7 Card Poker
Seven Card Stud Poker Card Game Rules. Alternate Names: Down 2 Up 4 Down 1. Seven Card Stud Poker is a betting game where players try to win the best five-card-hand out of seven cards, all the while betting against the hands of other players. Seven Card Stud can be played by 2 to 7 players. Ranking of Cards. Aces are high and 2s are low. Poker can be played in a mixed game format, for example one half-hour of Texas hold 'em followed by one half-hour of Seven-card stud. There are many types of mixed poker games. The most notable mixed poker variation is H.O.R.S.E. Is a mix of Texas hold 'em, Omaha high-low, Razz, Seven-card stud and Seven-card stud Eight-or-better.
The player cannot reclaim their discards upon finding that a better five-card combination could have been made. Five of a Kind - This is the highest possible hand and can occur only where at least one card is wild, such as a Joker. Examples of five of a kind would be four 10s and a wild card or two Queens and three wild cards.
Table Of Contents
Introduction
Before the start of the Texas hold'em poker boom a couple of years ago, seven-card stud was one of the most popular poker variations in the United States.
The game can be played with two to eight players, and the biggest difference between seven-card stud and Texas hold'em or Omaha is that seven-card stud does not involved a flop, and in most cases, it doesn't involve community cards at all.
Game Play
As you can see in the image above, to begin each hand a player is dealt the first two cards face down and then a third facing up. This is often called third street. The two face-down cards are called the 'hole cards' and the face-up card is called the 'door card.' Based on these three cards, one would decide whether or not to continue with the hand. Like in any poker variation, starting-hand selection is extremely important in seven-card stud.
Each player gets dealt a total of seven cards, of which three are dealt face down and four are dealt face up. From these seven cards the player has to choose his best five-card combination. The hand rankings are identical to those in Texas hold'em or Omaha; a royal flush is the best possible hand and the worst hand is the high card hand (no pair).
Antes, bring-in and betting
While the blinds are the forced bets in Texas hold'em and Omaha poker, antes are the forced bets placed by every player before receiving any cards. As an example, let's think of a $10/$20 seven-card stud game with an ante of $1 and a bring-in of $5.
Each player wanting to be dealt in to receive a hand would have to post the $1 ante, creating a pot worth competing for. The first three cards are then dealt to each player before it is determined that one player must post the bring-in. In seven-card stud, the player with the lowest-ranking door card would have to post the $5 bring-in at minimum, but this person does have the option to 'complete' the bet by posting $10 (the small limit of the game). From there, the betting continues clockwise around the table, with each player having the option to call, raise or fold. In the case that the first player who brought in only posts the bring-in, other players may have the option of completing the bet to $10 as the first raise. Once the betting is complete, every player left in the hand is dealt a fourth card, referred to as fourth street.
In games that involve a button that dictates where the action starts, those differ from seven-card stud. In seven-card stud, the first player to act from fourth street on is the player displaying the highest-ranking hand.
Before proceeding past third street, though, it is important to have solid hand selection. An example of good starting hands in seven-card stud would include the following:
Seven-card stud is most often played as a limit game. Sticking with the same example of our $10/$20 seven-card stud game, the limits of betting on third and fourth street would be the smaller limit, or $10 in this case. On fifth, sixth and seventh street, the limits increase to $20.
In the case that a player pairs his door card on fourth street, the opening player now has the option to bet double the small limit, or the larger limit. For example, if a player begins with an ace and picks up another ace on fourth street, that player may open with a bet of $20 instead of $10. This unique betting rule only takes place in the high version of seven-card stud, and not the split-pot version.
7 Card Poker Strategy
Conclusion
In seven-card stud, it is very important to pay close attention to the cards of your opponents. If you, for example, have a straight draw with K♣Q♦J♥10♠, but you already see three aces on the table, then you are only drawing to one ace and the remaining nines in the deck. If a player folded the case ace and you are unaware he or she did so, you could be incorrectly estimating your odds in the hand.
