7 Card Stud Poker
General
Although 7 Card Stud Poker rarely, if ever, receives any media coverage, it is
often the preferred game played by die-hard poker players.
The number of players at a 7 Card Stud Poker table can vary between 2 to 8 per
table, and betting usually various from as little as $2-$4 to as much as
$100-$200 (although this amount is rarely seen at online casinos!). Buy-In is
usually calculated at a fraction of the minimum bet, the typical range is 10 to
20 percent. Some do go higher (± 25%), but are usually considered then as
high games. Thus if the buy-in is 10% and the table is a $5-$10 game, then the
buy-in is $0.50.
Game Play
After the Buy-In, the dealer start dealing cards. The person to his immediate
left is dealt the first card and then in a clockwise manner the rest of the
players are dealt their cards. Each player is dealt three cards, the first two
face down and the third face up.
The lowest door (the card that is face up) card determines who opens the
betting. If there is a tie, then the suit of the cards determines order. Spades
(♠) being the highest, then Hearts (♥), then Diamonds (♦) and then finally
Clubs (♣) which are the lowest. So if there is a tie, the person with the
lowest suit will start the betting.
This is where the Bring-In bet comes into play. The Bring-In bet is usually
twice the Buy-In value (thus for the $0.05 Buy-In example, the Bring-In would be
$1). If the player decides not to continue in the game, he folds and the person
to his left continues. In this round of the game, the player
can either place a call or raise bet.
If the player places a bet, either call or raise, the person to his left then
continues until all the players have either placed a bet or folded. This round
of the game is called the "Third Street" round as all players have three cards.
The next round is called the "Fourth Street". Each player that is still in
the game, is dealt another card face-up. In this round, the player who
starts the betting is determined by the highest hand showing on the two face-up
cards. At this stage, the first player to act, can either check or
make a bet. If he checks, then the next player can also check. But if he places
a bet, all the other players have to either call, raise, or fold. The player to
act first can place a bet equal to the table's low-limit ($2 in this example),
and this then sets the raise value to the same value. In some variations, if the
first person to act has a open pair, he has the option to set the bet at the
table maximum. This then sets the raise to the same high limit.
When all the bets are finished in the "Fourth Street", the "Fifth Street"
starts. Again all players are dealt a card face-up. As in the fourth street, the
player with the highest poker hand can start the round (acts first). Take
note that in this round, the minimum bet is the table high limit ($4 in this
example). The player to act first has the option of checking, betting or
folding. All players who play after him can also check or bet until the first
bet is made. Then the only options available to them are call, raise or fold.
Again this happens in a clockwise manner until all players have either bet,
folded or raised. Then the next round starts.
In the next round (the "Sixth Street"), play happens exactly as in Fifth Street,
with another card being dealt face up. Once again highest hand acts first and
once all players have bet, the round finishes and the next round starts.
In the "Seventh Street", players are dealt one card face down and again the
player with the highest hand starts the round. In this round, double bets
are again used. Once all betting is completed, the "Showdown"
happens where, starting with the player who opened (acted first) in the seventh
street round, turns over all his cards so that all are face up. In the showdown,
if a player decides not show his cards, he can muck out (fold) and then the
winner is decided on the best poker hand from the players who participate in the
showdown round.
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