How to Play Five-Card Stud Poker

By eHow Hobbies, Games & Toys Editor

Rate: (0 Ratings)

Five-card stud is the most basic poker game. It is also one of the earliest; stud poker can be traced back to the U.S. Civil War. Similar to its seven-card stud cousin, it uses the same poker hand hierarchy and betting procedures. Many variations exist for stud poker and betting procedures. To play basic five-card stud, follow these steps.

Flag Article

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Begin the game. All players ante a set amount before the cards are dealt. The pack of cards must be shuffled thoroughly. The dealer must then offer the cards to another player to cut.

Step2

Deal one card face down to all the players. Start with the player on the dealer's left and continue clockwise. This card remains face down and is called the hole card. Deal one more card face up in the same manner to each player. A player may look at his hole card. The player with the highest card facing up or "showing" begins the betting. Players have the choice of matching the bet ("call"), raising the bet or folding.

Step3

Give each player remaining another card face up. Do not give a card to any player who has folded. The highest hand showing begins the betting in this round. Again, players have a choice of calling, raising or folding.

Step4

Deal a fourth card face up to all remaining players. The player with the highest hand begins the betting; players may call, raise or fold.

Step5

Distribute the fifth and final card face up to all remaining players. The player with the highest hand showing begins the final round of betting. Players may choose to call, raise or fold.

Step6

Declare the winner. If all players have folded except one, that player is the winner. He is not required to show his hole card. If more than one player remains at the end of betting, the players reveal their hole cards and declare their hand. The highest poker hand wins.

Tips & Warnings

Five-Card stud may be played with 2 to 10 players. Usually, the more players at the table, the higher a hand must be to win.
Because of the few number of cards in a hand, a winning hand in five-card stud is lower that other poker games. A pair or an ace may win a five card-stud hand.
With only one hole card per player, most of every player's hand is visible. Therefore, do not keep betting during the final round if another player's visible hand is superior.