Seven Card Stud Poker: Origin, Game Play, Variations
By Dheeraj Singh
Seven Card Stud Poker was once the most popular poker variant in the world but has lost its popularity in the current times to Holdem and Omaha Poker. This variant of the game can be played between two to eight players and does not involve a flop.
Origin
7-Card Stud Poker is considered as the “purer form” of the game by the conventional. The game dates the back to the mid 1800s and is said to have originated in America’s Mid West. It was the most common and popular variant of poker until 2003 when Texas Hold’em saw a boom. 7-Card Stud is now mainly preferred by the casual poker players who prefer slower poker games.
Game Play
Unlike Holdem and Omaha, there is no blind in 7-Card Stud Poker. However, there is a forced bet referred to as “antes” by every player before receiving any cards. The ante is usually sized as 1/5th to 1/10th of the small bet.
Each player pays an ante and receives three cards, two face-down and one face-up. The one face-up card is referred to as “door card”.
The player with the lowest door card is forced to “bring in”. Bring in is usually sized about 1/3 of the small bet at the table.
The player with the lowest door card also has the option to “complete” meaning they bet one small bet.
The first round of betting continues clockwise and each player has three options – fold, call the bring-in, or raise.
After the first round of betting, another card is dealt face-up to each player. This is called “fourth street”.
The second round of betting begins with the player showing the highest-value hand with their up-cards and moves clockwise around the table.
This continues with everyone receiving another face-up card referred to as “fifth street” and another on “sixth street”.
Finally, “seventh street” is dealt as each player receives their seventh card face-down.
After the last round of betting, there’s a showdown and the best five-card poker hand wins the pot.
Pros and Cons
Pros
If you keep track of which cards have been folded, you can surely have a big edge over your competitors
Cons
This variant comes with a limit betting structure
Slower and boring than other variants of the game
It is not easy to find a running table as compared to Hold’em and Omaha due to its less popularity
Variations
7 Card Stud Poker and & 7-Card Stud Poker Hi-Lo are the two variants of this game.
7-Card Stud Poker Hi-Lo has similar mechanics to the other Hi-Lo variants i.e. the half of the pot goes to the lowest hand.