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Example

Seven-Card Stud

Start Hand 4th 5th 6th 7th
Final hand
Straight (king high)

Seven-Card Stud: Set-Up and Play

Differences between Seven-Card Stud and Texas Hold'em

In Stud there are five betting rounds as opposed to the four betting rounds in Hold'em. The game is played with an ante instead of blinds. In Stud there are no community cards. The players' hands determine the order of action. In the first round of betting, the player with the lowest card must make a bring-in bet and, in subsequent betting rounds, the player with the best hand showing has to act first.

Before the cards are dealt

Depending on the size of the game, an ante may or may not be used. The table below lists the antes, bring-in bets and opening bets for different limits.

1. All players put the ante in front of them.
2. The dealer collects the ante and puts it into the pot.

The cards are dealt

All players receive two cards face down (the hole cards) and one card face up (the up-card). The cards are dealt clockwise, one at a time. This hand is called the starting hand.

The first round of betting

1. The player who has been dealt the lowest up-card is required to start the action by placing a bring-in bet. If two or more players have the same rank of up-cards, then suit becomes the deciding factor as to which of them is to make the bring-in bet. The lowest suit is Clubs followed by Diamonds, Hearts and Spades. This means that the 2c is the lowest possible up-card.
2. After the bring-in bet is played, the action continues clockwise. The player to the immediate left of the bring-in has the option of folding, calling or raising. A raise is the size of the opening bet (see the table) and a call is the size of the bring-in bet.
3. The betting proceeds until all players who have not folded have contributed equally to the pot.

The second round of betting

1. The dealer deals a fourth card face up to all remaining players.
2. In this round and all later betting rounds, it is the player with the best up-cards who has to act first.
3. The smaller bring-in bet is no longer utilized. If a player pairs his up-card, he has the option of betting a small bet or he can make the bigger bet that is used in subsequent betting rounds. This option occurs only for the player who pairs his up-card.

   Example

   It is a €5-€10 Seven-Card Stud game. A player holds (X-X) 8 and on the second betting round he catches another 8 for a board of (X-X) 8 8. He now has the option of either checking, betting €5 or going ahead and making the €10 bet.

4. The betting begins clockwise from the player who was first to act and ends when all players who did not fold have contributed equally to the pot.

The third round of betting

1. The dealer deals a fifth card face up for each remaining player.
2. The player with the best up-card acts first.
3. All bets are the size of the bigger bet.

   Example

   It is a €5-€10 Seven-Card Stud Game. There are three players remaining in the hand. Player A holds (X-X) 8 8 K, player B holds (X-X) Q 2 Q and player C holds (X-X) T J 9. Player B has to act first as his board cards are the best. He can check or bet and then the action continues clockwise from him.

4. The betting moves clockwise from the player who acted first and finishes when all remaining players have equally contributed to the pot.

The fourth round of betting

1. The dealer deals a sixth card face up to all remaining players.
2. The player with the best up-cards acts first.
3. All bets are the size of the bigger bet.
4. The betting proceeds clockwise from the first player who acted and ends when all players who did not fold have contributed equally to the pot.

The fifth round of betting

1. The dealer deals a seventh card face down to all remaining players.
2. The player with the best up-cards acts first.
3. All bets are the size of the bigger bet.
4. The betting continues clockwise from the player who acted first and ends when all remaining players who did not fold have contributed equally to the pot.
5. If someone gets called on the last round of betting, there is a show down. The player who gets called is forced to flip his three down cards face up on the table. The other players then have the option of either mucking their hands or, if they have it, of showing the winning hand.

Pot-Limit and No-Limit: Set-Up and Play

Pot-Limit

When playing Pot-Limit, all bets are restricted to the size of the pot. This means that if there is €100 in the pot, a player can bet anything between the size of the big blind (the minimum bet unless a player is forced to move all-in) and €100.

Example

The game is €1-€2 Pot-Limit Texas Hold'em or Pot-Limit Omaha (these games are identical in terms of betting procedures). In a €1-€2 Pot-Limit or No-Limit game the small blind is €1 and the big blind is €2. The first player can either raise the minimum €2 (making it €4 to go), raise the pot, or raise any amount in between the minimum raise and a pot raise. A pot raise would be €7 (the small blind (€1) + the big blind (€2) + the call (€2) = €5. The pot raise then becomes €5 more, so the call (€2) + the raise (€5) makes it €7 to go). If the next player decides to raise the pot, he can raise it to €24 (the small blind (€1) + the big blind (€2) + the raise €7 + the call (€7) = €17. The pot re-raise now becomes €17 more, so the call (€7) + the re-raise (€17) makes it €24 to go).

A re-raise in Pot-Limit must be a minimum of double the previous raise, unless the player does not have enough money and is forced to move all-in.

A bet in Pot-Limit must be at least the size of the big blind, unless the player does not have enough money and is forced to move all-in.

No-Limit

In No-Limit you may bet whatever you have in front of you at any time, no matter what the pot is.

A re-raise in No-Limit must be a minimum of double the previous raise, unless the player does not have enough money and is forced to move all-in.

A bet in No-Limit has to be the size of the big blind, unless the player does not have enough money and is forced to move all-in.

Table Stakes in Pot-Limit and No-Limit

Table stakes are used in almost all poker games today. It provides protection so that a player can play with any amount he has in front of him. This means that if two players are involved in a hand and one has €100 and the other has €50, the player with €100 can bet, at the most, €50 (consequently, he can only lose €50 on the hand).

Example

It is a No-Limit game and three players (players A, B, and C) are involved in a hand. Player A has €300, player B has €200 and player C has €100. Player C goes all-in and bets €100, player B calls and must put in €100 out of his €200, player A chooses to raise all-in and bets €300 and player B decides to call all-in with his last €100.

In a situation like this, a side pot is created. The main pot contains what player C can win (€100 from C + €100 from B + €100 from A = €300) and the side pot contains (B's last €100 + €100 from A = €200). As such, player A has to take €100 back.

Once all the cards are dealt, player C wins the main pot (€300) if he holds the best hand. Player A or player B will win the side pot (€200), depending on which of them has the best hand. If player A or B hold the best hand, that player will then win both the side pot and the main pot (€300 + €200 = €500).