7 Card Stud

Among the alternative to Hold’em, Seven Card Stud is one of the most serious candidates. While played very little in Europe, this version has long been the favorite among Americans, especially on the east coast. This type of poker is just waiting to be discovered, and gives the player a poker experience that satisfies in a different way than Hold’em.

ANTES

The antes are forced bets that each player must place before the cards are dealt. They serve to encourage action. There are no blinds in seven stud. The table at which you are playing determines the size of the ante. A $0.50/$1.00 table has no ante, where as $10.00/$20.00 tables have $1.00 antes.

THE GAME

Each player gets two hole cards (cards dealt face down) and one upcard, (card that is dealt face up). The player with the weakest card (In case of a tie, the suit is taken into account, spades being the highest, followed by hearts, diamonds and clubs the weakest.) must bet half of the normal bet (the bring-in). The software will automatically determine who begins; so don’t worry about it too much.

After the first round of betting, three upcards are dealt to each player one by one with one round of betting for each card. Then a last downcard is dealt to each player and a last round of betting takes place. There is therefore an additional round of betting in Seven Stud compared to Hold'em.

With the exception of the first round where the player with the weakest hand bets first, remember that in Seven Card Stud, the player with the strongest upcards bets first.

BETS

Seven Card Stud can only be played limit, and the table at which you are playing determines the bets. For example, at a $1-$2 table, the limit for each bet is $1 for the first two rounds and $2 for the last two. At Chilipoker, there can be one bet and three raises in each round. At the third raise, the players can only either see the bet or fold.

Remember: One exception to the preceding rule: if at the second round of betting a pair is visible to one of the players, that player has the option of betting $2. If the player chooses to do this, the entire table must comply.

THE SHOWDOWN

The last person to bet or raise is the first to show his cards. Any of the seven cards available to each player can be used to make the best combination of five. The best hand takes the pot, and in the event of a tie, the pot is split.

Remember: Seven Card Stud is played with 8 players. In the unlikely event that all 8 players are still in the game during the last round of betting, there will not be enough cards for each person to be dealt one. In this case, one card is dealt face up in the middle of the table and is a community card for all players to use.