Seven Card Stud gets its name from how the hand is dealt and it’s a game that can take years to master. Throughout the game each player is individually dealt seven cards but only the best five-card hand is used to determine the winning hand. 

Most of the time Seven Card Stud is played with two to eight players yet can include a ninth player if the players fold often. When played with eight, special rules may be necessary if none of the players fold after the last cards are dealt. When played in a home game it is typical to use only an ante and when played in a casino it is common to use a bring-in and small ante. 

There are a few variants of Seven Card Stud, the most common being Mississippi Stud. In this game the betting rounds between the fourth and fifth streets are removed leaving only four betting rounds. The final card is dealt face up making it most like Texas Hold ‘em. The next is Roll Your Own, where four rounds of two cards are dealt face down. The player must then “roll” one card to face up and follow with a round of betting. Apart from the first round, the card that was rolled may or may not be from the round that was just dealt. 

In other variants such as Queens and After, Baseball, Low Chicago, Acey Ducey, and One-eyed Jacks or Suicide King, certain cards are played as wild cards. The rules on other cards after wild cards are played or pot winners change slightly from the rules of Seven Card Stud. The last variant is Razz, which is a lowball form of Seven Card Stud where the objective is to get the lowest hand possible. 

Seven Card Stud or variations of it are what most poker tournaments are based on. It is an established game at many casinos in Vegas and other worldwide casinos as well as online casinos. 

Learn to play at:

https://www.wsop.com/poker-games/seven-card-stud/rules/

https://www.888poker.com/magazine/strategy/learn-to-play-7-card-stud-poker-games