How To Play 7 Card Stud

Once the most popular poker variant in the world, 7 Card Stud dropped in the ranks when Texas Hold’em became the premier poker game in the WSOP; more specifically, when the WSOP made its way into the homes of millions via televised broadcasting. Though no longer the most preferred game, 7 Card Stud Poker still draws an enormous fan base in the live and online poker community.

7 Card Stud uses a standard 52-card deck, with 2 to 8 players per table.

Object of 7 Card Stud Limit Poker

The object of 7 Card Stud is to use the 7 cards available to you throughout the hand to develop the highest ranking 5-card poker hand possible. The player with the highest ranking hand wins the entire pot.

Betting Structure of 7 Card Stud

Though 7 Card Stud can be played in any limit, Fixed Limit is the most common betting structure; therefore the one we’ll be using for this tutorial. Fixed Limit means that all Bets and Raises must match the low-end or high-end stakes of the 7 Card Stud poker game. There are 5 betting rounds in 7 Card Stud. For the first three betting rounds, all Bets and Raises must compare to the low-end stakes. For the final two betting rounds, the Bets/Raises increase to meet the high-end stakes.

For instance, in a $5/$10 stakes 7 Card Stud game, all Bets/Raises start at $5, increasing to $10 for the final two betting rounds.

7 Card Stud uses Ante Bets from every player before the hand begins, and a Bring-In Bet from the player with the lowest opening hand, after the initial deal. There are no Small Blind or Big Blind Bets, as found in Texas Hold’em.

Ante Bet: The Ante Bet is placed by every player before and cards are dealt to ‘sweeten the pot’. This bet is usually equal to 10%-25% of the low-end stakes. The actual amount may vary depending on where you play 7 Card Stud.

Bring-In Bet: This bet, equal to 50% of the low-end stakes, is placed by the player with the lowest opening hand. The initial deal consists of 3 cards to every player – 2 face-down (Hole Cards) and one face-up (Door Card). The lowest Door Card pays the Bring-In. If two or more players tie for the lowest Door Card, lowest suit determines the Bring-In bettor. Suits are ranked, lowest to highest, alphabetically – Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades.

All other betting options are detailed below.

Check: To stay in the hand but decline to wager (only possible if no player has Bet before you in the current betting round).

Bet: The first amount of chips placed into the pot in a single betting round.

Call: To wager an amount equal to the Bet.

Raise: To wager an amount higher than the Bet.

Fold: To surrender the current hand (throw in your cards).

All-In: To Bet all of the chips you have left. In Fixed Limit, this can only be done if you have just enough (or not enough) chips to Bet, Call or Raise.

How to Play a Hand of 7 Card Stud

For this 7 Card Stud example hand, we’ll use $5/$10 stakes with a Fixed Limit betting structure.

All players must first place an Ante Bet, followed by the initial deal. Every player gets 3 cards – the first two face-down Hole Cards, and the last face-up, called the Door Card. The player with the lowest Door Card places the Bring-In bet. This begins the first round of betting. The player left of the Bring-In must Bet, Raise the Bring-In, or Fold. All players must do the same in clockwise fashion around the table. Upon his turn, the Bring-In bettor may Call (or Raise) the current Bet by adding enough chips to his Bring-In to do so. If this player Folds, the Bring-In bet is forfeited to the pot.

4th Street: Each player is dealt a 4th card, face-up. The second betting round begins, same as the last, but this time starting with the player showing the highest Open Hand (face-up cards only). At this point, the highest possible Open Hand is a Pair of Aces. From here out, the highest Open Hand of each betting round will star the betting sequence.

5th Street: Players are dealt a 5th card, again face-up, followed by another round of betting.

6th Street: A 6th card is dealt face-up to each player. For this betting round, and the remainder of the hand, all Bets and Raises increase to equal the high-end stakes of $10.

7th Street: This is the final card, dealt face-down to each player. Note that the player who started the last betting round will start the final betting round as well since no one’s Open Hand will have changed.

The Showdown: In 7 Card Stud, it is very common for all but one player to have Folded by this point, prematurely revealing a winner. However, if two or more players remain active in the hand, the Showdown begins. Each active player uses his or her 7 cards to develop the strongest 5-card poker hand possible. The highest ranking poker hand wins the entire pot.

7 Card Stud Winning Hand Rankings

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 7 Card Stud Limit Poker Sites