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Seven card stud is a classic form of poker played in live and online poker rooms around the globe.

Poker is any of a number of card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules in ways similar to these rankings.Often using a standard deck, poker games vary in deck configuration, the number of cards in play, the number dealt face up or face down, and the number shared by all players, but all have rules which involve one or more rounds of betting. The rules of 7 Card Stud, while a little trickier to pick up than Texas Hold'em, are also fairly easy to understand so you can jump into a free 7 Card Stud game online within minutes if you so choose. Optimal 7 Card Strategy can take a bit longer to master but it's well worth putting the effort in as most players aren't particularly talented at.

It's not as popular as it once was - Texas Hold'em has run away with the crown as most popular poker game in the past decade - but make no mistake: 7 Card Stud is a highly enjoyable, challenging and will continue to be around for a long time.

7 Card Stud was the de facto poker game of choice in poker card rooms in California and Las Vegas in the 1970s and 80s and it's got all the old school pedigree you can hope for. Some of the best poker players in world, in fact - Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, just to name a few - cut their teeth on Stud games and once you play a few rounds you're likely to be hooked, too.

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The rules of 7 Card Stud, while a little trickier to pick up than Texas Hold'em, are also fairly easy to understand so you can jump into a free 7 Card Stud game online within minutes if you so choose. Optimal 7 Card Strategy can take a bit longer to master but it's well worth putting the effort in as most players aren't particularly talented at the game.

If you plan on playing mixed games, knowing the 7 Card Stud rules backwards and forwards is important, too. Learn the basic rules for How to Play 7 Card Stud below and be sure to check our Poker Strategy pages for more advice on 7 Card Stud play.

How to Play 7 Card Stud

First things first: 7 Card Stud poker is different from Texas Hold'em poker in a few obvious (and important) ways:

  • Players are each dealt seven cards, unlike Hold'em where each player gets two cards
  • There are no shared cards in 7 Card Stud - all your cards are your own
  • Three of your seven cards will be dealt face down and four face up

So that's important to note. And while all seven cards dealt to each player are individual - no community cards exist - you will still try to make the best possible 5-card poker hand. 7 Card Stud is rarely played in No-Limit form so most games are played as Fixed Limit.

As dealing a full seven cards to every player requires a lot more of standard 52-card deck than Hold'em, 7-Card Stud is usually played by between 2-8 players players at a table.

It's not likely all 8 players will make it to the end of the hand so there will typically be enough cards left for the dealer to deal a full round. Should too many players remain in the hand at the river to deal individual cards to each player a single community river card will be placed on the table.

7-Card Stud Rules can be broken up into a few simple categories:

  • 7 Card Stud Rules - The Set-Up
  • 7 Card Stud Rules - The Deal
  • 7 Card Stud Rules - The Bring In
  • 7 Card Stud Rules - The Betting Rounds
  • 7 Card Stud Rules - The Showdown

7 Card Stud Rules - The Set-Up

7 Card Stud is often played as an ante game with a Limit betting format. The ante (usually 10% of the big bet) will be paid by each player before the hand begins. The bet sizes will be decided beforehand as well - eg. $1/$2. You will know the stakes at the table before you sit down.

That means there are two bet sizes - a small bet and a big bet - that will be in play and will restrict the amount you can bet in each roundBets and raises are made in increments of the Small Bet (in the first two betting rounds) and the Big Bet (the last three betting rounds).

There is also usually a cap on raises in each betting round (a bet and 3 raises).

7 Card Stud Rules - The Deal

Once all of the seated players have paid their antes, the dealer will begin the deal. If you're playing online or in a live casino, the dealer will of course be set and sit at one position at the table. If you're playing a home game the deal will be passed along the table to each player going to the left.

The dealer will deal two cards in sequence to each player face down and then a third card in sequence to each player face up. This third called is called the 'door' card or the 'window' card and is not a shared card. This card belongs to each player individually.

Any showing card is referred to as an 'upcard' or 'show card' as well. The first up card will also determine which player is responsible for making the first bet - also known as 'the bring in' or the bring.

