Stud poker

Stud poker encompasses a range of poker variants where players receive a combination of cards dealt face-down and face-up across several betting rounds. Unlike positional games, the player who acts first on each round can change, typically being the one whose visible face-up cards form the strongest hand according to the game’s rules. The face-down cards dealt to each player are known as hole cards, a term that gave rise to the phrase “ace in the hole” for a hidden advantage.

Historically, four-card stud variants were popular around the time of the American Revolutionary War. Five-card stud emerged during the American Civil War, widely played among soldiers on both sides, and later seven-card stud became the dominant form in casinos and home games, with most modern stud variations derived from these two. The number of betting rounds influences the optimal betting structure: games with four or fewer rounds, like five-card stud, suit no-limit or pot-limit play, while those with more rounds are better for fixed or spread limits.

It is common for later rounds to have higher limits, such as a $5/$10/$20 structure where the final round allows the largest bet. Betting rounds are often named by the number of cards each player holds at that point, such as “third street” for three cards, with the final round called the “river” or “end.” Notable variants include six-card stud, which removes one face-up round from seven-card stud; Razz, where the lowest hand wins; high-low stud, often with an “eight-or-better” qualifier for the low half; Mexican stud, a roll-your-own game with a stripped deck and wild cards; and Caribbean stud, where players compete against a dealer. Other games like Scandinavian stud add four-card straights and flushes to the hand rankings.