That means that instead of trying to get a royal flush you’re actually aiming for 5-4-3-2-A (which is also known as the wheel). This is referred to as a “lowball” variation. Razz is very similar to Seven-Card Stud except the lowest hand always wins. Seven-Card Stud is a favorite of players who enjoy a slightly slower-paced game compared to Hold’em and don’t like being pushed off hands by huge over-bets. Unlike Hold’em suits matter in Seven-Card Stud and are used for tie-breakers (The suits are spades, hearts, diamonds and then clubs with clubs being the lowest). In total there are five rounds of betting with four face-up cards and three face-down cards. Action continues like this until showdown. Action then continues to the left of bring-in player and continues around the table with either calls, raises or folds.Īt this point another card is dealt face-up and the player with the highest poker hand (of the face up cards) begins the betting round with action continuing to their left. The player with the lowest face-up cards pays the bring-in and has the option of betting even more. Seven-Card Stud begins with every player getting dealt two cards facedown (sometimes referred to as the hole cards) and one card face up. For the first two rounds players are allowed to make small bets but from the third round on every bet must be a big bet. The limits are described as small bet/big bet. Stud is almost always played with a limit structure and it utilizes a small ante and a bring-in instead of blinds.
In Seven-Card Stud cards are dealt in a pre-arranged position with face down and face up cards. It’s still one of the most popular games on the East Coast of the United States. Seven-Card Stud was actually the most popular poker game in the world prior to the rise of No-Limit Hold’em. We’ll provide a brief explanation of some of the most popular non-Hold’em games below. Hold’em, and to a lesser extent its four-card sibling Pot-Limit Omaha, gets all the attention but there are plenty of really fun poker games, many of which were popular long before Hold’em became an online sensation. That’s when some of the other games come into play. No-Limit Hold’em has been referred to as the Cadillac of poker but every now and then you might feel more like cruising around in a ponderous but torquey Ford F150.