There are some significant differences between Seven-card Stud and the other popular online poker games that are currently played. Unlike all forms of Hold'em and Omaha there are no community cards in Seven-card Stud. Furthermore, there are five betting rounds instead of four. Players must still make the best possible 5-card hand, and the rankings are the same for hands. The game is also played without blinds. Instead all players ante before the cards are dealt. There is no dealer button here. Instead the strength of the players' hands decide the order of action. On the first round of betting the player with the lowest card has to make a bring-in bet and on the later betting rounds the player with the best hand showing has to act first.
Game Play:
Each player at the table is dealt two cards face down (hole cards) and one card dealt face up (upcard). The cards are dealt one at a time.
When the players have all 3 cards in front of them the player with the lowest upcard has to make a bring-in bet. If two or more players have the same rank of up-cards, then suit becomes the deciding factor as to which of them is to make the bring-in bet. The lowest suit is Clubs followed by Diamonds, Hearts and Spades. This means that the 2c is the lowest possible up-card. This is a forced bet. At this stage the player with the lowest upcard may not fold (ie: throw away or discard) his hand.
The betting continues clockwise from the player with the lowest upcard. Betting in Seven-card stud is usually determined by a limit structure so that there is a minimum bet and a maximum bet for any given round. A typical stud game might have a $1-$4 limit, so that players may bet anything between those amounts during any round of betting. Players may fold their hands at this time. The betting proceeds until all players who have not folded have contributed equally to the pot.
A fourth card is then dealt face up to all remaining players. The action now starts with the player who has the best upcards and continues clockwise. A fifth card is then dealt face up to all remaining players. The action once again starts with the player who has the best upcards and continues clockwise. A sixth card is then dealt face up to all remaining players. The action begins with the player who has the best upcards and continues clockwise.
A seventh card is then dealt face down. There are now 3 hidden cards in total for all remaining hands. The action begins with the player that possesses the best upcards and continues clockwise.
All players make their best possible 5-card poker hand out of their 7 cards. If someone gets called on the last round of betting, there is a show down. The player who gets called is forced to flip his three down cards face up on the table. The other players then have the option of either mucking their hands or, if they have it, of showing a superior hand. If no player calls the final bet the player who bets wins the hand and does not have to show his 3 hidden cards unless he feels like doing so.
