Stud Poker

Stud Poker refers to several variations of Poker, in which each player is dealt a certain combination of face up and face down cards throughout a number of betting rounds. In most cases, the cards dealt to each individual player are dealt face down and known as “hole” cards or “pocket” cards, and the community cards, dealt for all players to use, dealt face up on the table and are known as “board” cards. In Stud Poker, after the cards have been dealt a round of betting ensues, and this is called a “betting round”. Depending on the specific Stud Poker variation, there are always several betting rounds for each hand, but never less than 3.

In Stud Poker, players are unable to draw for cards – they are dealt are the cards they must use. However, some variations allow for the use of wild cards on the board and/or within the player’s hands.

Another unique aspect of Stud Poker games is that they are generally played in non-positional manner, meaning that the first player to bet in each betting round may change in spite of the player’s seating arrangement. This is because in Stud Poker, the first player to bet is decided according to the cards they are dealt or the hands they hold. For example, in 7 Card Stud Poker, in the Bring-in round it is the player with the lowest showing door card that will post the bring-in bet.

There are several kinds of betting structures for Stud Poker. Variants with very few betting rounds are suited to all kinds, whilst variants with many betting rounds such as 7 card Stud, usually employ betting limits. When a “fixed limit” is used, then the number of bets and raises are restricted in each round, and the amount of chips a player can bet or raise is also limited, sometimes to the lower or higher stake and sometimes to the amount of chips the player has. As the name implies, “no limit” Stud Poker allows for unlimited betting and raising during betting rounds, and “pot limit” Stud Poker limits players to betting no more than the amount of chips in the pot at that given time.

There are many variations of Stud Poker. The most commonly played in casinos and in Poker tournaments is 7 Card Stud Poker, and the most popular variant for casual play is 5 Card Stud. Other variants include 6 Card Stud, Razz/London Lowball, Mexican Stud, 8 or Better/High Low Stud, and Blind Stud.