5 Card Stud plays much like its cousin, 7 Card Stud, but players are dealt a total of
five cards 🔑 instead of seven.
A game of 5 Card Stud involves antes, a bring-in, and a
limit betting structure. For more on 🔑 how limit rules work, check out our guide to Poker
Betting Rules.
Other than a difference in the number of face-down 🔑 cards and total cards
dealt, the game plays identical to 7 Card Stud. Here’s a look at an example of 🔑 a 5 Card
Stud hand.
(Note: This guide covers the rules of 5 Card Stud. You can also learn 7 Card
🔑 Stud here or Stud Hi-Lo here.)
5 Card Draw Rules
Antes and the Bring-in
Most stud games
use a structure involving antes and 🔑 a bring-in. The small blind/big blind system used
in games like Texas Hold'em isn't used in 5 Card Stud.
For this 🔑 example, let's say
we're watching a 5 Card Stud game played atR$5/$10 limits, with six players at the
table. AtR$5/$10 🔑 limits, each player might put in an ante ofR$0.50 before the hand. Any
amount can be used for the ante, 🔑 but it's generally a small fraction of the small
bet.
After the antes are posted, each player is dealt two cards, 🔑 one face down and one
face-up.
The dealer begins with the player on his/her immediate left, and deals all
players a 🔑 face-down card, moving clockwise around the table.
The second card dealt to
all players is a face-up card, known as the 🔑 door card.
The player with the
lowest-ranking door card (from deuce to ace) must post the bring-in. The bring-in is
usually 🔑 half of the small bet, which isR$5 in ourR$5/$10 game. So the bring-in for this
game isR$2.50.
Initial Betting Round
The player 🔑 with the lowest-ranking door card is
obligated to post the bring-in, but this player can also choose to complete, betting
🔑 the full amount of the small bet ($5 in this game).
After the first-to-act player
either posts the bring-in or completes, 🔑 the next player on the immediate left has the
option to either call (match the bet), raise, or fold.
This option 🔑 of call, raise, or
fold goes clockwise around the table until each player has had an opportunity to act.
In 🔑 the first betting round, all raises must beR$5 (the small bet). The maximum number
of total raises is capped at 🔑 three, and at that point subsequent players can only
call.
So for example, let's say the bring-in is posted, and the 🔑 next players completes
toR$5. The next player raises toR$10, the next toR$15, and the next toR$20.
At this
point, other players 🔑 can only call theR$20 bet, as the raises are capped after
that.
Third Street
After all players have acted in the initial 🔑 betting round, the
dealer deals another card, face-up, to all players still in the hand. The player with
the best 🔑 face-up hand showing starts the betting round, and can either check (put no
money in the pot and pass the 🔑 action to the next player), or betR$5 (the small bet). If
this player has a pair showing, they can betR$10 🔑 (the big bet).
Subsequent betting
commences clockwise around the table, and all players left in the hand can either check
(if 🔑 no one has bet or raised), bet (if the player before them checked), raise, or fold.
Raises are again capped 🔑 at three, meaning the max bet on third street is eitherR$20
orR$40 depending on whether the small or big bet 🔑 started the round.
Fourth Street
The
process repeats itself after third street is dealt, with all remaining players dealt
another face-up card. 🔑 This fourth card is appropriately called fourth street.
Another
betting round takes place, and this time the big bet is always 🔑 used as the opening bet
size. Once again, the player showing the best hand can either check or bet, and 🔑 all
subsequent players can either check (if checked to), bet, or raise.
Fifth Street
After
fourth street, a final face-up card is 🔑 dealt to each player. This card, known as fifth
street, precedes the final betting round. Once again using the big 🔑 bet as the opening
size, the action starts with the player showing the best hand, then clockwise around
the table.
If 🔑 on any street a player bets or raises, and all other players fold, the
player who bet or raised wins 🔑 the hand, without a showdown.
If two or more players make
it through fifth street without folding, a showdown commences, and 🔑 each player reveals
their hole card. The player with the best five-card hand, according to poker hand
rankings, wins.
Let's see 🔑 what that face down card was throughout the article:
This
player has a pair of aces, which is a fairly strong 🔑 hand in 5 Card Stud. As you might
expect, five-card poker hands like flushes and straights are very rare in 🔑 5 Card
Draw.
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