The Basic Rules of Seven Card Stud
While hold’em poker, whether limit or no-limit, tournament or a cash game, is currently the most popular form of poker worldwide there are many other forms that are both fun and challenging. Seven card stud (also referred to as 7 card stud) is similar to hold’em in so far as you use your best five cards out of a total of seven to make your best poker hand. Using a total of seven cards is where the similarity ends. In this first lesson we’ll cover the basic format of seven card stud, including starting hand values with a tip or two on how to play them.
As mentioned above, in seven card stud you receive a total of seven cards from which you must make your best five card hand. All the hand values remain the same, as it is still poker. However, it is not a board game like hold’em that has common cards that everyone can use. Each player receives his own seven cards that are not shared. While hold’em is often a game of high cards, seven card stud is a game of live cards. This distinction is rooted in the private versus community card format of each game. The value of live cards is the main reason seven card stud is a more difficult game to master. In hold’em the board is always there to refer to as are your two hole cards. In seven card stud when an opponent folds his cards you need to remember them as you may need one of that suit or rank later in the hand. This concept of “live cards” is critical to playing stud well and we will refer to it often.
The Initial Deal & Betting Rounds
The initial deal consists of two down, or private, cards and one up card which everyone else can see. In seven card stud there are not forced blinds like in hold’em, but everyone posts an agreed upon ante so there is something to shoot for right from the start. The lowest face up card is forced to ‘bring it in’ meaning they are obligated to make a bet. Suits are used as well as the numerical rankings to determine which card is lowest. The order of the suits from highest to lowest are, 
spades, 
hearts, 
diamonds and 
clubs. Since clubs is the lowest suit, the lowest card in the deck is the deuce of clubs. If that card appears as one’s up card, which is called your door card, that player is forced to make a bet.
After this initial round of betting, called third street, each poker player who is still in is dealt another face up card called fourth street. At this juncture another major difference between hold’em and seven card stud emerges. In hold’em the positional considerations stay the same throughout the hand. Beginning on fourth street the action starts with whomever has the highest board whether that be the highest card or a pair. Again, there is a round of betting and then another up card is dealt to each live player, called fifth street – another betting round ensues and the sixth street card, which is the final up card for all to see, is dealt. The final card, seventh street, or the river, is dealt down giving each active player a total of three down/private cards and four up cards for all to see. A final round of betting ensues and then the showdown.
Figure 1
Hand reading becomes much more of an art than in hold’em since each player ends up with three private cards. In our example above (see figure 1) the player could be holding J K A for a Royal flush. It’s also possible that a player could actually hold a full house or quads (four of a kind) without a pair showing. As you can imagine there are more “surprises” at the river in seven card stud. This nuance of the game should alert the astute reader that your opponent’s betting patterns may well be worthy of more scrutiny than in hold’em. On balance, seven card stud is a tougher game to play well due to a number of intricacies which we will explore.
Seven Card Stud – Starting Hand Considerations
Third street (your first three cards) play is critical to overall success as it determines if you will even proceed as well as what course of action you should take if electing to enter the fray. We’ll take a look at the categories of starting hands in order of value and present a brief approach on how to play each type of hand.
Trips
Certainly the absolute best starting hand in stud is three Aces, two down and one up. Starting out in your first three cards with three of a kind is called being “rolled up“. While that is a delightful sight, don’t plan on seeing it all that often as the odds of being dealt three Aces in your first three cards is a staggering 5,524-to-1. On a brighter note, being dealt any three of a kind to start is only 424-to-1 – as I said, don’t plan on seeing this happen all that often. Rolled up trips are at the top of the food chain value wise so you need to figure out how to make the most money possible. Small trips should be played fast so they don’t get run down. While it might be tempting to slow play trip Aces, it might look very suspicious to your opponents for you to check an open Ace. If you would raise with just an Ace on board or a pair of split Aces then by all means raise with three of them or your more observant opponents will know you have three of them. As in all of poker, know your opponents’ tendencies and remain aware of the table image you have been projecting.
Premium Pairs
Next on the list are premium pairs which I would rate as tens or better. You may get these hands dealt either with the pair in the hole and concealed or with one up and one down. Obviously having both of them in the hole is much preferred. With a pair of tens or better you stand a decent chance of prevailing unimproved. The premium pairs should always be played unless a situation such as one player with a higher door card raises and another player with an even higher door card re-raises. In this case it would appear that your uphill climb would be too steep to profitably continue. Generally speaking, these hands play better heads-up or in a small field so raising to thin the field is usually a good strategy.
Drawing Hands
These hands are typified by three cards to a flush or straight. While drawing hands offer good potential, they are not premium hands and must be approached with some caveats. Obviously you would prefer an Ace be included in your starting three flush just as you would prefer to be drawing to a high straight versus a low straight. In the first case if you make your flush it will be the nut flush while in the second case you might not make your straight but pair one or more of your straight cards which could become the winner.
Drawing hands also rely heavily on the statement made in the introduction concerning seven card stud being a game of live cards. If you have a three flush but there are three additional up cards of your suit in opponents’ hands, your draw has dropped significantly in value. In the case of a straight draw you have primary and secondary outs. As an example, if you hold a 9-T-J, your primary outs would be eights and Queens and your secondary outs would be sevens and Kings. The more of these key cards in your opponents’ hands, the less value your draw has. If four of your outs are gone then proceeding is questionable. Also, drawing hands play better in multi-way pots so trying to thin the field as you would with premium pairs is not a good idea.
Small and Medium Pairs
These are pairs, either split or not, lower than tens. The value of your kicker many times will guide you as to whether or not to play these hands. As an example, if you’re holding a pair of sevens on third street and another player with a ten as a door card raises, unless your kicker is a Jack, Queen, King or Ace, I would deem the hand not worthy of a call. Your opponent can make two pair just as you can but if both of your two pair are below the value of his door card, you could be headed to a major dent in your chip stack. Small pairs are often overrated by inexperienced seven card stud players.
There is no question that the most important decision you make in seven card stud is whether or not to play your hand on third street. One mistake on this early, inexpensive street can easily compound itself into a very costly error. There are five betting rounds in seven card stud versus only four in hold’em. That, coupled with the stealth nature of the game in terms of hidden monster hands, can make for some real roller coaster rides for your chip stack. Now that we’ve outlined the basics let’s move onto some basic math and odds for seven card stud.
Next Lesson: Math, Odds, & Probability