Stud poker is not built on the usual flops and turns. Here, each player plays with open and closed cards, and the logic of the game is built on a different axis of thinking. Unlike Hold’em, where the game is dictated by shared cards, the rules of stud poker require attention to each layout, memory, and sequential thinking. Especially when it comes to the high-low format, where the pot is divided between the best high and low combinations. This complicates the game but makes it strategically richer.
Structure and rules of stud poker
Before the deal begins, each player places an ante — a mandatory bet that forms the initial pot. Then the dealer deals three cards: two face down, one face up. The player with the weakest face-up card makes the bring-in — the minimum bet that starts the betting round.
Each deal in accordance with the rules of stud poker consists of five rounds:
- First street: ante, dealing of three cards (two hidden, one face up).
- Second (Fourth Street): second face-up card.
- Third (Fifth Street): third face-up card.
- Fourth (Sixth Street): fourth face-up card.
- River (Seventh Street): last card, face down.
After each stage, a round of betting is conducted clockwise. The number of players ranges from two to eight, but the optimal pool is 6–7 participants. A limit is used: a predetermined bet size that limits aggression and requires tactics.
Features of combinations in stud poker: how hands are formed
Combinations correspond to the classic ranking but are read differently. Most of the opponents’ cards are visible, so the player relies not only on the strength of their hand but also on those that have been folded. This is a key element of strategy. To win a hand, you need to form the best five-card combination out of seven. Examples of strong hands:
- Straight (for example, $4diamond 5spades 6clubs 7diamond 8clubs$) — easily readable when open.
- Set or full house — hidden cards play a role.
- Flush — possible if the suits on the board allow.
In stud, cards are important not by denomination but by context — if, for example, an opponent has two spades, a flush may be impossible.
Difference between stud, Hold’em, and Omaha: poker rules variation
In Hold’em, all players have the same field — shared cards on the board. In Omaha, players have four denominations in hand, but they must use exactly two of them. In stud, the situation is completely different: each player holds their own unique combination, and part of it is visible to everyone. This completely changes the strategy of observation and bluffing.
What is important to track:
- In stud, players build the game based on visible information: three face-up cards by the sixth street are a powerful source of analysis.
- In Hold’em, position and timing of bets are more important.
- In Omaha, equity calculation considering the four-card hand is crucial.
Stud poker emphasizes memory and observation. It’s not possible to just “catch a flop” and win. Here, people are read, not the board.
What is high-low and how the format changes the game
High-low is a format where the pot is divided equally: one part goes to the winner with the best high combination, the other to the player with the lowest. But not everyone can qualify for “low”: five denominations not higher than eight are needed, without a pair.
List of mandatory terms according to stud poker rules:
- Ante. Mandatory bet at the beginning of each deal.
- Bring-in. First bet from the player with the weakest face-up card.
- Combination. Five cards that form a hand.
- Limit. Fixed bet sizes in each round.
- River. Last (seventh) card in the deal.
- Dealer. Conditional role, as cards are dealt individually to all players.
- Betting. Rounds of bets between cards.
- Razz. A variation of stud where the weakest hand wins.
- Suits. Do not matter in determining card rank but are important for flushes.
- High-low. Implies splitting the pot between high and low combinations.
Playing high-low requires forming a hand “on both sides.” The best situations are when the combination fits both high and low. For example, A-2-3-4-5 — simultaneously a straight and a low hand. Good players play hands that offer a chance to scoop — take the entire pot. This allows for consistent earnings in the long run and minimizes splitting.
Why stud is not afraid of the trend towards flop games
Against the backdrop of the surge in interest in Hold’em and the meteoric rise of Omaha, stud poker seems as if from another era. But only at first glance. Despite the abundance of tournament series with flop formats, the rules of stud poker maintain a stable audience. The reason lies in its nature. It’s not a show where everything is decided by a lucky flop, but a chess game where sequence, attentiveness, and control are valued.
The strength of the old school
Stud builds the game around open cards. No other format provides as much visible information. Each deal turns into an investigation where the player literally reads the behavior of opponents across the board. It’s poker without a show but with substance.
The shift to flop games is driven by mass appeal. Hold’em is easier for beginners: fewer streets, understandable mechanics, spectacular all-ins. But as a player gains experience, they understand that not everything is decided by a draw. And that’s when the search for a format where strategy is more important than chance begins — and at that moment, stud takes the stage.
Players who choose stud
According to the oldest poker rooms, including PokerStars and 888poker, professionals and old-school masters regularly play stud format. This is not by chance. You can’t make up for losses with one hand here. It requires memorizing folded cards, tracking suits, reading potential opponent combinations even before the river. For those who value intrigue not in the climax but in the process, the rules of stud poker become the best choice. Especially when the high-low format is involved, and each hand turns into a balancing act between high and low.
The future lies in balance
Yes, flop games are mainstream. They are watched, bet on, and tournaments are adapted for them. But stud is not going anywhere. It has simply moved out of the spotlight, preserving its core — players who value intellect over highlights. That’s why the rules of stud poker continue to sound relevant: the market hasn’t discarded them, just wrapped them in a niche. As long as there is a poker culture that values thought, analysis, and control, the format will remain an integral part of it.
