How to Play Stud Poker

If you roughly remember how to play, but need are a bit fuzzy on some rules, here’s a quick rundown of the rules of Stud poker. We’re going to be focusing on Stud High as that’s the most common variant that people play; we’ll dive into some of the other variants further down the page. Don’t worry if you’re a complete Stud newbie; we’ll give you a much more detailed explanation later on in the article.

Dealing

Before the cards are dealt, each player antes roughly the equivalent of ¼ the small bet (the exact amount will vary depending on the stakes you play). The dealer then deals the cards one at a time, starting with the player to the dealer’s immediate left. The first two cards a player receives are face down, and the third card each player receives is dealt face up. This is called the “door” card.

Bring In

The player with the lowest up-card must act first, and they have two choices. They can “bring in,” which is to bet the smallest amount possible (often equivalent to the ante), or they can “complete,” which is to bet the amount of the small bet. This player must choose one of the two options; they cannot surrender their hand at this stage. Once the first player has made their decision, the betting action moves clockwise around the table, starting with the player to the left of the bring-in.

Betting

Once the betting round is completed, another card is dealt face up to each player remaining in the hand. The player with the highest showing hand must act first on all subsequent streets. There is another betting round, and any remaining players get dealt a fifth card face-up. On this street, the betting limits increase from small to big bets. Another round of betting takes place, and the remaining players are dealt a sixth card face up. After the sixth card, there is another round of betting, and any remaining players are dealt a seventh card face down.

Showdown

There is a final round of betting, and any remaining players must showdown their hand. The best five-card poker hand wins the pot when the players turn their whole hand face-up. In the event of a tie, the pot is split evenly between all players holding the equivalent hand.

For those of you who have never played a hand of Stud before, that must have sounded not very clear! However, never fear; we’re here to give you a much deeper explanation of how to play Stud poker.

The betting limits are the first thing we need to discuss when it comes to Stud poker. The only betting limits that are used in Stud are fixed limits. Some home games may allow Pot Limit or No Limit Stud, but those are in the minority.

When you play Stud, there are four betting amounts – the ante, the bring-in, the small bet, and the big bet. The small bet is half the size of the big bet, and the bring-in is usually a quarter of the size of the small bet. The ante can sometimes be the equivalent of the bring-in, though it is smaller in some games (notably higher stakes games). This is why the most common stakes you’ll see for Stud are $4/$8, as that allows for a $1 bring-in/ante.

At the start of the game, each player that wants to be dealt in is required to post an ante. The player with the lowest up-card is then required to make a bet, either the bring-in or if their hand is strong enough, a small bet.

The betting limits in Stud are fixed, meaning you can only bet or raise the amount dictated for that street. The small bets are used for 3rd and 4th street, and on 5th street, the limits are doubled, meaning players must use big bets when betting or raising for the remaining betting rounds.

Stud poker is considered an “ante” game, meaning that each player must put a small amount of money into the pot before the game begins. This generates action and gives the players something to fight for. As there is no dealer button to denote where to deal the cards, the dealer always starts the deal with the player to their immediate left.

The cards are dealt one at a time and are dealt clockwise around the table. The first two cards are dealt face down (called the “hole cards”), and the third card is dealt face up (called the “up-card”).

You can play stud poker with a maximum of eight players. The math wizards among you may realize that the math doesn’t work out there (8 x 7 = 56; plus four burn cards makes 60), but a special rule is in place to allow the games to run eight-handed. Usually, it wouldn’t be an issue, as most players will fold before 7th street, but in the event of all eight players remaining in the hand until 7th street, the last card is dealt face up in the middle of the table as a seventh communal card that all players can use to make their hand. Of course, unless you’re in an amazingly soft Stud game, you’re not going to see this rule in action.

There are five betting rounds to Stud Poker, the most among the games played in a casino. The first betting round works slightly differently from the rest, as with most forms of poker. There is a betting round after the first three cards are dealt, then another betting round after each subsequent card is dealt. This continues until each player has been dealt a total of seven cards.