7 Card Stud Rules - The Bring In

Once each player has their three cards (two face down, one face up), the player with the lowest ranking up-card is required to make the bring-in bet.

This bring-in bet is pre-determined and set by the table. The bring in player can also complete the small bet amount as set by the table limits. Eg it can be $1 in a $1/$2 Stud game.

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If two players have a card of the same value the suit determines who makes the bring-in. Suits are ranked in alphabetical order from lowest to highest, so clubs is lowest followed by diamonds, hearts and then spades (highest).

Once the bring in has been paid the betting then continues in a clockwise order. Players can match the size of the small bet or raise in one added increment of the small bet. When all the remaining players have contributed equally to the pot, a card is burnt by the dealer and a fourth card is dealt face up to each player.

7 Card Stud Rules - The Betting Rounds

Once each player now has 4 cards (2 face down, 2 face up) a second betting round follows. The player whose upcards now make the best poker hand acts first. (Straights and flushes do not count because less than five cards are face up.)

Betting then proceeds to the left of that player and is again only allowed in increments of the small bet size for the table. Once all bets have been matched again, another card is burned by the dealer and a fifth card is dealt face up to each player.

The player with the best hand again initiates the next round of betting (which proceeds the same way) but the bet limit is now upped to the amount of the Big Bet for the table and will remain that way until the end of the hand.

Once all bets have been matched a sixth card (after a burn card, of course) is dealt face up to each player left in the hand and another betting round proceeds as the last one. Once all bets have again been matched a seventh and final card is dealt to each player face down.

Each player left in the hand will now have 3 total cards face down and 4 total cards face up. A final betting round then ensues.

7 Card Stud Rules - The Showdown

Once all players have matched any bets or raises in the final round a showdown occurs. The player that made the last bet or raise reveals his/her cards first. The remaining players then reveal their hands clockwise.

Players that don't want to (or can't) compete for the pot can choose to muck their hands unseen. The player with the best possible 5-card poker hand wins the pot.

If two or more players have the same five-card hand, the pot is split between them. If you need a refresher on the standard poker hand rankings, see below. Hand rankings for standard 7 Card Stud are the same as they are for both Texas Hold'em and Omaha.

  • Royal Flush (A, K, Q, J, 10 all of same suit)
  • Straight Flush. (5 cards in sequence all in same suit - eg 7h-8h-9h-Th-Jh)
  • Four of a Kind. (All four cards of same rank)
  • Full House. (3 cards of one rank alongside 2 cards of another - eg. 6h-6s-6d-8d-8c)
  • Flush (All 5 cards or one suit, any rank)
  • Straight (A sequence of 5 cards of rank, any suit - eg, 2h-3d-4c-5s-6c)
  • Three of a kind (3 cards or any one rank, two unmatched cards)
  • Two pair (Two different pairs plus one unmatched card)
  • One pair (One pair of equal rank, 3 unmatched cards)
  • High Card (all unmatched cards ranked by the highest single card)

Note: If you are playing Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo and low hands are counted for half the pot, the above rankings do not apply in reverse for low hands. See below for more.

Rules for Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo (8-or-Better)

A 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo game plays exactly the same as a standard 7 Card Stud game with one major difference:

  • The pot in each hand is split between the best high hand and the best low hand

For the high hand, the exact same Poker Hand Rankings you see above apply. If you have the best 5-card high hand you will earn yourself half the pot. A qualifying low hand can also earn you half of the pot. A qualifying low hand must:

  • Have 5 cards all 8 or lower
  • Can not have a pair in it

Straights and flushes do NOT count towards the low hand so the lowest possible hand (aka the best low hand) is A2345. The highest possible qualifying low hand is 87654. If no players have a qualifying low hand the player with the highest hand wins the whole pot.

Razz Poker, another increasingly popular game both live and online and a part of many Mixed Games, is essentially an entire game of Seven Card Stud Low where only the lowest hand wins the pot.

