29 Aug 2024 studying If after playing Texas Hold'em for a while you want to try out a new poker discipline, aggressive and dynamic Seven Card Stud might be the right choice. Many professional players prefer this poker discipline even if it is not particularly common. If you happen to be among them, stay tuned to learn how to play 7 Card Stud in today’s online environment. How to Play 7 Card Stud - Basic Rules Here’s a step-by-step overview of a Stud game process, from the very beginning to the end. Stud Game Setup Like in most poker disciplines, for Stud are used a deck of 52 cards. Next thing is that there can be between two and eight participants at the table. In Stud the cards are ranked from deuce (the lowest card) to ace (the highest). For low combinations and straight ones, which are built from aces to fives, the ace represents a lowest card. Before being dealt, all players make an ante - a forced bet. Usually it’s a small amount, as the purpose of the bet is to stimulate passive players to participate in the following rounds of betting in Stud game. Bettings Rounds in Stud Poker Third Street is just the very first betting round in 7-Card Stud Poker. Each player is dealt three cards: two closed hole cards, and one face up. In this game it's called the Door Card. The player with the lowest door card starts the betting and must place at least the bring-in bet or can choose to raise. The bring-in is usually 2-2.5 times the Ante. Fourth to Sixth Streets involve dealing one more card face-up to each player. From the fourth street onward, the player with the strongest combination of face-up cards goes first. Players can check, meaning they don’t have to bet. Seventh Street is when the final seventh card is dealt face down. By this stage, four of the seven cards each player holds will be visible to their opponents. During each betting round, turns move clockwise around the table, and players can choose to: Fold. The player finishes participation in the game. Check. Passing the turn to another clockwise. Bet. It can be big or small bet. Call. Equalizing the opponent's bet. Raise. Raising the previous bet. Sometimes, all of the players may reach the seventh street. In those rare cases, if we have maximum of 8 participants and since there are only 52 cards in the deck, it’s impossible to deal a final face-down card to everyone. Here a single community card can be placed in the center of the table for everyone to use. Player with the strongest five-card combination, or the only one who stayed in the game, takes the pot. If couple of participant collected the same combinations, the pot is divided between them. The hierarchy of poker combinations in Stud Poker is usual in ascending order - from the high card to the royal flush: As it was already mentioned above, there are no blinds in Stud game. Their role is performed by the ante bet, as well as the bring-in. It's a bet that is made by the player with the lowest open card. At this point, if multiple players hold cards with the same value when the bring-in is made during the first round of betting, the person with the lowest value suit card will begin the next new betting round. Does Suits matter? In 7-Card Stud poker, suits generally don’t affect hand rankings. All suits are considered equal when determining the winner of a hand. For instance, a flush with hearts is just as strong as a flush with spades. However, if a tiebreaker is needed in some games or specific rules, and here's how they're listed - from the highest to the lowest: Clubs; Diamonds; Hearts; Spades. At the online or offline tables, Stud is most often played with a limit. Other game features Here's some more additional information you need to know before playing Stud: Suit Ranking for Bring-In: Even if multiple players start with the same door card, one will always place the bring-in bet first, determined by suit ranking. This is one of the few varieties of poker where suit precedence plays a key role in the moment of the bring-in. Out of Chips: If the player who is to make the bring-in has no chips in the stack (e.g., he went all-in), the obligatory bet for him is made by the next player in the hand clockwise. Five Betting Streets: Unlike Hold'em and Omaha, there are five betting streets in stud poker. Deck Limitations: Sometimes, there aren't enough cards in the deck if all players reach the final betting street. In such cases, the last card is dealt as a single community card for all players to use. Game Variations There are several types of Stud Poker: Stud High-Low: The pot is split between the player with the strongest hand and the player with the weakest qualifying Low hand (a hand with cards ranked between two and eight). Razz: The goal is to create the weakest hand possible without considering flushes and straights. The exception is an A-2-3-4-5 straight, which is the strongest hand in Razz. Basic Stud Strategy If you’re opening the stud poker tab in your client for the first time, it’s wise to be extra cautious and adopt a patient poker strategy. Although limit games are more popular online, you can still lose money just as quickly as in No-Limit Hold'em. Here’s what worth paying attention: Choosing Strong Starting Hands: In Stud your starting hand selection is even more influenced by your position than in Hold'em or Omaha. Value of Draws: Draws (incomplete hands) are more valuable in stud poker than in Hold'em. Memory is Key: When playing against multiple opponents, good memory is essential. You need to remember which outs (potential winning cards) have already been folded by opponents. Manage Your Chips Wisely: While you can’t lose your entire stack in one hand like in no-limit Hold'em, don’t waste chips. The concept of "pot odds" shouldn't be applied in the same way as in Hold'em. Observe Your Opponents: Watch your opponents closely to better understand their hand ranges on different streets and gain an advantage. What are dead and live cards in 7 Card Poker As we already know, in this type of poker everyone has cards available to the public (community cards). The evaluation of our combination can change if our opponent's cards give new information. In turn, our exposed card tells our opponents a lot. In this regard, there is a concept of “dead cards”. It is very important to take into account dead cards, i.e. those that could complement our combination, but we see them in the opponent's hand. Then both our starting poker hand and the potential combination are dead, because the number of outs is limited. It’s necessary to observe the game closely and train your memory in order to record all dead cards and evaluate your chances in each hand. And therefore, playing with live hands is the key to win at Seven Card Stud. Selection of starting hands in Seven-Card Stud So, we are now finally moving on to the starting poker hands and how to choose them in Seven Card Stud. Of course, here we can also encounter strong and weak ones. In this type of poker there is a conventional set of hands into the following types: Nuts hands; Draw hands; Trash hands. Nuts hands involve high value pairs or combinations of three cards of the same rank. Since these hands are unlikely to have any real competitors, our goal in this situation is to force the other players to maximize their pot. Nevertheless, it is worth keeping in mind that in Stud poker, two pairs are the most likely to win. Having this type of poker combination, keep an eye on the main points: whether the outs are present, the rank of your kicker, the seniority of your opponents' open cards. Don't forget that hidden pairs have more importance and value, as they will help you increase your pot. While open combinations will scare your opponents and they won't pay for your profit. You need to be more cautious when playing draw hands. Such cards mean that you don't have a ready combination, but there are outs to strengthen. So watch out for dead cards and try to play more passively. After all, the pot swells rapidly in a flop, and you don't want to throw your entire stack in there without having a strong poker hand. Try to see the next streets and pay for it at a minimum cost. Take into account your position and the number of opponents at the table: the fewer you have, the more types of hands you can play. Being in a late position, you can be more free to choose your starting cards. Under certain conditions you can even take the initiative, make a raise and outsmart your opponents. With trash hands, as a rule of thumb, you should do the same thing - fold. An alternative option is possible with fewer players. In such a situation you can steal both: the ante and the bring-in. Seven Card Stud is not an easy game. It is more of a exotic game for poker pros who are ready to fight an aggressive and fast battle. This game offers lot of situations that require original solutions. So, if you feel the need for new challenges and trials, try Stud - you'll definitely love it!