How to Play Seven Card Stud

Short Description

Seven Card Stud, a game for between 2-8 players, is today among the most popular versions of Poker. The game has gained popularity, both in the US and abroad, due to its classic Poker feel and simple game rules. Betting in Seven Card Stud consists of an initial Ante, preceded by 5 Betting Rounds. Throughout the game each player receives 3 facedown cards and 4 face up cards. Each player creates the highest valued Poker hand, using any combination of 5 of his/her 7 total cards.

The Buy-in

In order to Sit-in (join) a Pacific Poker Seven Card Stud Table, Members must purchase a minimum amount of Chips to play with ("Buy-in"). At Pacific Poker, the minimum Buy-in amount is 10 times the Lower Limit Stake of that particular table (i.e. at a $1/$2 Table the Member must Buy-in with a minimum of $10).

Ante

Before the initial deal of the cards, each Member must place an initial Ante (opening Bet), equaling one half of the Table's Lower Limit Stake (rounded down to the lowest $1 - see Betting Limits below), in the center of the Table, to seed the Pot. Each Member is then dealt 2 facedown Hole Cards and 1 face up Door Card.

Betting Limits

Pacific Poker offers a variety of Tables, designed for different numbers of Players, and offering various Table Betting Limits.

In the game of Seven Card Stud, each Table has both a Lower and Higher Limit Stake (Betting amount). A Table's Lower Limit Stake is always half the Higher Limit Stake (i.e. a $1/$2 Table, or a $5/$10 Table).

In the first Betting Round (see the Betting Rounds below), of a Seven Card Stud game, Members Bet (wager) in multiples of no less than one half of that Table's Lower Limit Stake ("Bring-in"), and no more than that Table's Lower Limit Stake.

In the second Betting Round, of a Seven Card Stud game, Members Bet (wager) in multiples of that Table's Lower Limit Stake. However, in the event that a Member is showing a pair, with his/her initial 2 face up cards, at the beginning of the second Betting Round, Members have the option to Bet in multiples of that Table's Lower or Higher Limit Stake. If a Member Bets at the Table's Higher Limit Stake, then all following Members must Bet at the Table's Higher Limit Stake.

In the final three Betting Rounds, of a Seven Card Stud game, Members Bet in multiples of that Table's Higher Limit Stake.

The Betting Rounds

Pacific Poker's Seven Card Stud follows the conventional Poker Betting Round Structure.

There are five possible Betting Rounds in Pacific Poker's Seven Card Stud.

After the initial deal of the cards, the first Betting Round is set at the Bring-in Bet amount (one half of that Table's Lower Limit Stake) and no more than that Table's Lower Limit Stake.

After the initial deal of the Members' first 2 Hole Cards and 1 Door Card are dealt, the first Betting Round is initiated by the Member with the lowest valued card showing, **by suit (see Poker Hand Value Chart below). This Member is required to Bet no less than the Bring-in amount (half of the Table's Lower Limit Stake), up to the Table's Lower Limit Stake.

**Card suits are valued in the following order, with Spades being of the highest value, followed by Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs (lowest value).

After the second deal of the cards ("Fourth Street"), in which each Sitting-In Member receives an additional card, face up, there is a second Betting Round. This Betting Round is initiated by the Sitting-in Member with the ***highest valued card(s) showing. This Betting Round is set at the Table's Lower Limit Stake. However, in the event that a Member is showing a pair, with his/her 2 face up cards, Members have the option to Bet in multiples of that Table's Lower or Higher Limit Stake. If a Member Bets at the Table's Higher Limit Stake, during the second Betting Round, then all following Members must Bet at the Table's Higher Limit Stake.

***In the event that 2 or more Member's showing card(s) signify a tie, the Betting Round is initiated by the Member with the highest valued Poker hand and sitting closest to the left of the Dealer (first Member to the left of the Chip Box), in a clockwise fashion.

After the third and fourth deals of the cards ("Fifth Street and "Sixth Street"), in which each Sitting-In Member receives an additional card, face up, there is a third and fourth Betting Round. These Betting Rounds are both initiated by the Member with the highest valued card(s) and are set at the Table's Higher Limit Stake.

After the fifth deal of the cards ("The River"), in which each Sitting-In Member receives a final card, facedown, there is a fifth and final Betting Round. This Betting Round is initiated by the Member with the highest valued card(s) and is set at the Table's Higher Limit Stake.

Betting Rounds always proceed in a clockwise fashion, from one active Member to the next. Each Member must either:

1. Check - Pass the option to act to the next active Member
2. Bet - Place a Betting Round's initial increase to the amount that each of the following Members must place in the Pot, in order to remain in the game.
3. Raise - Place a Betting Round's 2nd, 3rd or 4th increase to the amount that each of the following Members must place in the Pot, in order to remain in the game.
4. Call - Equal the previous active Member's Betting amount in that Betting Round and remain in the game (In the first Betting Round each Member must at least equal the amount of the Big Blind).
5. Fold - Discard hand and no longer remain active to participate in that game. The Member forfeits the amount (if any) that he/she has previously Bet during that game.

In keeping with conventional Poker rules, within each Betting Round there can be no more than one Bet and three additional Raises ("Raise", "Reraise" & "Cap"). Once a Cap occurs, the following Members will only be able to Call or Fold.

