5-Card Stud is the classic poker game, and it continues to
be one of the favorites in home games around the world.
The game itself is fairly easy to learn. Players are dealt one face down
"Hole Card", and a face up "Door Card" followed by the first betting round. The
dealer then deals to each player 1 more face up card followed by the second
betting round. Two more rounds of 1 face up card dealt followed by a betting
round take place. Once all bets are in for the fourth betting round, the
showdown takes place and the player with the highest 5-card hand takes the pot.
There are a few key concepts you should know about for 5-Card Stud. The first
we'll talk about is the antes...
Game Basics:
Antes: At the beginning of every hand, each player must
contribute a small bet called the ante. Antes are used as an incentive for
players to play the hand, and build the pot.
The Stakes: In the main lobby table list you may have
noticed a "stakes" column. For each 5-Card Stud game, the stakes dictate the bet
and raise amount for each round of betting. The lower number is used for the
first two rounds, and the higher number for the last two.
Let's use a $5/$10 stakes example. In the first two rounds of betting, both
the bet and the raise must be $5, no more, no less. The last 2 rounds have a
bet/raise amount of $10.
The Cap: In 5-card stud, each round of betting can consist
of one bet and has a maximum of three of allowable raises, known as the cap. So,
if a bet is made, that bet can only be raised three times, after which all
players must call, or fold. However, if only two players remain in the hand the
cap is increased to a maximum of five raises.
Game Action
So you want to play some 5-Card Stud. You've chosen your stakes and taken a
seat at the table. What now?
Ante Up! All players must ante. If you wanna to play, you
gotta pay.
The Pocket and the Door: Dealer deals each player in turn
one face down card (the pocket), then a face-up card (the door.) After this, the
first betting round, beginning with the bring-in...
The Bring-In: The player with the lowest showing door card
must post "the bring-in", a mandatory initial bet of usually half the smaller
stake amount. The bring-in player has the option to increase this bet to the
full small stake.
If two players are showing the same door card, we'll use the suit rankings to
decide which card is weakest. The ranks of the suits are (strongest to weakest):
Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs.
The bring-in's purpose is much like the ante's; to encourage players to stay
in a hand, and build the pot.
To stay in the game, all players must call, raise or fold to the bring-in
bet. Betting begins to the bring-in player's left, and continues clockwise. If
the bring-in opens with half the low stake, the first raise will "complete" the
bring-in, raising it to the lower stake limit. Any raises after that must be the
lower stake amount.
So, at our $5/$10 table, if a player brings-in with $2, and you want to raise
him, you must raise $3, completing the bring-in. Now, any player that raises
after you must raise $5.
Still with us? Great! On to Third Street.
Third Street: After the first round of bets have all been
called, each player is dealt another face up card, called "Third Street." Now,
the highest showing hand opens the betting round. If a pair is showing for any
hand on Third Street, that player has the option of doubling his(or her) bet
amount, and "raising the stake" for this betting round. Otherwise, Third Street
bets and raises are limited to the small stake.
So, let's say we're in our $5/$10 game, and your facing cards show a pair.
You now have the option of doubling the bet to $10, and if you do, any
subsequent raises have to be the upper stake limit of $10. If you choose not to
double up, the bet/raise amount stays at $5 for this round.
Fourth Street: Another face up card is dealt to each player,
and high hand opens the betting round. For these last two rounds, the bet amount
is now the higher stake ($10 in our $5/$10 game).
The River: The fourth and final face up card is dealt to
each player, making a total of 5 cards. Now the final betting round begins, and
as before, the highest showing hand starts the betting. The River bets are still
limited to the upper stake. ($10 in our $5/$10 game.)
The Showdown: OK, now all the bets have been called, and
it's time to see who wins. The last player to bet or raise during the final
betting round (the river) will show their hand first. If all the players checked
through (nobody bet), the player to the left of the dealer will show first. The
remaining players' hands will be automatically revealed moving clockwise, unless
a hand is weaker than the winning hand shown. In this case, you'll have the
option to show, or muck (fold without showing). The best 5-card hand takes the
pot. For a complete list of hand rankings, please consult the
Hand Rankings
page.
Buying the pot: If during a betting round you make a bet and
all players fold to you, you've bought the pot. You have the option to show or
muck your cards.
Content courtesy of
Bodog.com
