Stud Poker
Here you will learn all about Stud Poker in 9 points.
Five-card stud is the earliest form of the card game, stud poker, originating during the American Civil War, but is less commonly played today than many other more popular poker games - clear from its absence from the World Series of Poker. It is still a popular game in parts of the world, especially in Finland where a specific variant of five-card stud called Sökö (also known as Canadian stud or Scandinavian stud) is played. The word sökö is also used for checking in Finland.
The description below assumes that you are familiar with the general game play of poker, and with hand values (both high and low variations). The description also makes no assumptions about what betting structure is used. Five-card stud is sometimes played no limit and pot limit, though fixed limit and spread limit games are common (with higher limits in the later betting rounds). It is typical to use a small ante and a bring-in.
Play begins with each player being dealt one card face down, followed by one card face up (beginning as usual with the player to the dealer's left). If played with a bring-in, the player with the lowest-ranking upcard must pay the bring in, and betting proceeds after that. If two players have equally ranked low cards, suit rankings may be used to break the tie. If there is no bring-in, then the first betting round begins with the player showing the highest-ranking upcard, who may check. In this case, suit should not be used to break ties; if two players have the same high upcard, the one first in clockwise rotation from the dealer acts first.
After the first betting round is complete, another face-up card is dealt to each player (after a burn card, starting with the player to the dealer's left, as with all subsequent rounds). Betting now begins with the player whose upcards make the best poker hand (since fewer than five cards are face up, this means no straights, flushes, or full houses). On this and subsequent betting rounds, the player to act first may check or bet up to the game's limit. The second betting round is followed by a third upcard to each player and a third betting round, again starting with the player with the best poker hand showing (thus, the first player to act on each round may change). A fourth face-up card and fourth betting round is followed by a showdown, if necessary (it usually won't be--most deals of five-card stud end early when a player bets and gets no calls).
Assume that a game is being played by four players: Alice, who is dealing; Bob, who is sitting to her left; Carol to his left; David to Carol's left. Alice deals one card face down to each player, followed by one card face up to each player, beginning with Bob and ending with herself. Bob is dealt the 4 of Spades, Carol the Q of Diamonds, David the 4 of Diamonds, and Alice the 9 of Clubs. Because they had earlier agreed to play with a $1 bring-in, David is required to start the betting with a $1 bring-in (his 4 of Diamonds is lower than Bob's 4 of Spades by suit). He has the option to open the betting for more, but he chooses to bet only the required $1. The bring-in sets the current bet amount to $1, so Alice cannot check. She decides to call. Bob folds, indicating this by turning his upcard face down and discarding his cards. Carol raises to $3. David folds (forfeiting his bring-in), and Alice calls.
Alice now deals a second face-up card to each remaining player: Carol is dealt the J of Clubs, and Alice the Q of Hearts. Alice's two face-up cards make a poker hand of no pair, Q-9 high, and Carol has Q-J high, so it is Carol's turn to bet. She checks, as does Alice, ending the betting round.
Another face up card is dealt: Carol gets the 3 of Hearts, and Alice gets the Q of Clubs. Alice now has a pair of queens showing, and Carol still has no pair, so Alice bets first. She bets $5, and Carol call
The final card is dealt: Carol gets the A of Diamonds and Alice gets the 4 if Hearts. Carol still only has no pair showing, thus resulting in Alice, with her pair of queens showing, set to start the betting. Alice bets $5 and is reraised to $10 by Carol. Alice calls and the two must now enter into a showdown - where both players compare their best five-card poker hand. Since Carol was the last player to take aggressive action, she shows first - flipping over her hole card, the A of Clubs - thus giving her a pair of aces. Since she is the last to act, Alice is allowed to muck her cards and does so. Therefore the pot of $22 goes to Carol.
Five-card stud was one of the preliminary events in the World Series of Poker in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974. All 4 of these events were won by Bill Boyd (he won a total of $80,000 from these 4 events) - the only WSOP bracelets he won. Due to the declining popularity of Five-card stud, it was left out of the 1975 World Series of Poker and has been absent from all subsequent World Series of Poker schedules. Although Five-card stud hasn't been featured in major tournaments since the 70s, it was occasionally still offered in the 1990s in both Europe and North America.
In the 1965 film, The Cincinnati Kid (directed by Norman Jewison), Five-card stud is the game played by "the Kid" (Steve McQueen) and "the Man" (Edward G. Robinson) heads-up. There has been much debate amongst poker critics about the likelihood of the final hand ever coming up in a heads-up game of five-card stud. More recently, in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the crew is sometimes seen playing five-card stud.
Traditional five-card stud involves one hole card with four cards face-up, making it simple for even a novice to read the possible hand strength of an opponent effectively. The transparency of a player's hand cuts out much of the element of uncertainty found in more popular games like Texas hold 'em, Omaha hold 'em and Seven-card stud. In order to enlarge that element of uncertainty variants increase the number of hole cards, add a high-low split, play with a stripped deck, introduce a twist round, enable the player to do a 'roll your own'game or even create new and interesting hand rankings.