Stud Poker Games
This class of games includes all games in which players either receive some cards at the initial deal and acquire more cards as the game progresses, or receive all their cards at the initial deal and reveal them one by one.
Here is a PRINTABLE PAGE with all of the games.
Seven Card Stud PLAYERS: 3-10
INITIAL DEAL: 2 down, 1 up to each player PLAY: Betting begins after the deal. After each
round of betting, each player is dealt one card face up except for the last card, which is
dealt face down. Showdown occurs after the last round. WINNER: High hand. STANDARD
VARIATIONS: Last card dealt face-up. Adding wild cards. High-Low hands split the pot.
Lowest hand wins.
Five Card Stud PLAYERS: 3-10
INITIAL DEAL: 1 down, 1 up to each player PLAY: Betting begins after the deal. After each
round of betting, each player is dealt one card face up. Showdown occurs after the last
round. WINNER: High hand. STANDARD VARIATIONS: Adding wild cards. Canadian Stud: 5 card
stud. 4-card straight beats a pair, 4-card flush beats a 4-card straight, 2 pair beats a
4-card flush. This adds more hands to shoot for, making 5 card stud more interesting.
Maverick PLAYERS: 3-10
INITIAL DEAL: 1 down, 1 up to each player PLAY: Same as Five Card Stud, except last card
is dealt face down. WINNER: High and low hands split. WINNER: High hand. STANDARD
VARIATIONS: Adding wild cards.
Murder NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down and one up to each player PLAY: Play the same as 7-card stud,
with the following variations: The Queen of Spades is wild, IF IT IS IN THE HOLE
(facedown). Additionally, when the Queen of Spades is dealt up, the hand is immediately
over, and the hand is re-dealt. Those players that have NOT folded in this hand or a
previous one will be dealt into the next hand, and must ante for each new hand. WINNER:
High hand STANDARD VARIATIONS:
Roll Your Own PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: three cards down to each player. PLAY: Players roll one of their three cards
and then there is a betting round. Players are dealt another card down and roll one of
their down cards, followed by a betting round. This continues until all players have six
cards: two down, four up. One more card is dealt down, and stays down, as in Seven Card
Stud. Showdown after the final round of betting. WINNER:
High hand STANDARD VARIATIONS: High/low Down card (and all other cards of the same rank in
that hand) is wild. Deal three cards to start, continue until everyone has seven cards,
with the seventh card dealt up. Deal last card down. Low card down is wild in each
player's hand.
English Stud PLAYERS: 3-6
INITIAL DEAL: 2 down, one up to each player PLAY: After the initial deal, there is a
betting round. Players a dealt another card up, and there is a betting round.
Repeat again, all players should have three cards up, and have a betting round.
Each player beginning at the dealer's left may exchange one card. If he discards an up
card, he is dealt a new up card; if he discards a down card, he gets a new down card. A
player may choose not to exchange. When all players have exchanged or stood pat,
there is
a betting round. Players have two more rounds of exchanges and betting, three total. The
third round is a final round of betting and a showdown. STANDARD VARIATIONS: Pay to
exchange. With 5 players, this game can be played with 7 cards. With 6 players, it can be
played with 7 cards with the understanding that some players may be unable to exchange
cards in the second exchange. If this is done, it is highly recommended that you also
require players to pay for the right to exchange-- this increases the chance that some
players will not exchange, giving all players the opportunity to make the choice.
Second Hand High PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: Two cards down and one up to each player PLAY: Deal and bet as in 7-card
stud. Cards speak for themselves to form the best poker hand available within those 7
cards. WINNER: Second highest hand, or the only remaining hand if all but one player fold.
STANDARD VARIATIONS: Play in any standard poker format (draw, 5-card stud, etc) Play with
wild cards Second-low in a lowball format Split pot between the highest and second highest
hands
Low Chicago PLAYERS: 4-7
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down and one up to each player PLAY: As with 7 card stud, but
whoever has the lowest Spade in the hole (face down) gets half the pot. WINNER: High hand
and low spade in the hole split. STANDARD VARIATIONS: Adding wild cards. Washington Park:
each player's lowest down card is wild for that player, along with all cards of the same
rank. Low Chicago (aka Baltimore): low spade in the hole gets half the pot instead of high
spade.
