How To Play 5 Card Stud

5 Card Stud is a classic stud poker game, still played by thousands of fans around the world. Though less common at most online poker rooms – compared to Texas Hold’em, Omaha and 7 Card Stud – the largest and most respected online poker rooms frequently offer this exhilarating poker variant.

The only differences between 5 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud are the amount of cards dealt to each player (5 instead of 7) and the decreased number of betting rounds (4 instead of 5).

5 Card Stud uses a standard 52-card deck, allowing 2 to 8 players at a table.

Object of 5 Card Stud

The object of 5 Card Stud is to develop the strongest possible 5-card poker hand of the course of the game. The player with the highest ranking poker hand wins the entire pot. (see “Poker Hand Ranks” at the bottom of this page)

Betting Structure of 5 Card Stud

5 Card Stud can be played in any limit – Fixed Limit, Pot Limit or No Limit – though Fixed Limit is the most common, and will be the betting structure discussed in this article.

A Fixed Limit betting structure defines the forced Ante/Bring-In Bets and Fixed Bet/Raise amounts allowed throughout a hand of 5 Card Stud. There are four rounds of betting throughout a hand. During the first two rounds of betting, all bets/raises must match the low-end stakes, increasing to match the high-end stakes in the final two rounds.

For example, in a $2/$4 5 Card Stud game, the first two betting rounds require all bets/raises to made in denominations of $2, while the last two betting rounds requires bets/raises of $4.

Unlike Texas Hold’em, which uses Small Blind and Big Blind bets to sweeten the pot before a hand begins; 5 Card Stud incurs an Ante Bet from all players before the hand, followed by a forced Bring-In Bet from one player after the initial deal. Ante and Bring-In Bets are detailed below.

Ante Bet: Every player must place this bet before the hand is dealt. The Ante is generally equal to 10%-25% of the low-end stakes.

Bring-In Bet: After the initial deal, each player will have two cards – one face-down and one face-up. The player with the lowest face-up card, called the Door Card, must place the Bring-In Bet. The Bring-In Bet is 50% of the low-end stakes. In case of a tie for lowest Door card, lowest suit determines the Bring-In. Suits are ranked alphabetically, lowest to highest: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades.

All other betting options are detailed below.

Check: Decline to bet, but stay in the hand. A player can only Check if no Bet has been placed in the current betting round.

Bet: The first wager made in a round of betting.

Call: Place a wager equal to the current Bet.

Raise: Place a wager higher than the current Bet.

Fold: To forfeit the current hand and all chips in the pot.

All-In: Bet all remaining chips. Note that in a Fixed Limit game, this is only possible when a player has too few, or just enough chips to bet or raise. All-In bets are kept separate from the main pot. The All-In bettor can only win as much as he has wagered from each player.

How to Play a Hand of 5 Card Stud

For this 5 Card Stud example hand, we’ll apply $2/$4 stakes and a Fixed Limit betting structure.

The hand starts with each player placing an Ante Bet into the pot. All players are then dealt 2 two – the first face-down and the second face-up. This face-up card is the Door Card. The player with the lowest Door Card places the Bring-In Bet, which kicks off the first round of betting.

Starting with the player left of the Bring-In and continuing clockwise, every player must at least Bet ($2) or Call to stay in the hand. When action returns to the Bring-In Bettor, he may Call or Raise by adding enough chips to his Bring-In to do so. When all players have Called (aside from those who Fold), game play continues.

3rd Street: A third card is dealt to each player, Open (face-up), followed by another betting round. For this and all subsequent betting rounds, the player with the highest Open (face-up) hand starts the betting round.

4th Street: A 4th card is dealt to each player, again Open. The third betting round begins. For the remainder of the hand, all bets/raises increase to meet the high-end stakes of $4.

5th Street (River): A 5th and final card is dealt Open to each player. The final betting round occurs.

The Showdown: Assuming every other player has not Folded, revealing an instant winner, a Showdown will occur. This is when all players who remain active in the hand reveal their cards to determine the winner. The highest ranking poker hand wins the entire pot.

Poker Hand Ranks (highest to lowest)
Royal Flush (Ace-high straight suited)
Straight Flush (straight suited)
4 of a Kind (4 cards of the same value)
Full House (3 of a Kind + 1 Pair)
Flush (all cards suited)
Straight (all cards in sequence)
3 of a Kind (3 cards of the same value)
2 Pair (1 Pair + 1 Pair)
1 Pair (2 cards of the same value)
High Card (none of the above combinations)

Best Five Card Stud Limit Poker Sites