Stud Poker Games
Five-card-stud poker is very popular but in recent years Seven-card-stud poker has become the more common stud poker games. Both are played at home and in casinos. The amount of betting rounds in a poker game manipulates how well the game plays with diverse betting structures. Poker games with four or fewer betting rounds such as Five-card stud poker and Mississippi stud poker play well with any structure and especially suited to no limit and pot limit play. Poker games with more betting rounds are more suited to fixed limit or spread limit. It is common for later betting rounds to have higher limits than earlier ones.
It is a common rule in stud poker games to designate the betting rounds after the number of cards each player holds and when that betting round begins. The bet that occurs when each player has three cards is called third card or 'third-street', while the bet that occurs when each player has five cards is 'fifth-street'. The final round, no matter how many number of betting rounds, is called the 'river'.
Auction
The dealer deals two face-down cards to each player. A betting round
is opened by the player sitting to the left of the dealer. A number
of cards equal to the number of players are then flipped face-up onto
the table. Each player will be choosing one of these cards to go face-up
into their hand. To determine which player gets which card, each player
including the dealer, chooses a sum of money ranging from the table's
minimum bet to the table's maximum bet, hiding this money in their hands.
At the same time, each player drops the money they are holding in their
hand. The player who drops the highest sum of money gets the first pick
of the face-up community cards. The player who drops the second highest
sum of money gets second pick of the community cards, and so on. If
two players drop the same amount of money, the one sitting closest to
the dealer in clockwise sequence picks first. By the end of this auction
round, each player will now have the original two cards dealt to them
face-down as well as one card face-up. The dealer then flips another
set of community cards, equal in number to the number of players at
the table, and another auction round ensues.
There are four auction rounds in total, after which each player will
have their two original face-down cards, and four cards face-up, the
ones that each player chose on the auction rounds. A betting round ensues.
The seventh and final card is dealt face-down to each player, followed
by the third and final betting round. Best hand wins.
Because of the four auction rounds, play in this game can be slow. Players
are normally reminded at the game's beginning that it's going to be
a long game, and that the auction rounds should go as quickly as possible.
At a nickel-table with betting numbers ranging from 5 cents to 25 or
50 cents, the amount of money a player chooses to auction can vary greatly
and be factored into a player's 'auctioning strategy'. At a quarter-table
however, where bets vary less (usually being either one quarter or two
quarters), the dealer will need to decide if players can bid more money
than the table's usual maximum bet. The dealer at a quarter-table that
has a fifty-cent maximum bet may determine that players can bid up to
a dollar on auction rounds.
Blind Baseball
Seven cards are all immediately dealt face-down. Each player keeps his
seven cards face-down without looking at them. The first player to the
left of the dealer flips over his first card. Based on that card, he
opens a betting round. That face-up card is now the best hand showing
at the table. After the betting round, the next player flips over cards
until his cards face-up beat the best hand showing. For example, if
the first player turned up a jack, then the next player flips over cards
until what he has showing beats a single Jack, that is any card higher
than a Jack or a pair. Those cards showing now become the new best hand
showing at the table, and that player opens a betting round. This continues
with each player flipping over cards until they can beat the best hand
showing at the table, opening a betting round after they have done so.
There are two ways that players are removed from this game. If a player
has flipped over all of his cards and cannot beat the best hand at the
table with what he has showing, then that player is out of the game.
Also, of course, if a player does not at least see each bet that comes
his way, he is out of the game. The game ends when all players have
flipped over all of their cards. The best hand wins.
Variations (on Blind Baseball)
Most people think that there should be special cards in this game that
revolve around a baseball theme. For example:
Innings: Nine cards dealt instead of seven, called "nine innings".
Wild cards: Threes and nines wild, modelled after three strikes, three
outs, nine innings, and nine players. Other people play that when a
player turns up a card that is wild, they must pay for that card to
be wild, a small amount like a quarter at a nickle-ante table.
Extra card: If a player flips up a four, modelled after four balls and
four bases, that player is dealt an extra card face-down from the dealt.
Other people play that the player if a player flips up a four and wants
the extra card, he must also pay for it, typically 50 cents at a knickle-ante
table. Other than that, the card does not contribute anything to the
hand other than being a regular four. However, getting the extra card
can really help a hand.
Baseball: Blind Baseball is not basic Baseball, only the more popular
version. Basic Baseball (or just Baseball) is a standard seven card
stud game, in which threes and nines are wild, and a four dealt face-up
allows you to receive a new card from the deck. These threes, fours,
and nines typically cost a player a predetermined fee in order to take
advantage of them (at a quarter-table, for example, it may be a quarter
for a three or nine to be counted as wild, and 2 quarters to get an
extra card from the four).
Winter Baseball: A variation on either Baseball or Blind Baseball. The
exception is in this game, a four gets you an extra card but costs nothing,
a nine is wild but costs nothing, and a three is wild but the player
who receives it (at all in Blind Baseball, or dealt face-up in Baseball)
must match the pot for it to be counted as wild. If the player is not
interested in matching the pot, that player can simply fold, or put
a "price" on the wild card. Going clockwise around the table
from the player, other players decide if they are willing to pay that
player's price for the three in exchange for a card from their hand.
The first player to decide he will pay the player for that wild card
must pay the player's price to the player, as well as match the pot.