Play 7 Card Stud Online

Once you've got the rules of 7 Card Stud down you'll likely want to have a go at a few 7 Card Stud games online to get some hands under your belt. It's difficult to find free 7 Card Stud games online so we recommend you try out the microstakes 7 Card Stud games available online at 888poker, Poker Stars and William Hill Poker.

All you need to do is simply create an account at one of those poker sites and navigate to the 7 Card Stud games. There you will find a few 7 Card Stud games running at very low limits. To make a deposit there are numerous. accessible options available to you (Visa, Mastercard, pre-paid cards, Neteller, Skrill and more) and minimum deposits are as low as $10.

To access our exclusive first-deposit sign-up bonuses, check our review pages here:

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Table Of Contents

Other Poker Game’s Rules:

Learning how to play poker should not be difficult. If you want to understand why so many people love this game, this beginner's guide to the rules and the basics of poker is all you need.

Poker is a simple game to learn, but the poker rules can be challenging for a complete beginner.

But don't let that put you off. It is not hard to learn how to play poker, and you can move from the basics of the game to the tables of the top online poker sites in no time.

Here's everything you'll learn in this guide on how to play poker:

  1. And lots more

Before you move to the 'practical' side of this guide on how to play the most popular variants of this game, you need to learn the basics of poker.

When most people say they want to know 'how to play regular poker,' they imply that they want to learn the basics of Texas Hold'em.

Texas Hold'em is (by far) the most popular poker game out there and it's the one you find at every online poker site.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. With so many poker variants to play online and offline, the only proper guide on how to play poker for dummies is the one that gets you access to all the best games out there.

Not just to the most famous one.

Many poker rules are consistent from game to game, although among the dozens of variants such as Texas hold'em, Omaha, and seven-card stud you will find some ket differences you need to kno.

Let's have a quick look at the poker rules of the most played poker games online:

How to Play Texas Hold'Em

GameTexas Hold'em
How Many Players2-10
Poker RulesHow to play Texas hold'em

Also called the 'Cadillac of Poker,' Texas hold'em is the one you are going to play over and over again.

This is the most popular poker game online and it is also the one you are most likely to play with our friends in your next home game.

Whether you play it in the form of a tournament or as a ring-game, the basic poker rules and the hand rankings don't change.

> Discover how to play Texas Hold'em

How to Play Omaha Poker

GameOmaha Poker
How Many Players2-10
Poker RulesHow to play Omaha
Where to PlayTop poker sites

The second-most popular poker variant. Omaha poker finds its roots in the game of Texas Hold'em, although the rules of the two games are slightly different from each other.

Many players find learning how to play poker Omaha to be the natural step to take after they have successfully mastered the basics of Texas Hold'em.

In the poker rules page dedicated to the game, you find the perfect beginner's guide to moving your first steps in the world of Omaha.

> Learn how to play Omaha poker

How to Play Seven-Card Stud

GameSeven-Card Stud
How Many Players2-8
Poker RulesHow to play 7-card Stud
Where to PlayTop poker sites

Before Texas hold'em became king, anyone who wanted to learn the basic poker rules and how to play poker had to go through the game of seven-card stud.

As the name suggests, this is a variant of stud poker. 7-card stud is also the 'S' game in the H.O.R.S.E. poker — but if you are still learning how to play poker, it's probably too early for you to jump on that.

> Discover how to play seven-card stud poker

Other Poker Rules to Learn

If you want to go deeper and you want to learn how to play even more poker games, PokerNews is the right site for you.

Pick one poker variant to learn from the list that follows and find out how to play some of the most exciting and lesser-known poker games out there!

Use these guides to learn how to play poker and master not only the most 'obvious' games like Texas hold'em bu also all the other different variants out there.

In our guides for beginners, you find the official poker rules, the basic strategy tips, and the hand rankings — because knowing how to calculate points is key if you want to win at poker.

Common Traits of Most Poker Rules

The Value of Poker Hands

One element used in most poker variants is the system of hand rankings.

The highest ranked hand is a Royal Flush (five cards of the same suit, ranked ace through ten), followed by a Straight Flush (five cards of the same suit of consecutive ranks).

