7 Card Stud Poker

How to Play 7 Card Stud Poker 2024

It is possible to play 7 Card Stud Poker online. This variant of poker is popular in the United States and can be played with two to eight players. If none of the players “folds”, the rules are special. Players who master Stud Poker well can even play a 9-player game.

There are several variations of 7 Card Stud Poker. Each player is assigned 7 cards in all: three cards face down and four face ups. 7 Card Stud Poker is played at fixed stakes, otherwise known as “limit”. 

Each player must post the ante before the cards are dealt to him. This represents the opening of the pot but it does not count for the bids that the players will make thereafter. 

After the first card distribution, each player has one uncovered card and two covered cards, the one who holds the lowest uncovered value has the obligation to pay the “bring in” which is equivalent to half of the small pot limit and which is considered an entry.

In 7 Card Stud Poker, there are a total of five different betting rounds. The bets will increment by multiples of 3 and for the last three rounds, they will increment by multiples of 6.

Three raises are the maximum possible for each round of betting and there are 7 in all: 7th street. 7 Card Stud Poker normally equals two hole cards, four up and one down. During each showdown, each player chooses the best five-card hand he has the possibility of composing from the 7 cards he has received.

Players who at the time of the last round of betting, failed to pass, will have to compare their hands to know who won the pot. It is always the player who opens last and who must show his card first. The game is played clockwise.

7 Card Stud Poker fans can play online and participate in tournaments organized either online or live that bring together the best players. They earn qualifications as they progress.

7 Cards Stud Poker

The four key points of 7 Card Stud Poker:

  • 7 Card Stud Poker is a variant of poker where players must attempt to make the best five-card combination from the 7 cards they receive during the round.
  • 7 Card Stud Poker is a variant of poker belonging to the family of so-called “open” pokers: that is to say that several of the players’ cards are revealed during the move. On the other hand, unlike Texas Hold’em, there are no so-called “common” cards: the 7 cards that each player is dealt during the move are his own.
  • In 7 Card Stud Poker, position (and therefore the order in which players act) is not determined by the button (as it is in most forms of poker, such as Texas Hold’em), but by the strength of the cards displayed by each player. Thus, it is common for the order in which players make their decision to change during a move, to depend on the cards they receive.
  • 7 Card Stud Poker is played in Limit: in this format, bets and raises are capped. Unlike the No-Limit format, you cannot bet your entire stack at once.

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Hand Ranking

The hierarchy of hands in 7 Card Stud Poker is strictly identical to that of Texas Hold’em, from the height (combinations of the weakest hands, not containing a pair) to the very rare Royal Flush (10-Jack- Queen-King-Ace of the same suit) through three of a kind, straight, square, etc.

1. Straight flush

5 cards of the same suit (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, or Clubs), which follow each other. For example 4-5-6-7-8 in Hearts.

An As-KQJ-10 straight flush is called a royal flush.

This is obviously a very rare combination!

2. Square

On your 5 cards, four cards of the same value. The square of Aces is the strongest of the squares, the square of 2 the weakest.

3. Full (“full house”)

3 cards of the same value are associated with 2 cards of the same value, ie a set + a pair. The fulls are classified between them by the value of the cards of the brelan. Ex: KKK-3-3 beats QQQ-As-As

4. Color (“flush”)

5 cards of the same suit (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, or Clubs), but not consecutive. We decide between two “colors” according to the value of the strongest card and, in the event of a tie, according to the strength of the next one.

Example: AJ-8-5-3 in Diamonds beats A-9-8-5-3 in Spades.

In poker, there is no difference in value between suits, but beware, hearts or diamonds are not considered the same suit, nor are spades and clubs!

5. Straight

5 consecutive cards, but not in the same suit.

Eg: 6-7-8-9-10. Suits are ranked among themselves by the strength of the highest card. The Ace is the highest card in the AKQJ-10 suit but the lowest in A-2-3-4-5.

6. Three of a kind

3 cards of the same value are associated with any 2 cards.

7. Two pairs

KK-7-7-2. If 2 players each have 2 pairs, they are decided by the strongest pair. Thus, AA-6-6 beats QQJJ.

8. A Pair

Two cards of the same value are associated with any 3 cards. The pair of aces is the strongest, the pair of 2s the weakest.

9. The highest card

If no player manages to form any of the above combinations, not even a pair, the winner will be the one who shows the highest five-card combination.

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Unfolding a blow

ante

Before starting a hand of 7 Card Stud Poker, all players must place a forced bet in the pot, called “Ante”. The amount of the ante varies according to the parties. This is the amount to be paid to receive cards.

