If you are a fan of poker, then you need to try the 7-card stud poker game. This classical poker game may not be so easy to master but once you get a grip of all the poker tips you need, you’ll be a hooked. As the name suggests, players of this game each deal seven cards at hand all through the game. The winner is chosen by identifying the poker hand that is holding 5 of the best possible cards. Sounds easy and exiting, right? There’s more to this game than just winning and losing and it takes proper understanding to grasp what there is to grasp about the 7-card stud poker game.

Basic gameplay: How to play 7 card stud.

When you learn the dynamics of the 7-stud poker game, you open a door to endless fun as well as mastering how to find your way around the game’s variations. Usually, this game starts when the dealer burns a card from the deck after which three cards are dealt to each player. This tradition is dabbed the “third street” and the first two cards are dealt face down. This marks the start of the first-round betting. The one with the lowest card starts the first round with the least bet limit for the table and gameplay continues to his or her left. The next player can either raise, call or fold the bet.

Upon the end of the first betting round, the game card dealer does the “fourth street” and deals a second set of cards all of which are issued face-up. The game continues with gameplay being handed over to the player on the left, in a clockwise motion. In this round, the betting is set at a lower limit stake. The player that shows a pair with 2 face-up cards gets to bet in multiples of either the table’s lower or higher bet limit stakes and all the other players are to stick to the rules of the second round, the higher limit stake.

During the game, there are 2 additional rounds in which face-up cards are dealt to each player, dabbed the “fifth street” and “sixth street” respectively. For the final round, a seventh card is dealt to each player, in the face-down fashion. The round starts at the player with the highest poker hand revealing first unless the previous round had ended with one of the players either placing or raising a bet. The final round is dabbed the “showdown”. Like the other rounds, cards are revealed in a clockwise fashion and the other players will either reveal their cards or “muck” to conceal their cards. The winner of the pot is the player with the best 5-card poker hand.

Common 7-card stud gameplay tips.

• If you can, use your ante to intimidate your opponents. This may work in your favor, but be careful.
• Play wisely and change your strategy to let it work for you best, especially in high-hand win games.
• You could try stealing antes and a bigger stealing success gets you better pot odds.
• Avoid playing too many starting hands, it could cost you.
• Pay close attention to see which cards are out.
• Whenever you feel you have the best hand, raise the wager instead of calling.

What are the rules?

By now you must have noticed how easy it is to actually master the game, even for newbies. The rules revolve around the gameplay in a systematic manner:

• At the beginning of the first round, all the players put up their ante which is displayed in the title bar. This ante stands up to when it is either raised or folded.
• Card dealing may differ at different rounds. For the first round, players are dealt three cards; two of which are face-down and the other face-up and the player with the lowest card starts first.
• Unlike in the first round, things in the fourth, fifth and sixth street are different. Each player is dealt another card facing up and the player with the highest card starts. The final cards are dealt in the seventh street facing down.
• Only the player to whom a card is dealt knows what is on the card.
• Poker hands are shown clockwise all through the game.
• Odd chips that cannot be split are added to the pot.
• Players win the pot only through cards from their hands.
• For special cases in which the number of players exceeds seven up to the seventh street, a single card could be placed on the table facing up as a “community card”

How similar is it to other forms of poker?

7-card stud poker game shares many common similarities with other poker variants such as Texas Hold’em, Ohama, Mississippi Stud amongst others. From the ante, to dealing a specific number of cards facing down, to the highest and lowest card, there are a lot of similarities and only minor differences between 7-card stud and its peer poker games. With this, newbies who just happen to be starting out get a better grip of the game faster and learning the rules of one variant is a roadmap to learning the rules of the other similar poker game variants.

Why 7-card stud poker?

Today, the popularity of the 7-card stud poker game as an online poker variant may be drawn from the fact that it is easy to play upon an understanding of the 7 card stud rules. Furthermore, the game does not involve any complex card combinations. The thrill lies in the fact that the players do not get to decide which cards are dealt to them and they don’t know which card was dealt to the opponent. Generally, the 7-card stud poker game variant offers a wonderful gaming experience, for not only the players but also the spectators.