Seven-Card Stud Rules
No community cards, no button - one of poker's oldest and most traditional formats.
Quick answer: every player gets seven cards of their own (three face-down, four face-up) dealt across five betting rounds - no community cards, no dealer button. Instead of blinds, players post an ante plus a bring-in from whoever shows the lowest card. Whoever has the best hand showing acts first on each street, and it's traditionally played Fixed-Limit.
The Basics
- Seven-Card Stud has no community cards and no button - every player gets their own private seven-card hand, dealt in stages, with some cards face-up and some face-down.
- Over the course of a hand, each player receives seven cards total: three dealt face-down and four dealt face-up, in a specific order across five betting rounds called 'streets.'
- At showdown, you make your best five-card hand out of your own seven cards - there's no combining with anyone else's cards, since there's nothing shared.
Antes & The Bring-In
- Instead of two blinds, Stud uses an ante - a small forced bet posted by every player at the table before the deal, plus a single bring-in bet posted by one specific player once the first cards are dealt.
- The bring-in is forced on whoever is showing the lowest-ranked face-up card after the first three cards are dealt. If two players tie for lowest, suit order breaks the tie (a standard convention, though house rules vary).
- The player who posts the bring-in can either complete it up to a full bet, or leave it as a smaller forced bet that the next player must call, raise, or fold to - same as any other opening bet.
The Deal: Third Street Through the River
- Third Street: every player gets two cards face-down and one face-up (three cards total) - this is the only street where two cards come at once, and it's what determines the bring-in.
- Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Street: one additional face-up card is dealt to each remaining player before each of these three betting rounds, so everyone's hand grows by one visible card at a time.
- Seventh Street (the River): a final card is dealt face-down to each remaining player, completing everyone's seven-card hand before the last betting round.
- By Seventh Street, every player has three hole cards (face-down) and four exposed cards (face-up) - opponents' up-cards are genuinely useful information throughout the hand, unlike in Hold'em or Omaha.
Three face-down cards, four face-up - dealt in stages, not all at once.
Who Acts First Each Street
- Unlike Hold'em or Omaha, action order isn't fixed by a button - it's determined by the cards showing. On Third Street, the bring-in player acts first. On every street after that, whoever has the best face-up hand showing acts first.
- This means the order of action can change from street to street as new cards come out and different hands become the best-showing hand - a genuine adjustment for players used to a fixed button rotation.
Betting Structure
- Seven-Card Stud is traditionally played Fixed-Limit: bets on Third and Fourth Street use a smaller fixed amount ('the small bet'), while Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Street use a larger fixed amount ('the big bet'), usually double the small bet.
- There's a common exception on Fourth Street: if any player is showing a pair, betting can jump straight to the big bet size for that round, at the players' option.
- No-Limit and Pot-Limit Stud exist but are much less commonly played than Fixed-Limit - most home games and clubs that spread Stud use the traditional small-bet/big-bet structure.
The Showdown
- If more than one player remains after the Seventh Street betting round, all remaining hands are turned face-up and compared, same as any other poker variant - best five-card hand wins.
- Since every card besides your three hole cards has been visible the whole way, a sharp opponent has often already narrowed down what you likely have well before showdown - reading up-cards is a core skill in Stud that doesn't really exist in community-card games.
Not sure which five-card hand beats which? See the Poker Hand Rankings page for every hand ranked from Royal Flush to High Card, with examples and odds.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cards do you get in Seven-Card Stud?
Seven total - three dealt face-down and four dealt face-up, spread across five separate betting rounds instead of all at once. You make your best five-card hand from those seven cards.
What is the bring-in?
It's a small forced bet posted by whichever player is showing the lowest-ranked face-up card once the first three cards are dealt. It plays a similar role to a blind, but who pays it depends on the cards dealt, not a fixed seat rotation.
Why is there no dealer button in Stud?
Because action order isn't determined by seating position at all - it's determined by whoever has the best (or worst, on the very first street) hand showing face-up. There's no button to rotate since there's nothing it would need to determine.
What does 'small bet' and 'big bet' mean in Stud?
In the traditional Fixed-Limit structure, Third and Fourth Street use a smaller fixed bet size, and Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Street switch to a larger one, usually double. A $10/$20 Stud game, for example, uses $10 bets early and $20 bets late.
Does the first-to-act player change during the hand?
Yes - unlike Hold'em, where the order rotates predictably with the button, in Stud whoever has the best hand showing acts first on each street after Third Street. As new up-cards come out, that can be a different player from one street to the next.
Can Seven-Card Stud be played No-Limit or Pot-Limit?
It can, but it's uncommon - the vast majority of Stud played at home games, clubs, and card rooms uses the traditional Fixed-Limit small-bet/big-bet structure instead.
Related Free Tools
Explore More
This is just one small piece
BlindShark is a full live poker tournament and league manager, a professional and customizable blind clock, table and player management, league standings, and results tracking, all in one platform.
Professional Live Poker Management
Join us at the Table
Have a question, feedback or just want to say hey? Contact us at info@blindshark.io
© 2026 BlindShark Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
