Unlike most other poker games which player the action starts with changes from betting round to round. It is usually the player whose face-up cards are the best rather than necessary the player to the left of the dealer.

Back in the days, Five-card stud used to be one of the most popular forms of poker. It has since had to give up its stud poker throne to Seven-card stud which for a long time was the most popular poker game in home games all over the US and at casinos, especially on the east coast.

Five-card stud is a very simple game where each player is dealt one card face-down and one face-up followed by the first betting round. Each remaining player is then dealt one more card face up followed by another betting round and then another and then another until each player has one card face-down and four cards face-up.

This means that each player knows all but one of the cards in his opponent’s hand, making for a pretty boring and simple game. Which is probably a big part of the reason why it has lost its popularity to more exciting poker games of stud and non-stud types.

In Seven-card stud each player is just as in five-card stud dealt one card face-down and one card face-up followed by the first betting round. After that, each player is dealt one up card at a time followed by a betting round until each player has one card face-down and five cards face-up.

Each player is then dealt their seventh and last card face-down followed by the last betting round. At showdown, the players make the best five-card hand using any of the seven in their hand.

The best online poker rooms for Seven-card Stud are Party Poker and Poker Stars and for Five-card Stud Paradise Poker but don’t expect a massive amount of players on those tables.