RULES: SEVEN-CARD STUD
Seven-card stud is played with a starting hand of two face down cards and one face up card dealt before the first betting round. There are then three more upcards dealt before a final down card, with a betting round after each, for a total of five betting rounds on a deal played to the showdown. The best five-card poker hand wins the pot. In all fixed-limit stud games, the smaller bet is wagered for the first two betting rounds, and the larger bet is wagered for the last three betting rounds (on the fifth, sixth, and seventh cards). If there is an open pair on the fourth card, any player has the option of making the smaller or larger bet.
The person with the lowest door card (the only face up card seen after the initial 3-cards are dealt to each player) becomes the ‘bring-in’. Betting starts with the player to their left. The bring-in is a forced bet to start the round, much like the blinds in Hold’em and Omaha games.