Moving From Texas Hold 'Em To 7 Card Stud

by Dougie Goguen | Nov 30 2011

If you’re looking for old-school poker play that can help you with your modern game, this look at 7-Card Stud can help!

In the days before Texas Hold 'Em became the gaming juggernaut it is now, Stud was the game for many players. While community card games are still the standard for most tournaments, cash game players with drive can benefit greatly from stud poker, which many diehards consider to be the purest form of poker. This week, we’re going to go over the big differences between Stud and Hold 'Em.

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Five Of Your Seven Cards Are Face-Up
This is something that takes some getting used to, particularly among die-hard Texas Hold 'Em players, but this actually requires a lot of the same basic instincts. You just have to process more possible hands when looking at how your opposition is playing. However - and this is essential - you’ll have to remember that everyone else can see your hand and might be able to make an educated guess about what you might be holding.

There Are Five Betting Rounds
This is because there are more cards in play, obviously.

There Are No Community Cards
The cards in your hand are the cards that are played, period. At the beginning of your hand, everyone is dealt three cards, two face-down and one face-up. This means that you have to spend a bit of extra effort to remember your face-up cards when looking at your hand.

You Should Play Only Premium Hands
As the character from Rounders said, you should only start with jacks or better split, nines or better wired, or three high cards to a flush. Unlike Texas Hold 'Em, a pair of tens late in the betting when it first starts is not going to be enough to keep you going, as many stud hands are higher value overall because of the greater number of cards issued.

There Are No Blinds
Instead, an ante and a bring-in bet are used to fund the pot. Like blinds, an ante is a forced bet, but in stud games, everyone contributes to the pot. This is usually a relatively small amount, such as half the minimum bet. The player with the lowest value card showing provides the bring-in bet. This is one of the few times that suits matter in poker: their value rises in alphabetical order, so a player holding 3c actually has a lower value card than someone hold 3h during the betting.

The First Bettor Changes
As the highest-ranking visible card begins the betting on any given round, the positional advantage that many players utilize in Texas Hold 'Em is eliminated entirely from the game. This means that you’ll have to think on your feet and directly connects to the next piece that you’ll need to absorb.

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These are the key differences that you’ll have to remember when you sit down to play stud poker, whether you choose to try it out in our online poker room or when you’re at a casino. At Bodog, you can enjoy microstakes games that give you the chance to win real money without risking your bankroll.

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