Follow the Queen NUMBER OF
PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down and one up to each player PLAY: Play the same as 7-card stud,
with the following variations: When a queen is dealt up, the next card dealt up (and all
cards of the same rank) are wild. If another queen is dealt up, the next up card replaces
the previous wild as a new wild card. If a queen is the last card dealt up, there are no
wild cards. WINNER: High hand STANDARD VARIATIONS: Pay for queens. Queens are also wild.
If last card up is a queen, only queens are wild. All cards after a queen are wild (no
cancellations-- not recommended for the squeamish).
Sequence NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: 2 down, 1 up to each player PLAY: As in 7 card stud, but: if a 2 turns face
up, all twos become wild. If after that a 3 turns up, all threes are wild instead. And so
on, with each successively higher number replacing the previous wild card rank if it
appears face up. WINNER: High hand STANDARD VARIATIONS: High/low
Cheatin' Heart NUMBER OF PLAYERS:
3-7
INITIAL DEAL: 2 down, 1 up to each player. PLAY: As in 7 card stud, but whenever a player
is dealt a heart face up, he trades a card (either up or down) from another player. You
must trade one of your own cards (up for up, down for down) with the card you take.
WINNER: High hand. STANDARD VARIATIONS: Have a Heart: The player who is dealt a heart
TAKES any card from another player. The player whose card is taken does not draw a
replacement.
Dirty Schultz NUMBER OF PLAYERS:
3-7
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down and one up to each player PLAY: As in 7 card stud, with the
following variations: whenever a natural pair is dealt up to a player, the next card dealt
up (and all cards of the same rank) becomes wild. If another pair is dealt up, the next up
card replaces the previous wild as a new wild. If the second card of a pair is the last up
card, nothing is wild. WINNER: High hand
Auction PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down to each player PLAY: A number of cards equal to the number of
players is turned up in the middle of the table. Each person then secretly chooses an
amount of at least the minimum bet and places it in their hand. Then everyone drops their
coins at once. The person who "bid" highest chooses one of the up cards and adds
it to his hand, leaving it face up in front of him. The person who "bid" second
highest chooses next, and so forth. If more than one person bid the same amount, then the
person nearest a spot rotating clockwise from the left of the dealer chooses first with
the other people choosing in clockwise order. All bids are added to the pot. This
continues until all people have 7 cards. Then there is a single betting round starting
with the high hand on the table, followed by a high/low/both declaration and a showdown.
WINNER: High hand. VARIATIONS: High/low
Want It? Want It? Got it! (aka
Selection/Rejection) PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down to each player PLAY: Rotating lead player. At the start of
each round, the dealer flips up the top card and offers it to the leader. The leader can
either accept it or pass. If passed, the card is then offered to the next player, who can
also accept it or pass. If passed, the next player must take the card. A new card is
turned up and offered to the next player in turn. This continues, skipping players who
already received a card in the current round, until everyone has taken a card. Betting
ensues, and a new round begins. This continues until everyone has four up cards. After
that round of betting, everyone gets a 7th card down. After a final round of betting,
everyone declares high/low/both and a showdown occurs. WINNER: High and low hands split
STANDARD VARIATIONS: Each person in turn can reject the first card dealt to them, but must
take the next card.
Baseball PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: two down and one up to each player PLAY: As with 7 card stud, with these
exceptions: threes and nines are wild. If a four is dealt face up, the recipient
immediately receives another card down. WINNER: High hand STANDARD VARIATIONS: Rainouts -
If the Queen of Spades is dealt face up, the hand is terminated and redealt-- but only for
players who are still in. Rainouts as above, but after 3 of them you build a dome over the
stadium, preventing further rainouts. Paying for wild cards. Usually, the required payment
is to match the pot. Possibilities include: Face-up threes, nines, or both require the
recipient to pay for them to be wild, otherwise they're just face value. Face-up threes,
nines, or both require the recipient to pay for them or fold. Pay for face down wilds as
well as face up ones. Paying for the additional card when a four comes face up. Allowing
someone with a face-down four to flip it face up and receive an additional card. The way
we usually play is: Nines are free, as are down threes. Up threes require you to match the
pot or fold. The additional card from a four is free.
Midnight Baseball PLAYERS:
3-7
INITIAL DEAL: seven cards face down to each player and one up card on the table. PLAY: Do
not look at your cards! This game is similar to baseball, except you can't look at
your cards until they're flipped up. The player to the dealer's left is the lead player.