Distribution and “Bring in”

Each player receives three cards: two face down and one upside down. The player whose visible card is the lowest must act first, and place a minimum bet called “Bring in” or, if he wishes, a full bet of the lowest betting level, called “Small bet”.

In the event of a tie between two or more of the displayed cards, the color of the cards is used to decide between them. Suits are ranked in this order: clubs (lowest), diamonds, hearts, and spades (highest).

The lowest color wins: if the 2 of hearts and the 2 of clubs are visible at the start of the move, it is the 2 of clubs that must act first. (Note that this color hierarchy is only used in this case, and does not apply to showdown.

If, for example, two players show at the end of a hand Ace-10-8-5- 2 clubs (for one) and Ace-10-8-5-2 diamonds (for the other), their hands are considered identical, and the pot is split.)

3rd street _

After the player showing the lowest card has bet a “Bring in” or a “Small Bet”, the round continues clockwise: each player has the choice to resign (“Fold”), equalize (“Call”), or raise (“Raise”).

For each round of betting, the number of raises authorized is limited to three and progress by increments corresponding to the amount of the “Small Bet” (Example: in a game at €2/€4, they are made in increments of €2).

If a player’s bet or raise is not matched by any of his opponents, then that player wins the pot, and the bet ends immediately. This rule is valid for the whole move.

4th street _

Each player receives a new visible card, called “Fourth Street”. The first player to act is the one whose uncovered cards are the strongest. In the event of a tie, the color of the cards is used again (see the previous paragraph). The highest color of the highest visible card wins.

The first player to act can “Check” (which corresponds to a bet of zero) or “Bet” (a bet corresponding to the amount of the “Small Bet”). If subsequent players decide to bet, the floor will then return to the player or players having “Check”, and they will have the choice to pay (“Call”) or raise (“Raise”) if the maximum number of raises has not yet been reached. If all the players decide to “Check” during a given round, we go directly to the next round.

The round continues clockwise. When all bets and raises have been equalized, the next round can begin.

5th street _

Each player receives a new visible card, called “Fifth Street”. Again, the first player to act is the one who’s exposed cards are the strongest. In the event of a tie, the above rules apply.

The round continues in a clockwise direction, according to the rules previously stated.

From Fifth Street and until the end of the round, all bets progress by increments corresponding to the amount of the “Big Bet”, generally double the amount of the “Small Bet” (Example: in a game at €2/ 4€, they are made in increments of 4€).

6th street _

Each player receives a new visible card, called “Sixth Street”. Again, the first player to act is the one whose exposed cards are the strongest. In the event of a tie, the above rules apply.

The round continues in a clockwise direction, according to the rules previously stated.

7th street _

Each player receives a seventh and last card, closed (and therefore known only to the player receiving it). The first player to act is the one whose uncovered cards are the strongest. In the event of a tie, the above rules apply.

The round continues in a clockwise direction, according to the rules previously stated.

Slaughter

If there are several players left at the end of the last betting round, the last player who bet or raised must show their cards first. If there was no bet in the last round, the player who first “Checked” in that round must show their cards first. When slaughtering, the hands are revealed in a clockwise direction.

The winner of the pot is the player showing the strongest five-card combination, according to the hierarchy described in the “Hand ranking” paragraph. If one or more players reveal an identical combination of cards, the pot is shared equally between them. Once the pot has been awarded to the winner(s), a new hand can begin.

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Additional rules

  • 7 Card Stud Poker is played with a maximum of six players.
  • In a tournament, on 3rd street, if the player with the lowest card is all-in from the ante and therefore does not have enough chips to bring in, this bring-in is placed by the player to his left, regardless of the value of that player’s exposed card. Note that if the player has enough chips to pay the ante but not enough to fully pay the bring-in, he is considered both all-in and bring-in. The next player, if he wants to get in or raise, will have to pay him the full bring-in.
  • In cash-game, it is mandatory to have a sufficient stack to place both the ante and the bring-in in order to participate in a hand.
  • 3rd street: if the player who must place the bring-in completes the bet of the lowest level (“Small bet”), this bet is not considered a raise. The number of remaining authorized raises is therefore three.
  • 4th street: if a player displays a pair on his two face-up cards, the betting round is special. Players can bet or raise in “Big Bet” increments (instead of raising in “Small Bet” increments normally). A player can raise from a “Big Bet” against a “Small Bet”, but not the other way around.

Examples:

– If a player checks, the next player can: check, bet a “Small bet” or a “Big bet”.

– If a player bets a “Small bet”, the next player can: give up, complete the bet, raise with a “Small bet”, or raise with a “Big Bet”.

– If a player bets a “Big bet”, the next player can: give up, complete the bet, or raise with a “Big Bet”.

In these special cases, the maximum number of retries authorized remains three.

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