Seven-Card Stud
What Is Seven-Card Stud?
Seven-Card Stud was the most popular poker game in the world for most of the 20th century, before Texas Hold’em took over. Unlike Hold’em, there are no shared community cards — each player builds their own private hand from seven cards dealt only to them. Four of those seven cards are dealt face-up for everyone to see, and three are dealt face-down and kept secret. You use any five of your seven cards to make the best possible poker hand. Reading your opponents’ visible cards — and remembering which cards have already been folded — is the heart of the game.
What You Need
- One standard deck of 52 playing cards
- Two to eight players — best with five to seven
- Poker chips
Poker Hand Rankings — Best to Worst
- Royal Flush: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10 all of the same suit
- Straight Flush: five consecutive cards all of the same suit
- Four of a Kind: four cards of the same rank
- Full House: three of a kind plus a pair
- Flush: five cards of the same suit in any order
- Straight: five consecutive ranks in any suits
- Three of a Kind: three cards of the same rank
- Two Pair: two different pairs
- One Pair: two cards of the same rank
- High Card: none of the above — best single card plays
Setting Up the Game
- Each player antes — places a small forced bet in the center pot before any cards are dealt. This seeds the pot so there is always something to win.
- The dealer shuffles and deals cards one at a time.
How to Play — The Five Streets
Third Street — The Opening Deal
Each player receives two cards face-DOWN and one card face-UP. Players look at their two face-down cards without showing anyone. The player showing the lowest face-up card must post the bring-in — a small forced bet larger than the ante. If two players show the same low rank, suit determines lowest: Clubs lowest, then Diamonds, Hearts, Spades highest. After the bring-in, each other player clockwise may fold (give up), call (match the bring-in), or raise.
Fourth Street
The dealer deals one more card FACE-UP to each remaining player. Each player now shows two face-up cards. The player showing the highest-ranking visible hand bets first — they may check (pass without betting) or bet. Going clockwise, others call, raise, or fold.
Fifth Street
One more card dealt FACE-UP to each player — three visible cards each. The player with the best visible hand bets first. Bets typically double in size starting at Fifth Street.
Sixth Street
One more card FACE-UP — four visible cards each. Same betting structure, highest visible hand first.
Seventh Street — The River
The final card is dealt FACE-DOWN to each remaining player. Each player now has three private face-down cards and four public face-up cards. One final round of betting.
The Showdown
If two or more players remain after the final betting, everyone reveals all seven cards. Each player selects any five of their seven cards to form their best possible hand. Best five-card hand wins the entire pot.
Winning
Win by having the best hand at showdown, or by being the last player not to fold at any point.
Tips for New Players
- Pay close attention to folded cards — unlike Hold’em, cards that are folded are visible and gone. If you are chasing a flush and three of your suit have already been folded by other players, your odds drop dramatically.
- Start with strong three-card starting hands: three of a kind (rolled up trips), three to a straight flush, high pairs with a high kicker.
- Fold early and often with weak starting hands — chasing bad hands in Stud is expensive because there are five betting rounds.