Stud poker

Stud poker is a fairly popular game in casinos ( and sometimes online casinos as well) second only to the allmighty Texas Holdem. The game is generally defined as any cardgame during the course of which players receive both face up and face-down cards, and the game itself consists of multiple betting rounds. Its most common variant: the
7 card stud (seven card stud) was, until the rise to power of Texas Holdem, the most popular poker-genre played in America.
Seven card stud begins with all of the players being dealt three cards. Two of these are dealt face down ( hole cards) and one face up. If , before the game, players agree to play with a bring-in, then the player with the lowest ranking face-card begins by placing the bring-in. The next player in queue may not check, after that the betting round goes on normally in a clockwise direction. If two players happen to hold the same value lowest card, suit is used as a tie-breaker. If the game is not played with a bring in, the first player to place the bet is the one holding the highest face-card. Oddly enough, suit is no longer used as tie-breaker if two players happen to have the same value highest card of the bunch. In that case, the player who comes first, in a clockwise direction, from the dealer, has the honor of beginning the game.
After the first betting round is exhausted, the dealer burns a card, then hands everyone another card, starting with the player on his left and going round in a clockwise direction again. This ( 4th card) is also dealt face up. A second betting round commences with the player holding the best hand ( counting only his two face-cards) starting it. After the betting round is over the dealer burns yet another card and hands each remaining player another face-card. ( this will be the 5th card for each player) the betting round goes down the same way it has after previous deals. The dealer then ( after the mandatory burn-card) deals everyone another face card ( this will be the 6th card on aggregate and the 4th face card). This again is followed by another round of betting. The seventh card handed out by the dealer will be another hole-card. Thus every player shall end up with 4 face and 3 hole cards. At the showdown that follows the last round of betting the player presenting the best poker hand made up by any 5 of his 7 cards takes the pot.
Given the fact that the card-consumption during the game is rather high ( each player eats up 7 cards) a low number of players is recommended ( up to 7 players) for this game.
5 card stud (five card stud) – though played with a lower number of cards – is older than the seven card stud described above. Different sources place its origins to the time of the American Civil War. Nowadays it is especially popular in Finland and some Skandinavian countries.
The game itself goes down as follows:
All players are dealt an up- and a hole card. If played with bring-in the rules described above at the seven card variant also apply here. The respective seven card stud rules are valid in the case the game is played without a bringin.
After the first round of betting is finished, the dealer burns a card and deals each remaining player another face-up card in a clockwise direction starting on his immediate left. This move is followed by another round of betting and yet another face card dealt to the remaining players in the same fashion as before. The fifth and final card dealt is also a face-up card and it's followed by the showdown. The player who can present the best poker hand made with the five cards dealt to him during the course of the game wins the pot.

6 card stud (six card stud) is a copycat version of the seven card variant. The difference between the two is, that in six card stud, the pennultimate round ( the last face up card) is skipped. Players naturally have to make up their showdown hands with the 6 cards held instead of the seven as it was the case in seven card stud.
There are also a whole bunch of other stud poker variants like: English stud, Kentrel, the Bitch, Cowpie, Draft, Dr Pepper, Auction, Telesina and the better-known Blind Stud, Mexican Stud, Mississippi Stud and Eight or better.
All of these games are played with lots of rule variations ( low card wild, high card wild etc).
Games that have fewer betting rounds ( like the five card stud) are played with no limits, the ones that have more betting rounds are played with fixed limit, the earlier betting rounds allowing for lower limits the sunsequent ones for porogressively higher ones.

All articles written by (c) James West.