7 Card Stud Poker Basics
7 Card Stud Poker was once the most popular game of poker in the US. As the Texas Hold'em boom occured, it is not played as much, but is still a mainstay online poker rooms like Titan. Similar to 5 card stud, seven card stud rules are easy to learn and offer a nice change of pace from Hold'em.
Getting started: The Basic Rules of 7 Card Stud
In this poker varation, anywhere from two to eight players are free to participate. Also, every round of dealing is followed by a round of betting. The betting order runs clockwise and the player having the best poker hand showing starts the game. If the game is played with a bring-in, the poker player having the lowest-ranking card facing up pays the bring-in. Afterwards all betting continues in a clockwise manner. The bring-in helps get some action going at the table. A good way to remember how the game is played is to learn "2 down, 4 up, 1 down."
The action begins with each player being dealt 2 cards face down and one card face up. Next, players place their bets. Another upcard is dealt to each player followed by another round of betting by all those contestants who have not yet folded their hands. This routine is repeated for two more rounds, followed by one down card being dealt to each player still in the game. Come the showdown, each player still competing in the hand attempts to build their best 5 card poker hand he/she can from the what was dealt.
Additional 7 Card Stud Rules
As mentioned earlier, anywhere from two to eight players can compete in a 7 Card Stud Poker game. However, when dealing 7 cards to as many as 8 players, along with 4 that get burned, you get a total of 60 cards; a standard deck only has 52. Although this may seem like a problem, a few players at the 7 card stud poker table are likely to fold before the last round, making the likelihood of the entire deck being exhausted rare.
Game vary if there is a situation where the cards are depleted, so check with the online casino for the specifics. Generally however, the burn pile can be reused to keep the game going.
In contrast to the game of draw poker, in which no cards are ever exposed prior to the showdown, 7 Card Stud Poker players can capitalize on what information is available. For instance, because some cards are dealt face up, you, the player can use this info to form strategic decisions to improve your odds of winning each hand. It is rare to find an online poker room that isn't offering sevent card stud, we recommend trying this different and fun variation of the game.
