Variant of card game poker
Seven-card stud, also known as Seven-Toed Pete or Down-The-River,[1] is a variant of stud poker. Before 🫰 the 2000s surge of popularity of Texas hold 'em,[2] seven-card stud was one of the most widely played poker variants 🫰 in home games across the United States[3] and in casinos in the eastern part of the country. Although seven-card stud 🫰 is not as common in casinos today, it is still played online. The game is commonly played with two to 🫰 eight players; however, eight may require special rules for the last cards dealt if no players fold. With experienced players 🫰 who fold often, playing with nine players is possible.
In casino play, it's common to use a small ante and bring-in. 🫰 In home games, using an ante only is typical.
Seven-card stud is the "S" game in HORSE and similar mixed game 🫰 formats.
Rules [ edit ]
The game begins with each player being dealt two cards face down and one card face up. 🫰 The player with the lowest-ranking upcard pays the bring-in, and betting proceeds after that in normal clockwise order. The bring-in 🫰 is considered an open, so the next player in turn may not check. If two players have equally ranked low 🫰 cards, suit may be used to break the tie and assign the bring-in (see high card by suit). If there 🫰 is no bring-in, then the first betting round begins with the player showing the highest-ranking upcard, who may check. In 🫰 this case, suit is not used to break ties. If two players have the same high upcard, the one first 🫰 in clockwise rotation from the dealer acts first.
After the first betting round, another upcard is dealt to each player (after 🫰 a burn card, and starting at the dealer's left as will all subsequent rounds), followed by a second betting round 🫰 beginning with the player whose upcards make the best poker hand. Since fewer than five cards are face up, this 🫰 means no straights, flushes, or full houses will count for this purpose. On this and all subsequent betting rounds, the 🫰 player whose face-up cards make the best poker hand will act first, and may check or bet up to the 🫰 game's limit.
The second round is followed by a third upcard and betting round, a fourth upcard and betting round, and 🫰 finally a downcard, a fifth betting round, and showdown if necessary. Seven-card stud can be summarized therefore as "two down, 🫰 four up, one down". Upon showdown, each player makes the best five-card poker hand they can out of the seven 🫰 cards they were dealt.
Seven cards to eight players plus four burn cards makes 60 cards, whereas there are only 52 🫰 in the deck: in most games, this is not a problem because several players will have folded in early betting 🫰 rounds. In the event that the deck is exhausted during play, the four previously dealt burn cards can be used, 🫰 but if these are not sufficient, then the final round will have a single community card (which can be used 🫰 by everyone) dealt into the center of the table in lieu of a downcard to each player. Discarded cards from 🫰 a folded hand are not reused.
Unlike draw poker, where no cards are ever seen before showdown, stud poker players use 🫰 the information they get from face-up cards to make strategic decisions. A player who sees a certain card folded is 🫰 able to make decisions knowing that the card will never appear in another opponent's hand.
Variants [ edit ]
There are several 🫰 variations of Seven-Card Stud Poker in which each player is dealt a set number of cards. Not all of these 🫰 variations can be found at poker rooms but they can be fun to play at home.
"Down the River" is the 🫰 basic variation of Seven-Card Stud Poker and this is the game played in poker rooms. "Mississippi" removes the betting round 🫰 between fourth and fifth streets, making only four betting rounds. This game also deals the fourth and fifth cards face 🫰 up. This makes the game more closely resemble Texas Hold'em by having the same betting structure and the same number 🫰 of down and up cards. Another is "roll your own", in which four rounds of two cards each are dealt 🫰 down, and each player must "roll" one card to face up, followed by a round of betting. Except for the 🫰 first round, the card rolled may or may not be from the round just dealt. "Queens and after": in this 🫰 variant, all Queens are wild, and so is whatever card that is dealt face up that follows the Queen. All 🫰 cards of that kind are now wild, both showing and in the hole. The fun part is that if another 🫰 Queen is dealt face-up, the wild card will change to whatever follows this Queen. The former card is no longer 🫰 wild. "Baseball": in this variant 3s and 9s are wild, and a 4 dealt face up gets an extra card. 🫰 "Low Chicago": Low spade in the hole gets half the pot. Similarly, "High Chicago" means high spade instead of low. 🫰 Just "Chicago" can mean either. "Acey Ducey": aces and twos are wild. One-eyed Jacks or Suicide King can be specified 🫰 as wild. Razz is a lowball form of Seven-Card Stud, with the objective being to get the lowest hand possible. 🫰 In the variation called "Seven-Card Stud High-Low", the pot is split between the holder of the highest and lowest hand 🫰 if the low hand is topped by at least an 8. Alternative names to this variation are Seven-Card Stud/8 and 🫰 Seven-Card Stud Split.
Sample deal [ edit ]
The sample deal below assumes that a game is being played by four players: 🫰 Jimmy, who is dealing in the examples; Larry, who is sitting to his left; Craig to his left; and Katherine 🫰 to Craig’s left.
All players ante 25¢. Jimmy deals each player two downcards and one upcard, beginning with Larry and ending 🫰 with himself. Larry is dealt the 4♠, Craig the K♦, Katherine the 4♦, and Jimmy the 9♣. Because they are 🫰 playing with aR$1 bring-in, Katherine is required to start the betting with aR$1 bring-in (her 4♦ is lower than Larry’s 🫰 4♠ by suit). She had the option to open the betting for more, but she chose to bet only the 🫰 requiredR$1. The bring-in sets the current bet amount toR$1, so Jimmy cannot check. He decides to call. Larry folds, indicating 🫰 this by turning his upcard face down and discarding his cards. Craig raises toR$3. Katherine folds, and Jimmy calls.
Jimmy now 🫰 deals a second face-up card to each remaining player: Craig is dealt the J♣, and Jimmy the K♥. Jimmy’s two 🫰 upcards make a poker hand of no pair, K-9-high, and Craig has K-J-high, so it is Craig's turn to bet. 🫰 He checks, as does Jimmy, ending the betting round.
Another face up card is dealt: Craig gets the 10♥ and Jimmy 🫰 gets the K♣. Jimmy now has a pair of kings showing, and Craig still has no pair, so Jimmy bets 🫰 first. He betsR$5, and Craig calls.
On the next round, Craig receives the 10♦, making his upcards K-J-10-10. Jimmy receives the 🫰 3♠. Jimmy’s upcards are 9-K-K-3; the pair of kings is still higher than Craig’s pair of tens, so he betsR$5 🫰 and Craig calls.
Each player now receives a downcard. It is still Jimmy’s turn to bet because the downcard did not 🫰 change either hand. He checks, Craig betsR$10, and Jimmy calls. That closes the last betting round, and both players remain, 🫰 so there is a showdown.
Since Jimmy called Craig’s bet, Craig shows his cards first: Q♠ 2♥ K♦ J♣ 10♥ 10♦ 🫰 A♦. He can play A-K-Q-J-10, making an ace-high straight. Jimmy shows (or, seeing he cannot beat Craig’s straight, mucks his 🫰 cards): 9♥ 5♦ 9♣ K♥ K♣ 3♠ 5♠. The best five-card poker hand he can play is K-K-9-9-5, making two 🫰 pair, kings and nines. Craig wins the pot.
In popular culture [ edit ]
At the end of Tennessee Williams' play A 🫰 Streetcar Named Desire, the minor character Steve says "This game is seven-card stud," seemingly a reference to the narrative's transactional, 🫰 game-like nature and its lack of propensity to change.
