Stud Poker

In Stud Poker each player receives a mix of face-down and face-up cards, these are dealt in multiple betting rounds. The cards that are dealt face down to each individual player are called hole cards. It is from this that the common English expression “ace in the hole” can be derived – it would suggest that someone has something of value that is hidden from view.

Each player has their own cards, and some are visible. This gives you more information about your opponents than in Draw Poker where all cards are face-down. The variety of final hands that all players has varies more than in community card poker, as all hand are completely individual. So while there is some information at hand, it is easy to overestimate the power of ones own hand.

A trademark of Stud Poker is that they are typically non-positional, meaning that the player who bets first on each round may change from round to round. It is usually the player whose face-up cards make the best hand for the game being played who starts the betting each round.

Five-Card Stud first appeared during the American Civil War, and became very popular. Today Seven-Card Stud is the predominant stud variant, and is presented below. Five-Card Stud is instead played with five cards (!) and four betting rounds.

Generally it can be said that Stud was the dominant from of poker in the pre-Hold'em days, but that Stud has dropped considerably in popularity since. Even the most popular Stud format, Seven-Card Stud is less popular nowadays. With the huge supply of poker games on the world wide web, there is no problem finding a game, but it is a tough game for newbies and (mainly compared to Hold'em) many of the players are old experienced skillful players. Although it can be a rewarding gaming experience, the likeliness for a novice to also make it rewarding financially are slim.

Seven-Card Stud

Seven-Card Stud is a very popular game, as it captures the essence of poker very well. In America almost everyone is familiar with the game and it is appreciated in Europe and the rest of the world as well. Comparing it with todays most popular game, Texas Hold'em, both gives you seven cards but three distinctions can be made. Seven-Card Stud does not use community cards, there are five betting rounds, and antes are used (the dealer does not have an advantage).

First off three cards are dealt to each player. Two of these are concealed (dealt face down) and one is known for everyone (dealt face up). Usually the player with the lowest up-card is forced to start the action.

After the first round of betting, a fourth card is dealt face up. From now on the player with the best hand showing starts the betting round.

A fifth and a sixth cards are also dealt face up and are both followed by a betting round.

A seventh card is dealt. After the final round of betting the highest hand still in the running wins the pot.

As cards are shown but thrown away, Seven-Card Stud requires memory as well as skill, deception, patience and so forth.