Basic Five Card Stud

Written by Nigel

I would imagine that based on the last few posts, you already have a pretty good idea on how to play stud poker.  Last time we talked about basic seven card stud, wherein you have 7 cards for each player.  For this variation, we have 5 cards for each player.

The game starts with the dealer dealing out 1 card – face down – to each player.  He then deals another card, this time face up, to each player at the table.  A round of betting ensues.  As with 7 card stud, the player with the highest face up card starts the betting round.  After everyone has bet, the dealer then deals another face up card to each player.  Everyone starts betting again.  This cycle goes on until each player at the table has one face down card and four face up cards.  The total number of betting rounds is four.  At the end, the player with the best hand wins.

Sometimes, there are certain stipulations for a five card stud game.  Though this is rare, it is worth mentioning.  One variation is called “roll your own.”  In this variation, each player is initially dealt 2 cards face down.  Players then decide which of the two cards they will turn up as a face up card.  After the betting round, another face down card is dealt to each one and players again decide which of the two face down cards they will show.  As with the basic game, this continues until everyone has 5 cards in all.