The third-best combination is the Four-of-a-kind, which is then followed by the Full House (three of a kind plus one pair), the Flush, the Straight, the Three-of-a-kind, Two Pair, One Pair, and High Card or no pair.

When a hand reaches the showdown, the player with the highest-ranked hand wins the pot.

That's true of Texas hold'em, pot-limit Omaha, seven-card stud, and five-card draw.

Of course, in 'lowball' games like razz or deuce-to-seven triple draw, the hand rankings are turned upside down and the 'worst' hand according to traditional hand rankings is the winning one.

Poker Hands Ranking

  • Royal Flush10JQKA
  • Straight
    Flush
    56789
  • Four Of
    A Kind
    3333K
  • Full HouseJJJKK
  • Flush2459K
  • StraightA2345
  • Three Of
    A Kind
    45777
  • Two Pair499KK
  • One Pair3QK1010
  • High Card248QK
Download as PDF / ImageImage

Suggested Readings

  • Poker Hands Chart: The official classification of all poker hands with a free pdf to download and print.
  • What Beats What in Poker: the perfect starting guide to learn how to count points in poker and discover the real value of each hand.

Blinds and Ante Bets

Games like hold'em and Omaha feature small and big blinds, so called because they are 'blind' bets players have to make before they are dealt any cards.

Meanwhile stud games usually use 'antes', which also involve players putting chips in the middle before the hand begins.

From there players bet more as the hand progresses, thereby creating larger pots.

Limit vs. No Limit Poker Games

Some games are played with no-limit betting, which means players can bet as much as they like at any point in the hand, including going 'all in.'

Pot-limit betting means that the current size of the pot creates an upper limit on how much a player can bet.

Games that are played with fixed-limit betting have predetermined amounts from which players cannot vary when they make their bets and raises.

The Action

There are other terms that tend to be used in all different poker games, including many having to do with the actions you perform when playing.

When the action is on you, you can:

  • Check: Decline to bet
  • Fold: Withdraw from the hand, if someone else has bet already
  • Bet: Place a wager on the table
  • Raise: Add more chips by matching your opponent's bet and putting in a greater amount.
  • Call: Match the bet of your opponents to stay in the hand and continue to play.

All of those terms are an important step in your journey to learn how to play poker since they tend to come up in all poker variants.

The Betting Rounds

In games with community cards like hold'em and Omaha (also sometimes called 'flop games'), the betting rounds are referred to as:

  • Preflop: The bets made before any community cards are dealt
  • Flop: The bets made after the first three community cards are dealt)
  • Turn: The bets made after the fourth community card
  • River The bets made after the fifth and last community card.

Suggested Readings

  • How to bet in poker: a beginner's guide to betting in Texas hold'em.
  • Texas hold'em betting tips: This short article gives you some actionable tips to learn how to play poker with your stack of chips.

The Table Stakes

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One other poker rule common to just about every variant of the you'll play – whether you are playing live poker or online poker – is one called 'table stakes.'

Table stakes means that once a hand begins, you can only bet whatever amount you had on the table to begin the hand and are not allowed to add anything more during the hand as it plays out.

If you only have $100 on the table to begin a hand, you can't pull out your wallet and add more halfway through the hand – you can only play out the hand with whatever you had to start.

Practice Poker Online for Free

Now that you know the basic poker rules and you have links to go back to your poker guides when you need to, it's time to look for the best websites to practice poker online.

Don't start to play poker for real money right away. Try out the games for free first. That's the only way to discover if you have really learned how to play poker.

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Looking for a site to practice online poker for free?

Don't miss the updated list of the best free poker sites in 2020!

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There are countless options to give the game a test run, but the best way is to try out the real deal.

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Sign up for a poker account with one of the big online poker rooms and give the freerolls a try.

That way, you can practice poker online without any risk; you're not wagering any money.

And if you want to try out cash games instead of tournaments, all major poker sites online have so-called play money tables.

That way you can practice the game, learn the rules, and figure out how the software works, readying yourself for the big stage.

Register a free gaming account and test your poker knowledge in the next freeroll!

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