The Seven Card Stud Poker Variant

Almost all poker games begin with a forced bet. The most common kind of forced bet being used in a poker game like Seven Card Stud is the ante. An ante is an example of a forced bet where all of the players have to put an equal amount of money into the pot. After this forced bet, which is often said to "open the pot," cards are dealt out.

For stud poker games, usually, the cards are dealt out either face-down, or face-up, and in a particular sequence, interspersed by betting rounds. In Seven Card Stud, each player is dealt three cards after the initial forced bet. Out of these three cards, two are face-down, and one is face-up.

Sometimes, after the first three cards are dealt in Seven Card Stud, a bring-in is made. A bring-in is another kind of forced bet, where one player -usually this player is the one who has the lowest ranking face-up card- puts a certain amount of money into the pot. When there is a bring-in after the first deal, it is usually seen to open the betting round. This means that no player can forego their turn or check anymore; any player after the player who has posted the bring-in has to at least match it to remain in the game. If there is a tie between players who have the lowest upcards for the bring-in, the tie is broken using the cards' suits.

If no bring-in is made in a particular Seven Card Stud Hand, then the first player who can either check or open during a betting round is usually the one who holds the highest ranking upcard. After this betting round, another upcard -which is called the "fourth street"- is dealt to each player. There is another betting round, and the fifth street is dealt out face-up as well. The same occurs for the sixth-street, and after a fourth betting round, the seventh street is dealt, face-down. There is another betting round before the showdown begins and the pot is given or distributed to the winning hand or hands.

For each betting round, as with the first round if there is no bring-in, the player who holds the highest upcard has the first turn. A total of seven cards are dealt to each player, with three cards turned face-down, and four cards dealt face-up. During the showdown, a player has to make the best possible five-card hand out of the seven cards they have been given.