How to Play Seven Card Stud

Before Hold 'Em took over, Stud was the game. No community cards and no blinds: just your seven cards and what you can read from everyone else's.

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Overview

In Seven Card Stud, each player is dealt seven cards of their own, three face down and four face up, over five betting rounds. There's no shared board. You make the best five-card hand from your seven cards.

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Card backs are face down: only you see them. Face-up cards are there for the whole table to read.

Your Seven Cards

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The basics

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Stud Tips

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Play Stud Here

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Questions, Answered

Are there blinds in Seven Card Stud?

No. Everyone antes, and the player with the lowest up card on third street makes a forced "bring-in" bet.

How many players can play Stud?

Up to eight. With seven cards each, eight players use 56 cards if everyone stays to the end; when the deck runs short, a single community card is dealt for seventh street.

Who acts first after third street?

The player showing the best hand on board.

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