Play 5 Card Stud

Five Card Stud has been played now for well over a hundred years, and as the game loses out to Texas Hold Em and Seven Card Stud, there are those that still find the game enjoyable.

How To Play

Play begins with each player being dealt one card face down, followed by one card face up. If the game is played with a bring in, the player with the lowest ranking upcard must pay the bring in to play, and betting proceeds after that. The first betting round begins with the player showing the highest ranking upcard, who has the option to check.

After the first betting round is complete, another face up card will be dealt to each player. Betting now begins with the player whose upcards make the best hand, since fewer than five cards are face up; this means no straights, flushes, or full houses. On this and the next betting rounds, the player to act first may check or bet up to the games limit. The second betting round is followed by a third upcard to each player and a third betting round, again starting with the player with the best poker hand showing. A fourth face up card and fourth betting round is played and so on and so forth until there is the fabled fifth card.

The fifth and final card is dealt face down in some games. Otherwise play is identical to the first four rounds of betting. This game is described as one down, three up, one down or simply 1-3-1, while the more traditional five card stud is called one down, four up.

A Little History of 5 Card Stud

Five card stud has to be one of the earliest forms of the card game, stud poker, originating during our American Civil War , but is not played so much today than seven card stud and other games. It is still a popular game in locations such as South Africa, and in Finland a specific version of five card stud called Soko is still quite popular. Unlike seven card stud, five card stud plays easily at no limit and pot limit, though the fixed limit and spread limit games are a lot more common.