The lead player starts rolling cards until his revealed hand beats the highest revealed
hand on the table (initially, the single up card). He must obey any payment rules which
apply as he flips cards (paying for wild cards, fours, etc). As soon as his revealed hand
becomes the new best hand, he stops rolling cards and begins a round of betting. If he
rolls all his cards and does not beat what is on the table, he is out and a betting round
begins with the high hand. Either way, the next player then tries to beat the high hand in
the same manner, with a betting round ensuing whenever someone stops rolling cards. The
game continues until all the cards have been turned up or there is only one person left in
the game. WINNER: High hand
STANDARD VARIATIONS: If a player rolls all his cards without beating the high hand, there
is no betting round-- the next player begins rolling immediately. Players can look at
their cards and lay down the cards of their choice until their exposed hand beats what's
on the table. Makes this game more strategic.
Mexican Sweat PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: seven cards face down to each player and one up card on the table. PLAY: Do
not look at your cards! The player to the dealer's left is the lead player. The lead
player starts rolling cards until his revealed hand beats the highest revealed hand on the
table (initially, the single up card from the deck). As soon as his revealed hand becomes
the best hand, he stops rolling cards and begins a round of betting. If he rolls all his
cards and does not beat what is on the table, he is out and a betting round begins with
the high hand. Either way, the next player becomes the new lead player and the process
repeats, with a round of betting whenever someone stops rolling cards. If at any time the
lead player rolls a card of the same rank as the card dealt up from the deck at the
initial deal, he must immediately fold and a betting round begins with the high hand. The
game continues until all the cards have been turned up or there is only one person left in
the game. WINNER: High hand
STANDARD VARIATIONS: If a player rolls all his cards without beating the high hand, there
is no betting round-- the next player begins rolling immediately. If a player folds
because he matches the initial up card, there is no betting round.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
(the real name is not pronounceable,
but must be whistled) PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: 2 cards down, 1 up to each player, three down on the table PLAY: The same as
7 card stud with these modifications: After the fourth card is dealt, flip the first of
the table cards. This is The Good, and is all cards of the same rank are wild (but The
Good card itself is not shared). After the fifth card is dealt, flip the second table
card. This is The Bad, and all cards of the same rank must be discarded. After the 6th
card is dealt, flip the last table card. This is The Ugly, and anyone who has an up card
of the same rank must fold. WINNER: High hand
Henway PLAYERS: 3-5
INITIAL DEAL: 10 cards down to each player PLAY: Players split their cards into two 5-card
hands, laying each hand down in their desired order. Each rotating betting round is
preceded by all players turning over the top cards from both of their hands. WINNER: High
and low hands split STANDARD VARIATIONS: Add wild cards.
Ten PLAYERS: 3-5
INITIAL DEAL: 10 cards down to each player Do not look at your cards!
Each player flips a card and quickly, without looking at the other players' cards, places
it face up to his left or to his right. Cards on the left form a hand going low, while
cards on the right form a hand going high. There follows a round of betting. Repeat until
all 10 cards are up. No hand can have more than 5 cards. Cards speak for themselves when
the last one is flipped. WINNER: High and low hands split STANDARD VARIATIONS: Add wild
cards.
Cowpie Poker PLAYERS:
3-7
INITIAL DEAL: Two cards down and one up to each player. PLAY: Deal and bet as in 7-card
stud. After the betting round following the final down card, all remaining players split
their hands into a 5-card hand and a 2-card hand. The 2-card hand must contain at least
one down card. The 5-card hand must be a better hand than the 2-card hand. Following the
split there is one more betting round. WINNER: Highest 5-card hand and highest 2-card hand
split the pot.
The Price is Right PLAYERS:
3-7
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down to every player and two up cards in a row on the table next
to the deck. PLAY: Beginning with the player to the dealer's left and rotating around the
table, each player has the opportunity to purchase a card. The leftmost up card costs a
nickel, the second up card costs a dime, and the top down card from the deck costs 15
cents (feel free to adjust the amounts to suit your group-- some play nickel-dime-quarter,
for example). Up cards stay up, down cards stay down. If the nickel up card is bought, the
dime up card slides down and becomes the new nickel card. If the nickel or dime card is
bought, the topmost card of the deck is dealt up to become the new dime card. This
continues until everyone has 7 cards. A showdown occurs after one round of betting.
WINNER: High hand.
STANDARD VARIATIONS: 3 up cards plus the deck, for purchase options of 5, 10, 15, and 25
cents. High and low hands split.