Must Have Rooms
Home to the biggest tournaments online, these rooms also have the largest player base, great bonuses, tons of action and the best software. If you don't have accounts here, you are missing out on the best that online poker has to offer.
partypokerplatinum
Up to $30 of Free Play
RATING
9.9 ★
Key features
- Excellent mobile poker games
- Lots of free and real-money action
- One of the most trusted brands in online gaming
The Differences Between Three, Five and Seven Card Poker Hands
7 Card Poker Online
Three Card Hands
As the name suggests, three card hands consists of just three cards, effectively ruling out the possibility of you building a full house, a four of a kind, or a two pair hand. Also, unlike five and seven card hands, strictly speaking, there is no royal flush in Three Card Poker, save for some games that specifically implement a mini royal bonus for a same-suited A K Q hand.
Please note the following card references:
(h) Hearts (d) Diamonds (c) Clubs (s) Spades
There are six Three Card Poker hands, which are shown in descending order below:
- Straight Flush – three cards in sequence as in 6d 5d 4d
- Three of a Kind – three cards, same value as in 10d 10h 10s
- Straight – three consecutive cards, any suit as in Kd Qc Js
7 Card Poker Strategy
- Flush – three cards, same suit, any value as in 7d 5d 2d
- Pair – two cards of the same value plus a random card, any suit as in 9d 9c 3s
- High Card – three random cards as in Kd 6s 4c, highest high card at the table wins
Five Card Hands
Five card hands, on the other hand, allow for more combinations because, as you may have probably guessed, they consist of five cards instead of just three. This also changes the probability of getting each hand so the rankings change a bit:
- Royal Flush – five consecutive cards of the same suit with an ace as the high card as in As Ks Qs Js 10s
- Straight Flush – five consecutive cards of the same suit with a king or lower as the high card as in Kc Qc Jc 10c 9c
- Four of a Kind – four cards of the same value plus a random card, any suit as in 8s 8d 8c 8h 2c
- Full House – three cards of the same value plus two cards of the same value, any suit as in Jd Jh Js 6c 6s
- Flush – five cards of the same suit, any value as in Qc 9c 6c 4c 2c
- Straight – five cards in sequence, any suit as in Jc 10h 9s 8s 7d
- Three of a Kind – three cards of the same value plus two random cards as in 4c 4s 4d Kd 2h
Poker 7 Card Draw
- Two Pair – two cards of the same value plus another two cards of the same value plus a random card as in 7h 7s 4c 4d Qh
- Pair – two cards of the same value plus three random cards as in 2d 2h 4c 9d Ks
- High Card – five random cards as in Kd 9c 7h 4s 2s, highest high card at the table wins
Take note that unlike in Three Card Poker, a straight is more valuable in five-card games than a three of a kind.
Seven Card Hands
Well, the funny thing is that there are no actual seven card poker hands to speak of. Standard seven-card poker games actually make use of the exact same hands and rankings as their five-card counterparts despite having entirely different rules and betting structures.
The only major difference is that since players are given a total of seven cards to work with, it is possible to come up with several sub-hands, so to speak, and then go with the best five-card set you can build. Below are some examples:
- Kd Kh Kc 4s 4c 4d 4h – With this set, you can build a full house, a two pair and a four of a kind. Of course, a four of a kind ranks higher than the other two so that is what you’d want to go with.
- 7c 6s 5h 4h 3h Kh Jh – This set makes up both a straight and a flush. Which one would you choose?
- 10c Jh 4d 2c 10s 7c 3s – We’ll leave this one to you. What hands can you make out of this set and which one would you go with?
Three, Five or Seven: Which One Should You Play?
Well, it all depends on what kind of playing experience you’re looking for. If want something quick and simple, then a three-card game is your best bet. If you fancy something a bit more challenging, then go for seven-card varieties. Five-card games are somewhere in between.
Still can’t decide? Why not just play them all and see which one you like the most? Sign up for a www.safeclub.com account today and start enjoying some real money poker action online! We’ll even hook you up with more of these poker tips so you can keep getting better while you play!