A Betting Round is concluded when:

1. All active Members have Checked in Turn. or
2. All active Members have matched the last Member to increase the amount (Bet/Raise) to be placed in the Pot, during that Betting Round. or
3. All previous Members have chosen to Fold, leaving only one active Player. This last remaining player automatically receives the Pot. In this case both the Betting Round and game are automatically terminated.

The River Community Boardcard

Occasionally there are not enough cards in the deck to give each player his/her own final seventh card, the River, face down. In this case one card will be placed, face up, in the center of the table. This Community Boardcard will be shared by all remaining Sitting-in Members when determining their final hand (see The Showdown below).

The Showdown

Once the fifth Betting Round is completed, if more than one Member remains active in the game, there is a "Showdown". In the Showdown, each active Member may utilize any combination of 5 of his/her 7 total cards, to create the highest valued 5 card Poker hand (see Poker Hand Value Chart below).

Pacific Poker follows Standard Poker Rules for determining Poker hand value (see Poker Hand Value Chart below). The active Member who creates the highest valued Poker hand wins the Pot, minus the Pot won by any Members holding higher valued All-in hands (see Pacific Poker's All-in Policy below) and the "Rake" (see "Limits, Antes and Rake" section of this site).

If the active Member with the highest valued Poker hand is "All-in" (see All-in below), that Member receives the Pot total, up until the time that they were All-in. (A Seven Card Stud Poker game can have as many All-in Pots as there are active Members, minus one.) The remainder of the Pot goes to the active Member with the next highest valued Poker hand.

Tie Hands

In the event that 2 or more active Members participating in the Poker hand's Showdown hold equal ranking (by combination) hands the winner is determined by the high card (i.e. a pair of Aces beats a pair of Kings).

Should the Poker hands remain tied (i.e. a pair of Kings vs. a pair of Kings), the highest valued card not held in common (the "Kicker") determines the game's winner.

In the event of exact ties in Poker hand value, between 2 or more active Members, the Table's Pot will be split evenly between those Members. In the event of extra odd Chip(s) the first winning Member to the left of the Dealer, in a clockwise fashion, will receive the odd Chip(s).

Auto Muck Losing Hand

Members participating in the Showdown, whose hands are of a lower value than an already showing hand, are offered the option to not show ("Muck") their losing hands to the other participants at the Table. The automatic Mucking of non-winning hands protects Members from unknowingly revealing his/her hand to the Table's other participants.

If a Member checks the "Auto Muck Losing Hand" box, his/her non-winning hand will automatically be Mucked, if there are higher valued hands already showing.

If a Member wins a hand by virtue of being the only remaining active Member, his/her winning hand will not be shown to the other Members participating at the Table by default. If this Member presses the "Show Hand" button, his/her winning hand will be shown to the other Members.

Pacific Poker's All-in Policy

Pacific Poker's All-in Policy has been developed to protect Members in the following circumstances:

1. A Member wishes to continue playing his/her hand in the current game, but has run out of Chips. or
2. A Member has been disconnected from the Pacific Poker Server in the middle of a game.

1. If a Member finishes his/her Chips in the middle of a Poker game, but does not wish to Fold his/her hand, the hand will be automatically considered "All-in":
   1. The All-in hand will remain live for consideration during the Showdown, and the Member will no longer be required or able to take additional actions throughout the rest of the hand.
   2. The Table's Pot will be automatically split to visually demonstrate the All-in status.
      1. A Seven Card Stud Poker game can have as many split All-in Pots as there are active Members, minus one.
      2. In the event of additional All-ins, the Pot will continue to be split accordingly.
      3. A maximum of 5 split All-in Pots are visible on the Pacific Poker Seven Card Stud Table, but the Pot will continue to be split additionally as necessary.
   3. All-in hands will be eligible for consideration during the game's Showdown.
      1. If the All-in Member's hand is of the highest value, that Member will receive the total amount of the Table's Pot, up until the time that he/she was All-in and the Pot was split.
      2. The remainder of the Table's split Pot (after the time that the highest valued hand was All-in) will be presented to the Member holding the second highest valued Poker hand (if this Member is also All-in, return Pacific Poker's All-in Policy section 1-c-i, above).
2. If a Member is disconnected from the Pacific Poker Server in the middle of a Poker game, they will be automatically considered All-in:
   1. The Member's hand will remain live for the rest of that game and its status will be that of All-in (see Pacific Poker's All-in Policy section 1-a).
   2. Members are permitted a total of no more than 2 All-ins due to disconnection within any 24-hour period.
   3. If a Member has utilized all of his/her remaining All-ins and is disconnected from the Pacific Poker Server, his/her hand will be automatically Folded and they will forfeit the amount (if any) that he/she has previously placed in the Pot during that game.
   4. Thereafter, Members will not be permitted to utilize either type of additional All-ins until this 24-hour period has expired.

Members wishing to have their All-in Limits reset may contact our Support Department at: support@PacificPoker.com

Seven Card Stud Step-by-Step

Poker Hand Value Chart

The Poker hands below are ranked in order of value, from the highest to the lowest:

Royal Flush
Straight Flush
4-of-a-Kind
Full House
Flush
Straight
3-of-a-Kind
Two Pair
One Pair
High Card
Back