Abyssinia PLAYERS: 3-12
INITIAL DEAL: None PLAY: One card is turned face up on each side of the
deck. Each player in turn has the option to buy one of the up cards or
the top card from the deck, each at preset prices. After each round of
purchasing comes a round of betting. Play continues until each player
has 5 cards. Costs are assigned by card rank (2-5 = 25 cents, 6-K = 10
cents, A = 50 cents). Cards from the deck are dealt up so the cost can
be paid. Players may hold cards purchased. WINNER: High hand.
Grocery Store Dots PLAYERS: 3-7 INITIAL DEAL: Two cards down and one up to each player, plus three up cards to the table (the grocery store) with the right-hand card marked with a chip. PLAY: Deal and bet as in 7-card stud, with the following exception: before being dealt each up card, each player has the choice instead to buy his card from the grocery store. First card (the left one) costs one betting unit, the second costs 2, and the third costs 3. If the player chooses not to buy, then he is dealt an up card normally. Prior to each potential purchase, the store is restocked as necessary from the deck. Note that this means that, if the dealer buys a card, the store shows only two cards during the ensuing betting round-- it is not restocked until the next dealing round. The remaining store stock is discarded after all players have four up cards. "Dots" consist of the pips in the center column of each number card: threes have 3 dots; twos, eights, and tens have 2 dots; aces, fives, sevens, and nines have 1 dot; fours, sixes, and face cards have no dots. WINNER: Highest 5-card hand and the 7-card hand with the most dots split the pot.
Wall Street PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: Two cards down and one up to each player, plus four up cards to the table
(Wall Street) with the rightmost card marked with a chip. PLAY: Deal and bet as in 7-card
stud, with the following exception: before being dealt each up card, each player has the
choice instead to buy his card from Wall Street. The first (left) card costs one betting
unit, the second card costs two units, the third costs 3 and the fourth 4. If the player
chooses not to buy, an up card is dealt normally. Prior to each potential purchase, Wall
Street is restocked from the deck if necessary. Note that this means that if the dealer
buys a card, Wall Street shows only 3 cards during the ensuing betting round. The
remaining Wall Street stock is discarded once all players have 4 up cards. After the
betting round following the last down card players have a showdown. WINNER: High hand.
Dakota PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: 3 cards down to each player PLAY: After the deal, players simultaneously
turn one card up. After each round of betting, players receive a new down card and must
turn one down card up. Before getting the seventh down card, a player must decide whether
or not to buy the Option. If he declines the option, he does not turn another card up. If
he buys the Option (at a cost of the maximum allowed bet), he turns a card up normally.
After a final betting round players declare hi/low/both and reveal their hands. Each
player's lowest down card (and all other cards in their hand of the same rank) is wild if
the player went high. Nothing is wild for low hands. WINNER: High hand.
Mexican Armpit PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: seven cards face down to each player and one up card on the table. PLAY: Do
not look at your cards! Play is the same as in Mexican Sweat,
except for two things: After all cards are dealt to the players, three cards are
flipped up on the table from the remaining deck. The first card is the card to beat
for the first player to flip. The second card is wild, and the three remaining cards
of that rank are wild in a player's hand. The third card is the killer. If a
player has a card of that rank in his hand, he is out of that hand, and forfeits rights to
the pot. WINNER: High hand STANDARD VARIATIONS: If a player rolls all his cards without
beating the high hand, there is no betting round-- the next player begins rolling
immediately. If a player folds because he matches the initial up card, there is no betting
round.
Jack the Shifter PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: 2 cards down and one card up to each player PLAY: Normal seven card stud
until a Jack is turned face-up. The player with the Jack may then name any 7 card stud
game, and the rest of the hand is played out as that game. If another Jack is turned up,
the owner of that Jack may name a different stud game, and so forth. The game named must
be an accepted, named game within your poker circle-- no calling "6's wild" when
you've got a pair of sixes (unless, of course, your group routinely plays a sixes wild
game). A face-down Jack may be turned up at any time, at which point that player names a
game. To prevent timing conflicts, before the final round of betting the dealer should ask
each player, in turn, if they wish to reveal a jack, starting with the player with the
best hand showing and proceeding clockwise. Any player who declines to show a Jack when
asked at this time forfeits the ability to do so for the rest of the hand. WINNER: High
hand, unless changed by the game called.