Guide to Seven Card Stud

Seven Card Stud is regarded as something of a traditional poker variant. It used to be the most commonly played variant in the United States, and some other regions in the world, before Texas Hold’em became so popular. It’s far less common today, but is still favored by many players both live and online.

It’s not a particularly difficult game to learn, although it is a little more complicated than some other poker games. It does, however, take a lot of skill and discipline to become a competent player. You have a lot of information available and have to be able to use that information to your advantage when you can, which is a far from easy skill to master.

On this page we’ve looked at how Seven Card Stud compares to Texas Hold’em. We’ve also listed our top recommendations of poker sites where you can play the game, and provided a few tips for playing.

How Does 7 Card Stud Compare to Texas Hold’em?

There are several key differences between Seven Card Stud and Texas Hold’em. If you’re already familiar with playing Texas and looking to learn a new game then you should be aware of these main differences. The fact that Seven Card Stud is so different may well appeal to you if looking for a fresh challenge, but alternatively you may decide it’s better to learn a game that is more similar to Texas – such as Omaha for example.

The following are the main differences between the two poker variants. This is not an exhaustive list of them all, but does serve to highlight just how different the two games are.

• In Seven Card Stud there are no community cards.
• There are no blinds, instead an ante and a bring-in are the forced bets.
• There are five betting rounds rather than four.
• The cards determine who acts first on each round, eliminating positional advantage.
• You get to see some of your opponents’ cards during a hand.

Best 7 Card Stud Poker Sites

Seven Card Stud is not as widely offered at online poker sites as some of the other poker variations, but there are still several sites that do provide it. If you’re interested in playing this game online then you need to think carefully about which site you join, for a number of reasons.

First, you want to make sure that you join somewhere that’s safe and trustworthy. Most sites fall into this category to be fair but there are a few that are not very reputable and you want to avoid them obviously. You also want to make sure you join somewhere that has plenty of traffic – specifically at the Seven Card Stud tables.

Because this form of poker is not as popular as Texas Hold’em and Omaha, even some of the busiest sites do not have many players at the Seven Card Stud tables. This can be very frustrating when you want to play but cannot find any action at your preferred stakes.

The following sites are our top recommendations for playing Seven Card Stud online. They are all reputable sites that we’ve tested for ourselves and been impressed with. We can’t guarantee that you’ll always find games running that appeal to you, but you certainly stand a better chance at these sites than you do at most others.

You might be interested to know that we also rank the best poker sites in a number of other categories too. We do this to help players find the site that’s right for whatever it is that they’re looking for. For example we have ranked the best sites based on where people live, and the top sites for those looking to play at high stakes.

It’s well worth having a look at all the categories we cover before deciding where to sign up, particularly if you’re looking for a certain type of site.

Tips for Playing 7 Card Stud

As we’ve mentioned, this form of poker requires a great deal of skill and discipline to be successful. It’s very difficult to give much in the way of general advice as most of the decisions you have to make depend on the circumstances in which you find yourself at any given time. We do, however, have a few quick tips that will help you when you start playing.

• Be very selective in terms of the hands you choose to play from 3rd street.
• If you get dealt a big pair to start with, bet it strongly.
• Be prepared to fold a lot of hands on 5th street.
• If you have a very strong hand or a good draw, try to keep your opponents in the pot.
• Do your best to memorize the cards that you get to see.