Seven-Card Stud
Last reviewed · CardLore editorial
Seven-Card Stud was the poker game of record before Texas Hold’em took over in the 1990s, and it is still dealt in card rooms and mixed-game rotations. There are no community cards and no blinds. Each player builds a private hand of seven cards, four of which everybody at the table can see.
That visibility is the whole game. Information arrives one card at a time, in public, and a player who pays attention knows which cards are gone and which hands are now impossible.
- Players
- 2–8
- Cards each
- 7 (3 down, 4 up)
- Shared cards
- none
- Betting rounds
- 5
What you are trying to do
You are making the best five-card poker hand from the seven cards you are dealt, using the standard hand rankings. Nothing is shared, so no two players can hold the same hand from the same cards.
Because each player sees four of every opponent’s seven cards, the game rewards memory more than any other common variant. If two of the kings are showing elsewhere on the table, your pair of kings is far less likely to improve, and that is a fact you can act on rather than a guess.
Order of play
Stud is dealt over five betting rounds rather than four, and the streets are named after the number of cards a player holds.
- Everyone antesThere are no blinds. Each player puts a small ante into the pot before any card is dealt.
- Third street: two down, one upEach player receives two face-down cards and one face-up card. The player showing the lowest up-card must open with a forced bet called the bring-in.
- Fourth streetA second face-up card goes to each player still in the hand. From this point on, the player with the best exposed hand acts first.
- Fifth streetA third face-up card is dealt and the betting unit doubles in a fixed-limit game.
- Sixth streetA fourth face-up card is dealt, followed by another round of betting at the larger unit.
- Seventh street, dealt face downThe final card goes face down, so every player ends with three hidden cards and four exposed ones. A last round of betting follows.
- ShowdownRemaining players make the best five-card hand out of their seven. The last player to bet or raise shows first; if everyone checked, the player closest to the left of the dealer shows first.
The ante and the bring-in
Stud uses two forced bets, and together they replace the blinds of a community-card game. The ante is paid by everyone. The bring-in is paid by one player only, decided by the cards rather than by seat.
A typical $5/$10 fixed-limit structure
| Element | Amount | Paid by |
|---|---|---|
| Ante | $0.50 | Every player, before the deal |
| Bring-in | $2 | Lowest up-card on third street |
| Small bet | $5 | Third and fourth street |
| Big bet | $10 | Fifth, sixth and seventh street |
If two players show the same lowest rank, suit order decides who brings in: clubs, then diamonds, then hearts, then spades, with clubs lowest. This is the one situation in poker where suits matter, and it applies only to this forced bet, never to the strength of a hand.
Reading the up-cards
Four of every opponent’s cards are public. Three habits turn that into useful information.
- Count your outs honestly. If you need a heart and four hearts are showing around the table, your flush draw has nine outs on paper but fewer in reality. See Pot Odds and Outs.
- Watch for scare cards. A player whose up-cards are three to a flush will be betting as though they have it, whether or not they do.
- Remember folded cards. Cards that were exposed before a player folded are still gone from the deck, and in a game with eight players a great many cards leave the deck early.
Nobody remembers everything. Experienced players remember the cards that matter to the hand they are in, which is a much shorter list.
Rules that catch people out
- Eight players, seven cards each. That is fifty-six cards from a fifty-two card deck. If everyone reaches seventh street, the last card is dealt face up in the middle as a community card for all.
- An open pair on fourth street. In fixed-limit stud, a visible pair on fourth street allows a double-sized bet on that street alone.
- The bring-in is not a blind. It is decided by the lowest up-card and moves around the table unpredictably.
- Exposed cards from a misdeal. If the dealer exposes a card that should be face down, rules vary; in most rooms the card stands as an up-card and the next one is dealt down.
- Order of showing. At showdown the last aggressor shows first, which costs money for players who muck and later realise they had the best hand.
Terminology
- Third street
- The first betting round, when each player has three cards.
- Bring-in
- The forced opening bet made by the lowest exposed card.
- Up-card
- A card dealt face up, visible to the whole table.
- Hole cards
- The face-down cards: two on third street and one on seventh.
- Door card
- The first up-card a player receives.
- Rolled up
- Starting with three of a kind on third street.
- Scare card
- An exposed card that suggests a strong hand and may win the pot without one.
- Razz
- The lowball form of stud, where the worst hand wins.
The complete list is in the Card Game Glossary, and the betting actions themselves are explained in Betting Rounds and Bet Types.
Common questions
How many players can play Seven-Card Stud?
Eight is the practical maximum, because seven cards each would exceed the deck. Most games run with seven or eight seats.
Is Seven-Card Stud always fixed-limit?
Almost always. The exposed cards give such clear information that no-limit betting would end most hands immediately, so the fixed-limit structure is the standard.
What happens if the deck runs out?
The final card is dealt face up in the centre of the table and serves as a shared seventh card for every remaining player.
Do suits ever break a tie in stud?
Only for deciding the bring-in on third street. When comparing finished hands, identical hands split the pot regardless of suit.