Those poker players who enjoy 7 Card Stud will be pleased to know that many of the more popular online poker rooms now offer this game along with other hot poker games. For those players who are new to the game and just learning how things are done will benefit greatly from playing online in their free time. Most of the top poker rooms all offer free game play and informational resources available on their websites to help better your understanding and play of the game.
Decades ago 7 Card Stud was considered the most popular poker game of all time until recently being replaced by Texas Holdem. However, many players out there still enjoy the game and prefer it over any other type of poker. This particular poker game is quite different than Omaha or Texas Holdem so if you are just learning the game it’s imperative that you read the directions and have patience in order to learn and enjoy the game to the full extent. The game is very fun and exciting once you grasp how to play and compare it to the other popular poker games that are being played online.
How 7 Card Stud is Dealt
To play 7 Card Stud all players must first post an ante which is mandatory for most casinos and online poker rooms. This helps to ensure that there is at least a small amount of money in the pot for players to play for. In any type of stud poker you do not have community cards like you do when playing Texas Holdem or Omaha. Instead, the dealer will start by dealing clockwise giving each player 3 cards total. The first 2 cards (also known as hole cards) will be dealt face down so only you should be able to view them while the third card will be dealt face up.
In 7 Card Stud there will be 5 rounds of betting that takes place with the betting moving clockwise around the entire table throughout the game. Once the cards are dealt the player with the lowest exposed card (the 3rd one) will be known as the “bring-in” and will need to start the betting action. The player will need to make a bet that is exact size of whatever the game requires or they can choose to play a full bet of whatever the lowest betting increment is for the game. Every player will then need to decide if they will call the bet or fold.
In 7 Card Stud once the betting is done for this round each player will receive their fourth card which will also be exposed for all other players to see. Unlike the last round the player with the highest card exposed will start the action for this round. This player may choose to check or bet but will not be forced to pay any type of ante unless someone else bets. By this point many new players become frustrated because the game is completely new to them but if you try the game out on a few of the online poker sites you will soon learn that they have a ton of content which can help to better your understanding of the game.
In 7 Card Stud you definitely need to have patience in order to fully grasp the game and how to play it correctly. Once the betting is complete from the last round all players will receive a 6th card which again will be exposed for others to see. Again the player who has the highest card exposed will start the betting action by either checking or betting followed by the other players. Again once the betting is complete players will receive their last (7th card also known as the ‘river’) which will be dealt face down so only you can see. The final round of betting action in 7 Card Stud will be determined by the player who has the highest cards exposed.
This will bring you to the showdown round in which players will square off to see who has the best overall hand. If there are two players left then the person who bet or raised originally will be required to expose their cards first. If there was no betting that occurred during this round and everyone checked then the player who is in seat one would expose their cards first followed by the other players. The player who has the best 5 card poker hand will win the entire pot. 7 Card Stud will split the pot equally amongst any players who have an identical poker hand.
The ‘Bring in’
When determining who the “bring in” is for the game, the ties in card rank are broken down by suit. The suits will be ranked in order with being alphabetical first with the clubs being the lowest, diamonds, hearts and spades (the highest). For the lowest suit it will break the tie so if the deuce of clubs and deuce of hearts are visible at the start of the hand then the clubs would have the “bring in”. The ranking of the same hand at the end of the showdown in 7 Card Stud is not determined by this particular rule.
This particular game is still very popular amongst many players and fortunately several of the online poker sites still spread these games (Pokerstars for example has a number of stud games). You no longer have to drive to your local casino for fast packed poker action since you can now play 7 Card Stud and many of your other favorite poker games online for free or high stakes depending on your personal preferences.
