7 Card Stud Poker: How to Play and What to Know

If you love playing poker in its truest form and you want a variant that has a rich history behind it, we recommend 7 Card Stud. The game has been celebrated for years for its purity and increased difficulty of play. 

We’re not suggesting that it’s any better or worse than any other poker variants out there, but 7 Card Stud has maintained a loyal base of players since the very early days and, to this day, that strong following has served to only increase the popularity of this game.  

If you want to join in on all this incredible game has to offer, we can help! CoinPoker will take you on an exciting journey with 7 Card Stud. We’ll also show you all the advantages of playing this game as well as some things to avoid.

What Is 7 Card Stud Poker?

7 Card Stud poker, also known as Seven-Toed Pete or Down-the-River is a stud poker variant. Before the incredible surge in popularity of Texas Hold’Em, Seven Card Stud was one of the most widely played poker variants across the US and it remains so today.

The game is most commonly played between two to eight players. However, there are special rules when playing on a table of eight people as this can sometimes result in the game running out of cards! When eight players receive 7 cards, that would require 56 cards to be in play. As you might know, there are only 52 cards in a deck. So, to solve that rare problem, the final (7th) card is dealt as a community card. The card is dealt face up in the centre of the table for each player to use as their final card.

7 Card Stud Poker Gameplay

At the start of the game, all players at the table will receive two cards, dealt face down, and one card dealt face up.

The player with the lowest face up card has to make a bring-in bet (which we’ll explain more about later). From there, the betting continues clockwise with the player who’s sitting next to the bring-in bet.

Then, a fourth card is dealt face up and the action will start with the player who’s holding the best up cards, continuing clockwise. Once that’s over, the fifth card is dealt face up, and the action continues as it did in the previous round.

Another card, the sixth one, is dealt face-up again, continuing the betting process that the two previous ones did. So the action begins with the player holding the best up cards and continues clockwise.

The seventh card is dealt face down, and the action will start once again with the player who’s holding the best up cards, continuing clockwise. All the players left in the hand have to make the best possible five-card poker hand.

7 Card Stud Poker Betting Rules and Dealing

When playing Limit Stud, the betting limits are fixed at set amounts. That means that the bet size determines the size of the game. 

As an example, in a $5/$10 game, the small bet is $5 and the big bet is $10. In 7 Card Stud, the ante is usually 10% of the big bet, and the minimum bring-in is equal to the ante.

All betting and raising in 7 Card Stud is done in increments of the big or small bets. Which bet size you make depends on which street the betting is taking place. 

For the first two betting rounds, players bet in increments of the small bet. However, in the last three betting rounds, players bet in increments of the big bet.

Ante and Bring

After the shuffling is done, all players at the table have to ante which, in 7 Card, is dead money. That means that all the ante immediately goes into the pot and any bets you make will be in addition to the antes.

One thing to note is that in Stud, the action starts in the hand with the bring. The player who has the lowest-value up card is the one who has to bring it in.

That player has two choices: they can either bring by making a bet that’s the same size as the ante or they can complete the bet to the full amount of the small bet.

7 Card Stud Poker Strategies

As you might have been able to tell by now, Seven Card Stud is very different from other poker variants. That means that it’ll require you to have the rules of poker down pat and a few strategies up your sleeve.

One key part of your game has to be knowing what the winning hand looks like. Once you know what the best hands in 7 Card Stud are, you’ll be able to make much better decisions when it comes to betting and folding.

Another part of your strategy has to be remembering which cards were already dealt to a player who has since folded. When you know which cards are no longer in play, it’ll help you predict what other players might be holding. 

You should also know how to control the pot in 7 Card Stud. That can decide how much you end up bringing home with you (or leaving behind).

Tips to Know

As with any other poker variant, 7 Card Stud requires you to be very selective with your starting hands. There’s nothing more important in this game than choosing the right starting hand in a specific situation.

What’s more, 7 Card Stud will truly test your ability to read others at the table. To be successful at this game, you’ll quickly need to spot those who fold at aggressive betting, the ones who bluff and the ones who can be bluffed, and more. Picking up on these things will become a cornerstone of your strategy.

You should also always be aware of the up cards. Know which hands are live and which key cards are no longer there. Of course, this isn’t a skill that you’ll pick up after a game or two, but rather something that you’ll have to work toward.

To Sum Up 7 Card Stud Poker

For a long time, 7 Card Stud was one of the hottest games around. It was even played at the first-ever WSOP, along with Texas Hold’Em, Deuce to Seven, Razz, and Five Card Stud.

It’s a thrilling and high-octane game and it is a refreshing change from Hold’em poker variants for many. If you want to test your 7 Card Stud poker skills, there’s no better place to do it than CoinPoker!

With our variety of games, lobbies, and players from all over the world – we’re sure to have something for everyone. So download CoinPoker today and don’t miss a second more of the fun!