Seven Card Stud Games

Today, Texas Hold'em is probably the kind of poker game that people think of when the word "poker" is mentioned. Before Texas Hold'em's skyrocketing rise in popularity, Seven-card stud was the most well-known and widely-played poker game.

Seven-card stud, as its name might suggest, is an example of a stud poker game, which means that cards are dealt out in face-down and face-up "streets," interspersed by rounds of betting. During a betting round, players normally have to put at least the same amount of money into the pot as the player before them had in order to stay in a poker hand. Seven-card stud starts with a forced bet, much like with any other kind of poker game variant. The most commonly used kind of forced bet for Seven card stud is the "bring-in," which is when a single player -usually it is either the player with the lowest card or one selected at random- is made to "open the pot" by placing money into the pot.

The bring-in is made after a player's first upcards, or face-up cards, are dealt, but before any other kinds of poker actions have been taken. After the bring-in, there is a normal betting round, where actions proceed in the usual way; starting with the player holding the dealer button, and then proceeding to the left. The betting round is usually finished after all of the players have placed the same amount of money into the pot.

In the first deal, the cards to be dealt are two face-down cards, and one face-up card. They are the first three streets, and the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh streets are each dealt separately, with betting rounds in between each. The fourth, fifth, and sixth streets are dealt face-up, and the seventh is dealt face-down. In Seven-card stud, therefore, there are three "hole" or concealed cards, and four "upcards" or face-up cards. A player is normally supposed to construct the best five card hand possible, using the seven cards that have been dealt to them. Poker is the kind of game where players often have to be watchful of their own opponents, so that they can more easily discern what kinds of moves would be helpful to getting them to win the pot. Knowing what kinds of cards a player's opponent has in their hand can be a considerable advantage. In Seven-card stud though, while there are some concealed cards, there are also exposed cards.