A very old form of poker still popular today because of its standard, familiar structure is 7-card stud. It attracts a major following in both casinos and Friday night home poker parties. Depending on the region of play, the rules of stud may be altered slightly, but all will have the rule of a maximum of seven players per table due to the fact that a deck contains only 52 cards, also the dealer is allowed to burn 4 in the course of a game. There are less rounds for betting so it is not unusual to find house rules include an ante or pre-flop requisite bet to elicit more hand participation as well as add more complexity to the game.

If you play holdem exclusively, you will have to learn a new strategy to play 7-card stud. Any one new to the stud games should carefully observe games as they are played and learn well the rules and strategies of betting before even thinking of sitting at the table to play a round or two. Learning strategies of stud as well as other forms of poker will always add to the enjoyment (and profitability) of any form of the game.

7-Card Stud Betting Structure

To begin the game, each player is dealt three cards with two of them faced down and one up. Betting begins in a clockwise direction with the player holding the highest hand betting first (two aces would be the topmost hand at this point). The following three rounds, or streets as they are sometimes termed, will be dealt face up with the last (River) card dealt face down which takes us to the highest hand 5-card showdown. Betting rounds are taking place between each deal, with the exception of Mississippi stud which can be played with just four betting rounds and the last two cards are dealt as one.

The Workings of 7-Card Stud Strategy

There is usually a mandatory ante that marks the start of most stud games and it is not unusual for some games to demand that the player with the lowest scoring visible hand "bring in" (place a forced bet). The game continues with each player being dealt three cards, two up and the bring in hand holder must bet first. In case of a tie, the suit is the tiebreaker. At this point in the game, a player has the right to bet, fold or raise to the level of the house limits.

Now comes another card and another round of betting, starting with the player again with the highest scoring hand, which at this point in the game can be no higher than three aces. In all subsequent rounds, the player with the highest visible cards can choose to either bet or check to kick off the round. After all cards are dealt, the players will arrange their hands in the order of two down cards, four up cards and one card down.

Similar to holdem or Omaha poker, he who creates the best hand of five cards gets the pot. Stud differs in its lack of community cards as well as the hands include some face- up cards. The ranking of card combinations is the same as traditional poker. In order of ranking: Royal Flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, pair, with high cards in last place. A good strategy for betting should have at its roots the strength of your hand, the visible cards and betting schemes of your opponents and a keen sense of the size of the pot.