How to Play Seven Card Stud Poker (and Stud Hi-Lo)

Seven card stud was the most popular poker game in America for much of the twentieth century, before Texas hold'em took over. There are no community cards: each player gets their own seven, some face down and some face up, and makes the best five-card hand. Because you can see part of everyone's hand, it is a game of memory and reading the table, and it plays beautifully at home.

What you need

One 52-card deck, chips, and two to eight players. Eight is the maximum: eight players taking seven cards each would need 56 cards, so if everyone stays to the end the dealer turns one shared card face up on the last round instead (this rarely happens). Hands are ranked as in all standard poker — see poker hand rankings.

How to play seven card stud, step by step

1. Antes. Everyone puts a small ante into the pot before the deal.

2. Third street. Each player gets two cards face down and one face up. This is called third street, because everyone holds three cards.

3. The bring-in. The player with the lowest face-up card must start the betting with a small forced bet, the bring-in (or may choose to bet a full small bet instead). If two players tie for lowest, suit breaks the tie — in the usual order, clubs are lowest, then diamonds, hearts and spades. Betting then goes clockwise.

4. Fourth street. Each remaining player gets one more card face up. From now on, the player whose face-up cards make the best showing hand acts first (a pair beats high cards, and so on). Another round of betting.

5. Fifth and sixth streets. One more face-up card each time, with a betting round after each.

6. Seventh street (the river). The last card is dealt face down. Each player now has three down and four up. Final betting round.

7. Showdown. Players still in show their cards, and the best five-card hand from each player's seven wins the pot.

Betting limits in stud

Seven card stud is traditionally played fixed limit, with two bet sizes:

Many rules allow the big bet on fourth street if someone shows an open pair. Raises are usually capped at three or four per round. At home, agree these before the first hand, and use chip colours for the two bet sizes — our guide to poker chip values suggests a set-up.

How to play seven card stud hi-lo

In seven card stud hi-lo (also called stud eight or better), the pot is split between the best high hand and the best low hand.

• A low hand is five different cards of 8 or lower; aces count low.
• Straights and flushes do not count against a low, so A-2-3-4-5 is the best low and can also win the high as a straight.
• If nobody has a qualifying low, the high hand takes the whole pot.

A player can use different combinations of their seven cards for the high and the low.

Seven card stud tips for beginners

Remember the folded cards. When a player folds, their face-up cards are gone. If you need a queen for a pair and two queens have been folded, your chances have dropped sharply.

Start with strong three-card hands. A pair, three cards to a flush, or three to a straight are reasonable starts; high cards matter more than in hold'em because pairs are the most common winners.

Watch the board. Anyone showing a possible flush or straight should make you careful with one pair.

Hosting a stud game at home

Stud deals out many cards face up, so a deck with large indices — like a jumbo index deck — makes the board easy to read from across the table. Use a proper surface such as a poker table topper, and a good chip set: the Monte Carlo chips feel the part. For other games for the same night, see five card draw and Omaha.