7 Card Stud

7 Stud is the game of choice for the hard-nut players. It is characterized by players having one or more face-up cards. Of all the poker games most commonly played in public cardrooms, Seven Cards Stud Poker is probably the most popular.

In this game, each player is dealt seven cards of their own - two cards in the hole and one face-up, followed by an opening bet. Then three cards face-up, with a betting round after each card dealt, and a final card in the hole with a final betting round followed by the showdown.

It's played with 52-card deck. Before a game of Seven Card Stud starts, all players ante a nominal amount. The player with the lowest exposed card is the "bring-in", and is forced to make a wager of either a half a small bet or a full small bet. Action continues clockwise around the table until betting is complete for the round. This game has five betting rounds after each dealing round.

How to play 7 Card Stud

* Each player is dealt three cards; two cards face-down (hole cards) and one card face-up (door card)
* 1st betting round (by now some players may fold)
* Each active player is dealt one card face-up. This is 4th street.
* 2nd betting round.
* Each active player is dealt another card face-up. This is 5th street.
* 3rd betting round.
* Each active player is dealt another card face-up. It is called 6th street.
* 4th betting round.
* Each active player is dealt a last card face-down. It's called River.
* Final betting round.
* Showdown (active players show their hands, bettor showing first.

7 Card Stud has three versions - High, Low, and High-Low Split. In 7 Card Stud High wins the highest hand. The object of the game is to obtain the highest ranking hand. In 7 Card Stud Low wins the lowest hand. The object of the game is to obtain the lowest ranking hand. If no player qualifies for low, the high hand wins the entire pot. This is in 7-Card Stud High-Low Split.