Five Card Stud Rules

Five Card Stud Rules

In the Five Card Stud poker, each player gets 5 cards; 1 down card, and 4 up cards which are visible to everyone at the table. The winner is the last player in the pot, if everyone else folds, or after all 5 cards are dealt and bets called, the player that holds the best 5 card poker hand. The mechanics of the game are handled by the Online Site’s Poker Client. This software prompts the players for the antes, deals the cards and then prompts each player to Fold, Check, Call, Bet, or Raise as appropriate, with the proper amounts. Then at the showdown evaluates the hands for the winner. There may be computer or internet crashes but the software cannot make a mistake. If you think it did, check the Hand Histories which are available on every poker site.

In Five Card Stud, the player that acts first on each betting round is based on the up cards. On the first round of betting most online poker rooms require the lowest card to make a small “bring-in” bet to start the action. (A very few sites may require the High card to make the bring-in bet.) On subsequent rounds the action begins with the player whose exposed cards make the best poker hand. Since the initial “action” may move through out the hand, there is no reason to pass the deal from player to player like Hold'em, or other variations. Online, some sites rotate the deal, but on most sites the deal is not passed and the same player gets the first card every deal.

Quick Summary

Each player posts their Ante. Two cards are dealt to each player, 1 down, and 1 up. A betting round occurs started by the player with the lowest card. A 3rd card is dealt up. A 2nd betting around occurs with action started by the player with the best hand showing. The player with the best hand showing at the beginning of the betting round will act first on all of the remaining betting rounds. A 4th card is dealt up to each player. A 3rd betting round occurs. The bet size is DOUBLED for this round and the every other round of betting. A 5th card is dealt up to each remaining player. A 4th and final betting round occurs. The cards are exposed and the pot awarded to the best hand.

The Hand

In Five Card Stud the hand begins when each player posts their Ante. The amount of the ante is usually a small fraction of the bet. Players that do not post the Ante will be dealt out of the hand.

The Beginning: Each player is dealt 1 card down, and 1 card up, (their door card). On most online poker sites the lowest card makes a bring-in bet of half or even one quarter of the bet size.

Ties for the lowest card are broken by the suit of the cards. Clubs are lower than Diamonds are lower than Hearts are lower than Spades. (Note that it is in alphabetical order.) So the 2c is the lowest card in the deck. This is the only time that the Suit enters into play in a poker hand.

After the bring-in bet the action moves to the bettors left, clockwise, around the table to each active player in turn. Each player has the option to Fold, Call, or Raise. On most sites this initial raise is limited to completing the bring-in bet to a full bet. On some sites the raiser may be allowed to make a full sized raise. Each player has the same options unless the maximum number, usually 3, of raises have been made. The round continues until every player has either folded or called every bet and raise. If, on any betting round, all of the players have folded but one, the remaining player with cards wins the hand and is awarded the pot.

3rd Street: A 2nd up card is dealt to each player remaining in the hand, and a 2nd round of betting occurs. The player with best exposed hand starts the action. A pair would be best on this round. If there is no pair, the player with highest card or highest two cards, acts first. (On some sites if a pair is showing, a player may elect to make a full double sized bet/raise on 3rd Street.) If the there is a tie of the high hand showing, the first player in clockwise rotation starts the action. The player with the high hand has the first option to Check (pass the action without betting) or Bet. If he Checks, action moves to his left, clockwise, to the next active player who has the same options, Check or Bet. If all active players check, the 3rd Street betting round is over, but when a player opts to Bet, the remaining players must Fold, Call the bet or Raise. Each player has the option to Raise until the maximum number of raises have been reached. The round of betting is ended when every player has folded or called all bets and raises.

4th street: A 3rd up card is dealt to the remaining active players, and the 3rd round of betting occurs. The bet size DOUBLES for the rest of the hand. The player with the highest hand acts first and has the option to Check or Bet. The action moves to the next player to the left. Each player may Check if they are not facing a Bet. If there is a bet, the remaining players must Fold, Call the bet, or Raise. The betting round ends when all players have either folded or called the appropriate bets and raises.

5th Street, “the River:” A 4th card is dealt up to the active players. Each player now has all 5 cards and the deal is finished. The action, for the final betting round, starts with the player having the highest hand, “showing,” and continues in a similar manner as on earlier streets.

The Showdown occurs after the betting round is complete. The down cards of the active players are exposed, in order, and the pot awarded to the player with best 5 card poker hand. Although most sites automatically reveal hands that beat all previous hands, there are a very few that require you to actually choose to expose your hand. You can usually preclude folding a winner by selecting the auto-muck option on the poker client. When in doubt simply reveal your hand although the online poker site will not make a mistake and allow you to fold a winning hand.

The cards are collected.

Ante up for the next hand.

Omaha strategy articles

• Omaha 8: play on the flop
• Omaha 8 or better pre-flop play
• Understanding and Using Implied Odds
• Betting Structures

Read all articles