Stud Poker

Standard Game (5 cards)

Players
Up to ten may play.

Ante
Usually a small compulsory bet is made by all players.

Opening card

The player with the highest ranking face-up card must open or drop. A wild card is considered higher than an ace. If two players hold equal ranking cards, the player nearer the dealers left opens. After the opener, each player drops, stays in, bets, raises, or re-raises in the normal way until betting is equalised.

Continuing play

Further rounds of dealing one card face up to each player alternate with betting intervals, until the end of the fourth interval (when each of the players has one face-down and four face-up cards). On these deals, the dealer leaves the deck resting on the table and takes cards one at a time from the top. On the betting intervals, the player with the right to open is the one with the highest ranking completed hand in exposed cards – the dealer announces that player and also announces exposed hands possible flushes and straights, and the last deal. The showdown, follows the fourth betting interval ; all active players expose their hole cards..

Additional rules

1.    If all the players check, the betting interval ends and the play continues

2.    If a player drops out, he turns all his cards face down and does not reveal his hole card.

3.    If on any betting interval only one active player is left, he wins and play ends. He need not show his hole card.

4.    A “four flush” is often ruled a ranking had in stud poker, i.e. four cards of the same suit plus one other. At showdown (and in deciding the start of a betting interval) it beats a pair but loses to two pairs).
Standard Game (variants)

Six card stud

This is like five-card stud, except that after the fourth betting interval each player receives a sixth card face down. This is followed by a fifth (final) betting interval. At ethe showdown, each active player chooses five cards from his six to form his final hand.

Seven card stud
(or seven-toes Pete or down the river). This game is for 2 to eight players. The opening deal is of three cards: two hole cards, then one face up. Betting intervals and rounds of dealing face up-up cards then alternate as usual, until active players have seven cards (including the two hole cards). After a final betting interval, each active player chooses five cards from his seven to form his showdown hand.

Seven card stud: low hole card wild card

As above, but each player’s lower ranking hole card is wild – as, for him is any other card of that denomination. Sometimes players re allowed to choose either one of their hole cards (and its denominations) as wild.

Mexican stud

This is like five-cards stud except that all cards are dealt face down. After the second and each subsequent dealing round, each player turns up any one of his face-down cards, leaving one chosen card as hole card. Sometimes a player’s final hold card is rules wild, together with any other cards of that denomination that he holds.

Other five-card stud variants

1.    Last card down ; the last card is dealt face down, giving two hole cards

2.    Last card optionally down: a player may turn up his hole card before the last dealing round and receive his firth card face down.
Low-hand stud

The lowest hand wins the pool. The lowest exposed hand begins each betting interval. Other rules are as for the form of stud being played. The lowest exposed hand begins each betting interval. Other rules are as for the form of stud being played.

Tags: how to play stud poker, stud poker, stud poker rules