There was a time not so long ago when Seven Card Stud ruled the roost. This was in the days before Hold’em though, and Seven Card Stud is now getting lost in the Hold’em hysteria.

The rules for this game are simple and straight forward. It can be played by as few as two players and as many as eight. Each player is dealt seven cards. Three of them are given face down while the other four are dealt face up.

Once you have gotten your cards, your objective is to make the best five card hand using any combination of the seven cards you are dealt.

Seven card stud is normally played with an ante that is approximately twenty percent of the low limit bet size. Every player must ante up before the hand begins. The ante does not count towards any future bets.

After the initial deal when every player has 1 card showing, the person with the lowest card must "bring in", which means he must put fifty percent of the low limit bet size in the pot. If two or more players each have the lowest card, that the who is sitting closest to the dealer's left side must pay the bring in. This bet counts as your first round bet, so as long as nobody raises, you won't have to place any more money in the pot to see the next card.

Seven Card Stud has five rounds of betting. In fixed limit seven card stud, all bets and raises must be equal to either the low limit, or high limit bet size. This will depend heavily on what round it is. In the first two rounds, all bets and raises must be equal to the low limit bet size. In the third, fourth, and fifth rounds, the bets must be equal to the high limit bet size. A good example of this is if you are playing 3-6 seven card stud, all bets in the first two rounds will be in increments of 3 dollars, and all bets in the last three rounds will be in increments of 6 dollars. A maximum of 3 raises are allowed per betting round.

On 3rd street, two cards are dealt face down to every player. This is followed by another card that is dealt face up. The player with the lowest card must pay the bring in, by betting fifty percent of the low limit bet. They may choose to raise by betting the full low limit bet. Play proceeds clockwise around the table, with each player choosing to fold, call, or raise. All bets and raises must be equal to the low limit bet size.

On fourth street, a fourth card is dealt face up to every player. The player with the highest hand showing (at this point, the highest possible would be a pair of aces) is the first to act. He may choose to fold, check, or bet. If two or more players are tied for the highest hand, the one closest to the dealer's left will be the first to act. Play proceeds clockwise around the table as before. If a player is showing a pair at this point, then he and all the other players have the option to bet either the low limit bet size or the high limit bet size. Otherwise, all bets and raises must be equal to the low limit bet size.

On 5th street a fifth card is dealt face up to every player. The game proceeds as it did in the previous round, with the highest hand betting first, except now all bets and raises must be equal to the high limit bet size.

When the sixth card is dealt, it is given to each player face up. Play is the same as in previous round. All bets and raises must be equal to the high limit bet size.

Finally we reach 7th street where a seventh and final card is dealt face down to every player. Play is exactly the same as it is in previous round and all bets and raises must be equal to the high limit bet size.

It is unlikely that all eight players will have hung in to this point, but in the unlikely event that they have there would not be enough cards for each player to receive another one. If that occurs, instead of every player receiving a card face down, a single card is placed in the middle of the table face up which every player is free to use in the making of their best 5 card hand.

Those who are left now participate in the Showdown. The player who bet last is the first to show their hand, and then it proceeds clockwise from there, with each remaining player either choosing to show their hand, or fold and muck the hand with the rest of the folks who quit. It is common for players to much their hands, if they are sure they will not win. This is done so that nobody will see what cards they refused to play. This is done to make deception easier later in the game.

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