7-Card Stud

Rules / 7-Card Stud

Players all receive seven individual cards in a round of 7-Card Stud. The winner is determined by the player that holds the best five-card combination at the showdown.

In 7-Card Stud, all players ante a given amount before a round starts. Usually this is about 5% of the big blind, i.e. $1 in a $10-$20 game. Each player receives two hidden cards and one open card that's exposed to the other players. The first player two make a bet is the so-called bring-in. The bring-in is determined by the player that has the lowest open card and is forced to make a bet of either the small blind or half of it (either $10 or $5 in a $10/$20 game).

A standard deck of playing cards does not contain enough cards needed in case all eight players remain in a hand until the river. In this situation, which is very unlikely to happen, the river card will be dealt face up and used as a community card.

7 Card Stud Hi/Lo

The Hi/Lo variant of 7-Card Stud is comparable to the regular game, with the exception that the pot is split by the player with the best five-card combination for high and the player with the best five-card combination for low. In case no hand qualifies for low, the total pot goes to the player that wins with the high hand.