7 Card Stud
Introduction
If you're in Las Vegas and you're playing poker, there's a
strong chance you'll be indulging in a game of 7 Card Stud.
This form of poker doesn't involve any community cards –
just a mixture of 'pocket' and 'door' cards from which your
best hand is to be selected.
Ante
In a game of Stud, all players have to put an ante into the
pot. This is dictated by the table limits, e.g. on a £5
/ £10 table, there is an ante of 50p. Likewise, on a
£10 / £20 table, the ante would be £1.
1st deal & round of betting
To begin, each player is dealt two pocket (face down) cards
and one door (face up) card. It falls to the player with the
lowest door card to start the first round of betting. They
do this with a forced bet of half the lower table limit, e.g.
on a £5 / £10 table, they would bet £2.50.
The order of the betting then goes round in a clockwise direction.
Your betting depends on how well you think your hand will
fare against other players.
Please note - the stakes can only be raised three times during
each round of betting.
2nd, 3rd & 4th deals & rounds of betting
For the 2nd, 3rd and 4th deals, each player is dealt one door
card. In each instance (as per the 1st round of betting),
it falls to the player with the lowest door card in each deal
to start the round of betting. They do this with a forced
bet of half the lower table limit, e.g. on a £5 / £10
table, they would bet £2.50.
5th card & round of betting
Now it's time for the last card and, to make things interesting,
it's a pocket (face down) card. This is followed up by the
5th and final round of betting.
Showdown
It's now time to make your best five-card hand from the seven
cards available to you. Naturally, the player with the best
hand will win the pot. Should there be a tie between hands,
the pot will be split accordingly.
Please note – if eight players are still in the hand
before the 5th round of cards, there won't be enough cards
left in the deck for every player to receive one! Therefore,
in this scenario, a card is dealt into the middle of the table
and used as a community card, i.e. everyone can use it to
make the best possible hand
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