Seven-card stud

Seven-card stud, also known as Seven-Toed Pete or Down-The-River[1] is a variant of stud poker. Until the recent increase in popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was the most widely played poker variant in home games across the United States,[2] and in casinos in the eastern part of the country. Two to eight players is common, though eight may require special rules for the last cards dealt if no players fold. With experienced players who fold often, even playing with nine players is possible.

In casino play, it is common to use a small ante and bring-in. In home games, it is typical to use an ante only.

Seven-card stud is the "S" game in HORSE and similar mixed game formats.

Rules

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, and 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. If the deck does become exhausted during play, previously-dealt burn cards can be used when only a few cards are needed to complete the deal. If even those are not sufficient, then on the final round instead of dealing a downcard to each player, a single community card is dealt to the center of the table, and is shared by everyone. 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, and so 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

There are several variations of 7 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.

1. "Down the River" is the basic variation of 7 Card Stud Poker and this is the game played in poker rooms.
2. "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.
3. 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.
4. "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.
5. "Baseball": in this variant 3s and 9s are wild, and a 4 dealt face up gets an extra card.
6. "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.
7. "Acey Ducey": aces and twos are wild.
8. One-eyed Jacks or Suicide King can be specified as wild.
9. Razz is a lowball form of Seven Card Stud, with the objective being to get the lowest hand possible.
10. 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.[3]

Sample deal

The sample deal below assumes that a game is being played by four players: Alice, who is dealing in the examples; Bob, who is sitting to her left; Carol to his left; and David to Carol's left.

All players ante 25¢. Alice deals each player two downcards and one upcard, beginning with Bob and ending with herself. Bob is dealt the 4♠, Carol the K♦, David the 4♦, and Alice the 9♣. Because they are playing with a $1 bring-in, David is required to start the betting with a $1 bring-in (his 4♦ is lower than Bob's 4♠ by suit). He had the option to open the betting for more, but he chose to bet only the required $1. The bring-in sets the current bet amount to $1, so Alice cannot check. She decides to call. Bob folds, indicating this by turning his upcard face down and discarding his cards. Carol raises to $3. David folds, and Alice calls.

Alice now deals a second face-up card to each remaining player: Carol is dealt the J♣, and Alice the K♥. Alice's two upcards make a poker hand of no pair, K-9-high, and Carol has K-J-high, so it is Carol's turn to bet. She checks, as does Alice, ending the betting round.

Another face up card is dealt: Carol gets the 10♥ and Alice gets the K♣. Alice now has a pair of kings showing, and Carol still has no pair, so Alice bets first. She bets $5, and Carol calls.

On the next round, Carol receives the 10♦, making her upcards K-J-10-10. Alice receives the 3♠. Alice's upcards are 9-K-K-3; the pair of kings is still higher than Carol's pair of tens, so she bets $5 and Carol calls.

Each player now receives a downcard. It is still Alice's turn to bet because the downcard did not change either hand. She checks, Carol bets $10, and Alice calls. That closes the last betting round, and both players remain, so there is a showdown.

Since Alice called Carol's bet, Carol shows her cards first: Q♠ 2♥ K♦ J♣ 10♥ 10♦ A♦. She can play A-K-Q-J-10, making an ace-high straight. Alice shows (or, seeing she cannot beat Carol's straight, mucks her cards): 9♥ 5♦ 9♣ K♥ K♣ 3♠ 5♠. The best five-card poker hand she can play is K-K-9-9-5, making two pair, kings and nines. Carol wins the pot.

References

1. Morehead, Albert H.; Mott-Smith, Geoffrey (1963). Hoyle's Rules of Games. New American Library. pp. 86.
3. https://www.fulltilt.com/poker/games/stud/high-low/?no_redirect=1