7 Card Stud

7 Card Stud is a popular poker variation that is played by two up to ten players using the standard 52-card deck.  Players receive a total of three cards with one card facing up and two face down cards. The 1st betting session also known as “third street” begins followed by 3 additional betting sessions until the seventh card is dealt in the final round or the “river”. During the final showdown, a player who holds the best 5 card poker hand will be declared the winner.

7 Card Stud Variations

Limit Stud is one of the most popular 7 Card Stud variations which is made up of antes and the bring-in instead of the blinds. Players are required to place the ante prior to receiving the 1^st set of 3 cards. The stipulated values of the bring-in and the ante are determined by various factors which include the specific house rules of poker room or casino that you choose to play at. As a general rule, the ante and bring-in accounts for between ten and fifteen percent and twenty-five and fifty percent of the small bet respectively. In the third betting round, if two or more players have equally ranked face up cards, the winning player will be determined by looking at the highest card suit. The card rank from highest ranking card to lowest ranking card is Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs.

Betting

Betting in 7 Card Stud is carried out in a clockwise direction starting with the bring-in players. Players have the option of calling, folding or proceeding to take the final completion bet. Players are allowed to raise in small bet increments until the maximum of 4 raises has been reached.  Bets and raises are also placed in minimum bet amounts on the fourth street unless a player manages to secure an upcard pair in which case he will be entitled to make a much more substantial bet. On the fifth up to the seventh street, big bets equal in value to the size of 2 small bets can be made.

Dead Cards

On the third street, the concept of “dead” cards comes becomes a deciding factor. Dead cards refers to the cards belonging to our opponents which are exposed in order to help us create better hands. For instance, if a player holds three spades, the rest of the spades exposed at the table are considered to be dead cards. Stud Poker is a game that requires you to concentrate and have a good recollection of all the dead cards that have been encountered in order to formulate a proper judgment of your next move.