Seven Card Stud

By Wagercomms

The Game

Seven Card Stud is a popular and well known form of poker and is played with up to eight players. Using one deck of cards (52 cards), with jokers excluded, the player is dealt a total of seven cards. Three “down” cards and four “up” cards. The goal is to build the strongest poker hand using five of the seven cards.

How to Play Seven Card Stud

It’s an exciting game and easy to play and learn. The trick of the game is to predict what the other players are holding, at the same time building your hand with a total of seven cards. No community cards are used but each player holds three cards face down.

The Rules

Seven Card Stud is about getting the highest five card poker hand from a total of seven cards being dealt each player. From the seven cards there are three down cards and four up cards. The game begins with all players posting the ante bet. After the antes have been placed each player is dealt three cards, two down cards and one up card. The up card is also known as the door card or third street. All dealing is left going right from the dealer’s position.

Opening Deal

The players will after placing the ante bet be dealt one card face down followed by a second card face down and then the third card face up, door card/third street. The round of betting will now take place starting with the player with the lowest card value and suit, known as the force bet/bring-in bet. The player who has the force bet can now select from betting a minimum amount or a larger amount.

In the event that two players or more holds door cards of the same value then the lowest suit will determine who holds the force bet.

Suit Rank

Determining which player holds the force bet, when door cards are of the same value, the lowest suit will decide rank. Suits are ranked as follows.

Spades

Hearts

Diamonds

Clubs

Spades being the highest suit and clubs the lowest.

Hand Rank

The game outcome is determined per the following poker hand ranking.

Royal Flush             A, K, Q, J, T in same suit

Straight Flush         Five cards in sequence, same suit

Four of a Kind         Four cards of the same rank 

Full House               Three of a kind and one pair 

Flush                         Five card of the same suit

Straight                    Five cards in sequence, no suit

Three of a Kind       Three cards of the same rank

Two Pairs                 Two different pairs

One Pair                   One pair plus three odd cards

High Card                Five cards, nothing of the above

Fourth Card/4th Street

The next card dealt is the fourth card, also known as 4th street. The dealer will burn one card from the top of the deck and then start to deal the player closest to the dealers left and moving clockwise around the table. Fourth card is dealt face up. The round of betting takes place and starts with the player with the highest two-card value, known as having the action. 

If a tie occurs between two players as to best hand, the player closest to the dealers left will have the action.

Open Pair

In fixed limit stud and if a player shows an open pair on fourth street the player can bet the higher amount of the game limit, usually only available on fifth street.

If the player with the action select the lower limit bet other players in the hand can select either the lower limit or the higher limit raise.

Fifth Card/5th Street

The next card dealt is the fifth card, also known as the 5th street. The dealer will burn one card from the top of the deck and then start to deal the player closest to the dealers left and moving clockwise around the table. Fifth card is dealt face up. The round of betting takes place and starts with the player with highest three-card value.

With the fifth street, and valid through all further streets, all bets and raises in a fixed limit game are made at the higher limit.

Sixth Card/6th Street

The next card dealt is the sixth card, also known as the 6th street. The dealer will burn one card from the top of the deck and start to deal the player closest to the dealers left and moving clockwise around the table. Sixth card is dealt face up. The round of betting takes place and starts with the player with the highest four-card value.

Seventh Card/The River

The last deal and most players refer to it as the river card. It is the last card dealt and as before the dealer starts with a burn card and deals clockwise. The river card is dealt face down.

Reshuffle Rule

If the game has been played by eight players all the way through the sixth street and is to be dealt their river card the dealer will only have one (1) card left. The same based on 48 cards being dealt plus three burn cards, 4th, 5th and 6th street will total 51 cards.

When this occurs the dealer will calculate whether the cards remaining, together with the burn cards, is enough for all players being dealt their river card, if enough the dealer will shuffle remaining cards and burn cards and the players will be dealt their final card.

If not possible to deal each player a river card the dealer will take burn cards and shuffle and then deal one (1) card, a community card used by all players to build their hand. The folded/muck cards may not be used in the game once they have been folded.

The Showdown

Determining which player must and will show their cards first is based on the player who initiated the action or player last holding the action, the player who last initiated a bet, raise or re-raise. In simple terms the player who created the last action on the river must show his or her cards first. If all players checked it’s the player having the initial option to bet that show his or hers card first. If a player checked and the next player bets and then a player raises it’s the player who raised that will and must show first.

No Show

If a player wins by default the player do not need to show his or hers cards. Meaning that if two or more players are in the game and one player bets and the other(s) fold the player winning will not have their cards shown. Instead an option is given the winning player, show or don’t show.

Players are not required to show their cards if they are not the player creating the last action by betting or raising. If a player calls a bet and sees that they cannot win, they are given an option to fold or show their cards.

