7 Card Stud Poker Rules

You must buy-in a minimum amount of chips when sitting down at your chosen table. The minimum Stud buy-in is typically 10-times the low limit. For example on a £1/£2 table the minimum buy-in is £10, on a £5/£10 table the minimum buy-in is £50. Playing with the minimum, however, is not recommended.

Ante

The game begins with each player automatically betting a small sum (the ante). In seven card stud the ante is mandatory, the value of which varies depending on the table limits. Typically £1/£2 tables have an ante of £0.25, and £10/£20 tables have a £1 ante.

The Deal (Third Street)

The dealer deals clockwise starting on their immediate left. They deal one card at a time around the table until each player has two down cards (Hole cards) and one face up card (the "door" card). At this point we've got three cards on the table per player and that's called "Third Street".

Third Street

The player showing the lowest door card will open the betting. If there is a tie this will be determined by suit (highest to lowest: spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs). This player must bring-in the first round of betting with a forced bet of half the lower limit. The next player clockwise from the opener may choose to fold, call the minimum bet, or raise by completing the bet (by betting the low betting limit). Throughout third street all Bets and Raises are fixed at the low betting limit.

Fourth Street

After betting, another open (face up) card is dealt to each player. This second face up card is known as 'Fourth Street'. Unlike third street, the opener in the fourth and remaining streets is the high hand, determined by the open cards. They may Check (Pass) or Bet. It they Bet it's at the low limit and that fixes all raises in this round to the same. If the high hand is an open pair, the opener can Bet at the upper limit and this fixes all Raises in the round to the same.

Fifth & Sixth Streets

Further rounds of face up cards are dealt in fifth and sixth streets. The high hand opens with all Bets and Raises are at the tables upper limit.

The River / Seventh Street

The last card, also called the river, is another Hole cards (face down). Then the final turn of betting takes place for the players left in the game. All bets and raises being at the high limit. If all eight players are still in the hand on the river, the total number of cards needed for all the players to receive their own card would not be available in a standard deck cards. In this case the river card will be dealt face up on the table and it will be used as a community card.

Showdown

After the final round of betting the players left enter the showdown. The hands are called in turn and each player turns over their face down cards (beginning with the opener). If a player wishes to compete with this hand they reveal their pocket cards, or they can yield and muck out (Fold). The player with the best 5 card hand wins the pot, any five of their seven cards can be used to make up their best poker hand. Should multiple hands tie, the pot is split with any odd amount going to the player immediately to the left of the dealer.