Count Your Diamonds
The pot gets split in half, half of the pot going to the player with
the best poker hand. After this, each player adds the numbers on all
of the diamond-suited cards in their hand, whether dealt face-up or
face-down. Two to Ten counts as the number, the Ace of Diamonds counts
as fourteen, the Jack counts as eleven, the Queen counts as twelve,
and the King counts as thirteen. All of the Diamonds in a player's hand
are tallied together as a point score. The player with the highest number
of 'Diamonds points' gets the other half of the pot.
Countdown
This game has a wild card, determined only after all of the cards have
been dealt. After the betting round that follows the deal of the seventh
and final card, the number of players remaining in the game becomes
the card number that is wild. If, for example, five players start this
game, and after the last betting round of the game, only three players
remain, then Threes are wild in everybody's hand.
Considering most poker games consist of a table of five to seven players,
it's safe to assume in this one that only a low card is going to end
up being wild. What is more, the challenge is trying to bet strategically
as to plan the number of people that remain in the game.
Dirty Schultz
Seven card Stud Poker. If throughout the course of cards being dealt
face-up, a player pairs up (receives a card of the same rank as a card
already in his or her hand face-up), then the next card dealt face-up
(and all matching cards) is wild.
If, later in the same hand, a player pairs up again, then the next card
dealt up is wild, with the old wild card no longer wild, a la Follow
The Queen.
English Stud Poker
This is dealt as standard seven-card stud with two down, four up, and
one down. First two cards down and third card up are dealt, followed
by a betting round. Fourth card up, followed by a betting round. Fifth
card is dealt face-up, followed by a "draw", in which each
player has the option to discard one card from their hand for a new
one from the deck. If the player discards one that was face-down, that
player receives the new card face-down. If the player discards one that
was face-up, that player receives the new card face-up. The draw is
followed by a betting round.
Sixth card is dealt face-up, followed by another draw of one card, and
another betting round.
Seventh card is dealt face-down, followed by a final draw of one card,
followed by the final betting round.
Follow the Queen
Standard seven card stud with Queens wild. Throughout the course of
the deal, if a Queen is dealt face-up to a player, then the card that
is dealt face-up after that Queen is called the "trailer"
and it is also wild as well as Queens. These Queens and trailers are
also wild in determining who has the best hand showing to open each
betting round.
If in the course of the deal, another Queen is dealt face-up to a player,
then the trailer that follows that more recent Queen is now the new
trailer and the new wild card as well as Queens. The old trailer is
no longer wild...in other words, other than Queens, there is only ever
one other wild card. Queens and cards matching the current trailer are
also wild if they are dealt face-down. Best hand wins.
Have A Heart
Seven card Stud Poker. If throughout the course of cards being dealt
face-up, a player is dealt any Heart, then that player has the option
to take any face-up card from any player at the table. The player with
the Heart does not need to discard a card from his or her hand, nor
does the player whose card has been taken get a replacement. The player
with the Heart takes the new card face-up in his or her hand. This occurs
with each Heart dealt face-up throughout the course of the game.
Kings and Little Ones
Kings are always wild, as well as the lowest card face-down in each
player's hand.
Sequence
Dealt as seven card stud. If throughout the course of cards being dealt
face-up, a Two appears, then all Twos are wild in all hands. If this
is established, and later a Three appears, then all Threes are wild
in all hands (with Twos no longer wild). These cards have to appear
in sequence, and this wild-card reversal continues to Fours and up,
should they be dealt face-up in the game. If a Two does not appear throughout
the course of the game, then there is nothing wild, and it is played
as regular seven card stud.
Features to change the game
High / Low
This feature is 'split-pot poker', where the pot is split between TWO
winning players. In High/Low, the pot is split between the player that
has the best hand at the table, and the player that has the worst hand
at the table.
Leg Poker
This feature is more like two games in one. Most commonly played as
double-legged poker, this variation requires that a player win the game
twice before he can collect the pot. The game plays as it normally would,
except that when a player wins with the best hand, that player does
not yet collect the pot. Instead, that players has earned a leg towards
winning the pot. The pot remains in the center of the table, and the
same game is dealt again, complete with betting rounds. The first player
to win two legs wins the giant pot. A Three-Legged Race is triple-legged
poker, where a player must win three legs before claiming the pot.
Lowball
This is 'all-low poker'. The worst hand at the table wins the pot. It
is especially challenging in Draw Poker, where you may draw higher cards
than the ones you threw away, or where you may accidentally pair up
with one of the cards in your hand.
With The Bug
This is a feature usually used for the entire night. One Joker is put
into the deck. That Joker is called 'the bug', but it has limited wild
card value. It can only be used to complete a Straight or a Flush. Otherwise,
it has no value. This would be stipulated as opposed to tables that
play with Jokers as wild cards that have no limited wild card value
and can be designated as any card to complete any hand.
At Duluth Poker you can play texas holdem poker online, get an online poker bonus, and get online poker tips.
Special Offer! 15% off poker merchandise at
Spencers!
Last updated:
June 2, 2005
Home - Forum - Software - Online Poker - Books - Make Money - Duluth Casinos - Poker at Home - Party Poker
Poker Room - Buy Poker Stuff - Gaming Info - Articles - Duluth News - Poker News - Poker on TV - Poker Links
Contact Us - Press Releases - Advertise For Us
Copyright 2005
For problems or questions regarding this Web site contact the Webmaster .
