7 card stud poker

Each player is being dealt 2 face down and 1 face up cards at the beginning of the 7 card stud poker game. The betting is always in a normal clockwise direction but if played with a bring-in – the player with the weakest face up card payes it and the bring-in considered as an open. The next player may not check. In case 2 or more players have low cards with equal rank then suit may be used to break the tie and assign the bring-in. In case there is no bring in – the round begins with the player with the highest upcard. In this case ties can’t be broken by suits. If 2 or more players have high upcards with the same rank the player starting the betting is the one which is first in clockwise rotation from the dealer.

After the end of the 1st betting round each player is being dealt with another upcard followed by a 2nd betting round. The second betting round starts from the player whose upcards make the best hand among all. If there are less than 5 face up cards, no full houses, straights or flushes will count. Each following betting round begins from the player with the best upcards like that player can bet up to the limit of the game or check.

After the 4th betting round a downcard is dealt to each player followed by the last – the fifth betting round and ofcourse a there will be a shutdown if necessary. So in few words, 7 card stud poker can be summarized as "2 down, 4 up, 1 down".

The seven card stud poker game can be played by up to 7 players at once as 8 players multiplied by 7 cards makes 56 cards which is more than a standard stack of cards which is 52.