How To Play 7 Card Stud

For this game type, players are delat up to seven individual cards, of which four can be sen by other players and three are private. The first two cards received are face down, the next four are placed face up, and the last card is face down. You can remember this using the 2-4-2 formula. There are no community cards for this game type.

The system of forced bets for 7 card stud is known as the 'ante'. All players in the hand are required to post the 'nominal' ante, which is typically 10 percent of the full ante. After the cards are dealt, the player with the lowest card showing ( also known as the 'door' card) is required to 'bring-in' either half of the ante amount or the full ante. The player must pay and is not allowed to fold.

Name of round
1. 3rd street
2. 4th street
3. 5th street
4. 6th street
5. 7th street
6. showdown

Betting/ Gameplay
In 7 Card Stud, there is a total of five betting rounds whereby players compete for the pot. After the nominal ante is paid and the cards are dealt, the player with the lowest card showing in the first betting round (3rd street) is required to bring-in either half of the ante amount or the full ante. This player is not allowed to fold his hand.

Betting proceeds clockwise left of the player who paid the bring-in and the other player can decide to either fold, call, or raise.

For all subsequent betting rounds, the first player to start is the player with the highest card showing. This player can decide to either fold, check, or bet and the other players can react appropriately.

At the final betting round (7th street), the player with the highest exposed card in the 6th street will be the first to act. The reason for this is because all players remaining in the hand receives the 7th card face down, thus we do not yet know who received the highest card at the 7th street.

Here is a typical betting sequence for the 7 Card Stud :

- Each player is dealt two cards face down and a third card face up (3rd street)
- First betting round (lower limit)
- Remaining players dealt one more card face up (4th stret)
- Second betitng round (lower limit )
- Remaining players dealt one more card face up ( 5th street)
- Third betting round ( higher limit)
- Remaining player dealt one more card face up (6th street)
- Fourth betting round ( higher limit)
- Remaining players dealt one final card face down ( 7th street)
- Fifth betting round ( hihgher limit )
- Showdown

At the showdon for the 7 Card Stud, the player who can form the best poker hand wins the pot.


General Betting Structure
In 7 Card Stud there are five possible betitng rounds

Each bet and raise during the first two tounds is set at the lower limit of the stakes structure. For example, in a $2-$4 fixed limit game, all bets and raises are $2 for the 3rd/4th street.

Bets and raises during the 5th/6th/7th street are set at the hihgher limit of the stakes structures. In this example, all bets and raises wil be $4.

First To Act
In all 7 Card Stud games, the first player to act in the 3rd street is the player with the lowest card showing. During subsequent betting rounds, the first player to act is the player with the highest card showing. At the 7th street, the first player to act will be the player who had the highest showing card in the 6th street.

Suits As A Tie Breaker
For the purpose of determining who should act first if there is more than one player who has cards of the same rank, the suits are used to determine who has action. We use the following suit ranking :

1. Spades (highest)
2. Hearts
3. Diamonds
4. Clubs (lowest)

It is important to note that the suits are only used to determine who acts first, it is not used to determine the strength of a poker hand.



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