Split Pots

It is theoretically possible that two or more players can hold the best five-card hand. If a tie occurs between two or more players the dealer will split the pot equally between winning hands.

All-in

A term used when a player is in an active game and runs out of money before the hand is over. All poker games are table stake only, meaning what you have on the table is what you play with, no additional chips or money can be brought into the game in the middle of a hand. The all-in is when you place your last money into the pot and when doing so you can not win any of the additional money being put into the pot as the game continues. Going all-in you are playing the pot as it was when you went all-in. Betting that continues after a player is all-in goes to what is called a side pot. Players that have gone all-in cannot claim any stakes on a side pot.

Most poker rooms allows unlimited game all-ins per 24 hour and two bad connection all-ins per 24 hour, hence one detects the difference between game all-ins and bad connection all-ins.

Game History

During an hour of poker and dealing 60-90 hands there are most likely poker hands that might be debatable. Ensuring a fair game a complete game history should be available.

Practice Play

If not ready to engage in real money games, ensure that your poker room offers the possibility to play at designated practice play tables, preparing for the thrill and excitement of a real poker game, in your own time. Practice play does not involve any real money.

Table Limits

The following table limits are standard in Seven Card Stud.

Fixed Limit Games

Table Limits                0.5-1         1-2       2-4      3-6      4-8        5-10

Minimum Buy-in       10              20        20        30         40          50

Ante                             0.25          0.25     0.25     0.25      0.50       0.50

Force                           0.50          0.50     1            1            2            2

4th street                    0.50          1           2           3           4            5

4th street with pair   0.50 or 1   1 or 2   2 or 4   3 or 6   4 or 8   5 or 10

5th street                     1               2           4           6           8           10

6th street                     1               2           4           6           8           10

River                              1               2           4           6           8           10

Cap no. raises            3              3           3           3            3           3

Raises must be equal or greater than previous bet.

 Heads up games, unlimited raises.

Table Limits            6-12     8-16     10-20      15-30     20-40      30-60

Minimum Buy-in   60        80         100          150         200           300

Ante                         0.50      1            1              2             2                3

Force                       3           4            5             7             10              15

4th street               6           8            10            15            20             30

4th street w. pair  6 or 12  8 or 16  10 or 20  15 or 30  20 or 40  30 or 60

5th street               12           16          20           30           40             60

6th street               12           16          20           30           40             60

River                        12           16          20           30           40             60

Cap no. raises      3            3           3              3              3               3

Raises must be equal or greater than previous bet.

Heads up games, unlimited raises.

Spread Limit Games

Table Limits                        1 to 3 Stud          1 to 5 Stud

Minimum Buy-in               30                        30

Ante                                     0.25                     0.25

Force                                    1                            1

Bet amount any street     1 to 3                    1 to 5

Cap no. of raises               3                           3

Raises must be equal or greater than previous bet.

Heads up unlimited raises.

Betting the low or high limit amount on 4th street if holding an open pair does not apply in a spread limit game.

House Rake

Rake is a fee taken from the pot on behalf of the house. The list below details standard rake levels per game limit. However rake levels often varies between operators.

Fixed and Spread Limit Games

Table Limits 0.5-1 and 1-2

Pot Size         5           12           20         Max 

Rake              0.50     0.25       0.25       1

Table Limits 2-4, 3-6, 4-8, 5-10, 6-12 and 8-16

Pot Size         20         30          40          50          60          Max

Rake              1             0.50      0.50       0.50       0.50       3

Table Limits 10-20, 15-30, 20-40 and 30-60

Pot Size         40         50          70           100         Max 

Rake               1           0.50        0.50       1              3

Fixed Limit Games

The most common used betting structure and a fixed limit game is as the name states, fixed betting amounts. In a fixed limit game the bets permitted are already decided and will remain consistent through several betting rounds and then change. For instance in a 2-4 seven card stud game a bet and any raises must be exactly 2. In later betting rounds such as the river any bet and raises must be 4.

Betting at Fixed Limit

Bets are placed in accordance with a predetermined limit structure, if a player chooses not to bet the player is said to check, pass on the option to the next player. If a player bets the next player may call the bet or fold. If a player checks and another player places a bet the player who checked can now raise, known as a check & raise.

Spread Limit Games

The second most common betting structure. A spread game permits players to decide within a certain spread what bet to place at any given street, e.g. in a 1 to 5 game players can decide whether to bet 1 to 5.

Betting at Spread Limit

With the exception of 4th street rule on open pair, which is not applied in a spread game, it is the same general rules as in a fixed game. However in a spread game the raise must be equal to or greater than the previous bet. If in the event there is a re-raise, then the re-raise amount will be equal or greater than the raise amount, but not to exceed the maximum bet.

The only difference between fixed- and spread-limit stud poker is betting structure and 4th street open pair betting rule.