Learn Play Poker

Hey Guys,

Here is the first update after the “big break” as I am naming it. It is carrying on the “Poker Basics” series and looking at the basic rules and differences of five and seven card stud poker.

Stud is an excellent version of poker and one of the best for playing with friends, it is also rising in popularity in the online poker scene when Texas Hold’em is loosing ground to various forms of poker as people get more experimental and broad minded with their games. The game is much more fun in some respects as people can’t just “fold” out of every single hand until they get pocket aces.

Any comments or questions are appreciated, for more advice why not visit a poker forum where friendly members are sure to help you out.

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Five and Seven Card Stud poker are great games that have been played for many years. The movie “The Cincinnati Kid” starring Steve McQueen and Edward G. Robinson was based on a high stakes Five Card Stud game. While neither game achieves the level of popularity as Texas Hold’em they are both popular and challenging in their own right.

Five Card Stud poker begins with each player putting an ante into the pot. Unlike Texas Hold’em you cannot play a hand of stud poker without placing some money into the pot. All the players are then dealt one card face down and one card face up. There are no community cards in stud poker; each player has their own cards. At this point here is a round of betting. The first person to act in each betting round is the person with the highest visible hand. If two hands are the same the first person to be dealt the hands starts the betting. Like any other poker game the order of betting moves clockwise until everyone has had their chance to bet. In stud poker you must bet a predetermine amount set by the table stakes. You can also raise a bet by this predetermined amount. In most cases a cap of four bets is allowed in any one round. If the stakes are $1 in a particular round of betting the betting will stop when it reaches $4 for the round. This rule prevents players with large amounts of money from steamrolling players with lesser available funds.

The game continues with the dealer dealing three more face up cards to each of the players. After each face up card is dealt another betting round occurs. Each time the board is examined to determine the highest visible hand. Unlike Texas Hold’em the same player does not start the betting during each round. After the last round of betting any players remaining in the hand show their hold card and the highest hand takes the pot. Five Card Stud is a bluffer’s game, quite often players win without a very good hand.

Seven Card Stud differs from five card stud only in how the cards are dealt; the other rules are the same. In this game you start with two face down cards and one face up card. A round of betting then occurs. As the game progresses the players are dealt a fourth, fifth and sixth card face up. A round of betting takes place after each card is dealt. Finally a seventh card is dealt face down, leaving each player with three face down cards and four face up cards. The final round of betting then occurs and if more than one player remain they show their cards, highest hand wins.