Best Stud Poker Sites Online

If you have ever played poker online, you will know that Hold'em and Omaha hold the ranks as the most popular games online. That does not mean Stud poker has died entirely. A handful of online sites still have thriving Stud games.  In fact, the Stud poker sites you see below have enough traffic to sustain a quality selection of tables through a variety of limits. Collectively the Stud poker sites on this page support Seven Card Stud in Hi and Hi Lo. Other variations of Stud poker available online include; Five Card Stud  and Triple Stud. Most Stud poker rooms support the games in FL only, with a handful offering PL and NL. Below is our list of the best Stud poker sites for 2010. Our rankings are based on the level of traffic at the tables, promotions exclusive to Stud players, the selection of Stud tournaments and software.

One thing Stud players should be aware of is that not every Stud poker site maintains a quality level of Stud games. Yes, poker xxxx has Stud tournaments and even Stud cash games, but that same poker room may not have the necessary level of traffic needed to keep the games running on a consistent basis. This is a huge issue when playing Stud poker online. More often than not, the Stud games on these small sites are dead, even during peak hours. To avoid problems like this we suggest you try the poker rooms  listed above first before any of the small, low-key networks.

Seven Card Stud Rules

Now that you know where to play Stud poker online, let's run down the basics of the game. 7 Card Stud is played in high as well as high low. This means that when playing for high, only the highest hand wins, whereas hi-lo allows for two winning hands - the highest and the lowest. For the first bit, this article will focus on the high version and we'll follow up with the differences between 7 Card Stud Hi and 7 Card Stud Lo.

Any 7 Card Stud game has a max limit of eight players. The reason for this is because there are only 52 cards in a deck and with 8 players @ seven cards each, the deck is already short 4 cards, less the burn cards the dealer uses. It is very rare that a game will run out of cards, since it's unusual for all players to stay in the hand. Should this happen, the dealer will turn a community card that all players can use instead of dealing each player an additional card.

Stud - The Deal

Prior to the first deal, each player is required to place an ante into the pot. The ante is usually 10% of the small bet at most Stud poker sites, although the % can vary. Once the antes are in the pot, players will receive two down cards and one up card. The down cards are referred to as hole cards, and your up card is your "door card". The player with the highest up card will start the game with their bring-in bet. The bring-in must be the amount of the small bet. This means a $3/$6 game would require a bring-in of $3 to start. Each player will take a turn calling, raising or folding.

Once the betting round is complete, the dealer will give each remaining player an additional card face-up. This round is referred to as "4th Street". The betting round will begin with the player holding the highest hand, which at this point is a pair of Aces, or lower.  Unlike the previous round, a bring-in is not required, which means unless a bet is made, players don't need to fold their hands. Any bet made on 4th street will be equal to the full bet. Using the example previously, the full bet would be $6.
Players will continue to receive two more up cards, followed by betting rounds until each remaining player has a total of six cards in front of them - two down and four up. At this point, the final round (7th street) will commence with each player taking a card face down and a final betting round will begin. The player with the highest five-card hand will win the pot. Should a tie occur the players would split the pot.

7 Card Stud Tips

Stud, like any form of poker has certain skills that assist players during each of the streets. The first and foremost important skill is memory. Stud players will normally pay close attention to the cards on the table and track the cards folded in order to determine which cards are left in the deck to help complete their hand. This really is no different than counting your outs. It's also important to read your opponents and understand starting hands.

Difference Between 7 Card Stud Hi and 7 Card Stud Hi Lo

Besides the obvious difference of two winning hands vs. one, 7 Card Stud Hi Lo (Seven Card Stud 8) requires low hands to qualify in order to play. This means a player needs to have a five card hand under 8 in order to play for low. If no one qualifies for low, the game plays high hand only.

Other Variants of Stud Poker

There are literally hundreds of poker games created from Stud poker. Many of these include dealer's choice games such as Baseball, Chicago and Telesina. Most Stud poker sites limit their line-up to the traditional games with the exception being Razz poker and more recently the release or Triple Stud available exclusively at Pokerstars.com. Triple Stud poker is played similar to HORSE poker, minus the Omaha and Hold'em rounds. As of this review, this is the only Stud poker game that is available as a mixed game online. The game is played with a round of Stud High, Razz (7 Card Stud low) and 7 Card Stud Hi Lo.