7 Card Stud

Betting Structure:

7 Card Stud is a limit game. Initially every player posts an Ante. This is a forced bet to get money in the pot before any betting occurs.

Each player is then dealt one card at a time until every player has 3 cards. The first 2 cards are dealt face down and the 3rd card is dealt face up. This face up card is known as a Door Card.

NB: All dealing and betting runs in a clockwise order. There are five rounds of betting in 7 Card Stud. The first two rounds use the lower limit bets and the last 3 rounds use the higher limit bets – similar to Limit Hold’em. The exception to this is if a player holds a pair or better on 4th Street as seen below. 

First round of Betting: “Opening the Betting” / “3rd Street”

Betting starts with the player holding the lowest Door Card. This first bet is known as the “Bring in” or the “opening bet”. If two players hold the same value Door Card then the Bring in is decided by suit, in alphabetical order (clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades).

Each player has the option to call, raise or fold as they see fit.

Second round of betting: “4th Street”

Every player still involved in the pot is dealt another card face up (an up card). Betting on this round begins with the player holding the two strongest  up cards. Strongest hands are determined by regular Poker hand rankings, i.e. high card, pair, two pair etc. If a player holds a pair they can make a double bet. Betting then continues around the table as normal.

Third round of betting: “5th Street”

Every player still involved in the pot is dealt another up card. The player with the strongest up card combination starts the betting on this round. From this point onwards all bets are Big bets. 

Fourth round of betting: “6th Street”

Every player still involved in the pot is dealt another up card. The player with the strongest up card combination starts the betting on this round. 

Fifth round of betting: “The River”

Each player still involved in the pot is dealt one final card face down. So, each player now holds 4 up cards and 3 down cards. Again betting begins with the player holding the 4 strongest up cards and continues clockwise around the table.

 Showdown:

Once all betting is complete players reveal their down cards and the player with the best 5 card hand wins. The player who made the last bet reveals his/her hand first. If there is no betting on the last round then the player with the highest value of up cards reveals first.

In the case of players holding the same winning hands normal split pot rules apply.

7 Card Stud Hi-Lo

7 card Stud Hi Lo follows the exact same betting structure as regular 7 Card Stud. The difference is that in Hi Lo the pot can be split between two qualifying hands, the high and the low.

To qualify for the low hand you must hold 5 unpaired cards all with a value of 8 or lower. E.g. 23568.

NB: An Ace can be used as a low card or as a high card.

So, it is possible to hold both the best high hand and the best low hand and win the full pot. E.g. A2345 would qualify for both…competing as a straight for the high hand and as 5 high for the low hand.

If there is no qualifying low hand then the full pot is awarded to the best high hand.

Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers!)

The Ante

Q:  How is the ante amount determined?
A:  The ante is 10% of the smaller betting increment.  For example: in a $2.00/$4.00 game, the ante is $0.20.
Q:  What is the minimum amount of chips necessary to be dealt a hand in a ring game?
A:  A player must have sufficient chips to meet both the ante and the lowest forced bring-in bet.

Betting Rounds

Q:  How many betting rounds are there?
A: There are as many as five betting rounds; one after each player receives their 3rd card (3rd street), their 4th card (4th street), their 5th card (5th street), their 6th card (6th street), and their 7th and final card (7th street).
Q:  Which player acts first in a betting round?
On 3rd street, the player with the lowest card (bridge ordering) acts first. Furthermore, this player must make a bet known as the bring-in.  On 4th street and all later streets, the player with the highest ranking hand on board acts first.
Q:  What betting structures are available for Seven Card Stud?
A:  Fixed limit, pot limit, and half pot limit.

The Bring-In Bet

Q:  What options does the player making the bring-in bet have?
A:  The player may make a low bet (30% of the smaller betting increment) or a full bring-in bet equal to the smaller betting increment.  For example: in a $3.00/$6.00 game, the player would bet either $0.90 or $3.00.
Q:  What is meant by completing the bring-in bet?
A:  A player completes the bring-in by increasing a low bring-in to a full bring-in. This is considered the first bet of the 3rd street betting round and not a raise.

Double Bets on Fourth Street

Q:  When can a player make a double bet on 4th street?
A:  If one or more players have an open pair on 4th street, players have the option of making either a single bet or raise (the smaller betting increment) or a double bet (the larger betting increment).  The option exists for all players until a player makes a double bet or raise. After that, all raises must be the larger betting increment.

Seventh Street

Q:  What happens if the number or remaining cards in the deck is insufficient to deal a 7th street card to each player?
A:  A community card will be dealt face up and shared by all active players.

Hi-Lo Stud

Q:  What is meant by eight or better?
A:  In order to qualify to win the low half of the pot in eight or better hi-lo stud, a player must have at least an eight low
Q:  What happens to the low half of the pot if no player has a qualifying low?
A:  Then the entire pot is awarded to the player(s) with the best high hand.
Q:  Is there an option on 4th street to make a double bet if a player has an open pair?
A:  No.  The 4th street option only exists in High Only Seven Card Stud.
7 Card Stud - Glossary:

Ante: A forced bet that all players must pay, in order to get money in the pot before any betting occurs.

Big bets: The larger of the two betting increments in a limit game.

Bring in: The very first bet made by the player with the lowest Door Card.
Door Card: The first Up card a player holds.

Double bet: Twice the normal sized bet. E.g. when a player holds a pair on 4th Street they can double bet.

Down cards: Cards dealt face down.

Opening the Betting: The very first bet made by the player with the lowest Door Card
River: The final round of betting with players dealt a 3rd down card.

Showdown: When players reveal their cards and a winner is decided.
Small bets: The smaller of the two betting increments in a limit game.

Up card: A card dealt face up for all players to see.
3rd Street: The first round of betting with players dealt.

4th Street: The second round of betting with players dealt a 2nd up card
5th Street: The third round of betting with players dealt a 3rd up card. 6th Street: The fourth round of betting with players dealt a 4th up card.