How to Play 5 Card Stud Poker

Poker is a game that has evolved and been influenced regularly by the people who play it and where it is played.

Stud Poker would eventually make its way across the world. Nowadays, games like five card stud poker can be found online and are available to play at Pink Casino.

In this Pink Casino guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know on how to play 5 card stud poker, the rules you follow, and the bets you can place.

What is 5 Card Stud Poker?

If you have ever seen poker being played by a group at a table, chances are that you have seen a game of five card stud. It’s a fairly simple variant of poker in which players are dealt a five-card hand, with their first card face down and the rest face up, one by one in subsequent rounds of play. At the end of the game, the player who has the strongest five-card hand or the last player to fold will win the pot. Its simplicity is derived from the fact that it follows a fairly well-defined ante and bring-in structure.

What are the Five Card Stud Poker Rules?

First, we’ll break down the stages you will see and how they should play out, including how players progress in five-card stud poker. A typical game, with no tweaks or variations for home play, will go as follows.

Ante betting: Players will pay a set amount each into the pot to buy into the game. This is to form the foundations of the eventual prize pot and allow the dealer to begin their process.

Cards dealt: The dealer will begin handing out a hole card face-down to all players clockwise from themselves. After this, the dealer will then hand out a card face-up to each player, known as the door card.

Bring-in betting: The player with the lowest value door card is given the chance to start the betting by putting the bring-in into the pot. In games with big or small limits set, this will usually be half the small bet. However, they can also bet the full amount if they feel they want to.

First betting round: Once the bring-in has been put into the pot, the player directly to the left of the bring-in can choose to either match the bet by calling, increase it by raising, or fold if they think their chances are low. The betting shifts left until everyone has had their chance to wager. It’s important to note that if the bet is raised, it is raised for everyone at the table. In a limits game, there will be a cap on how high the bet can be raised.

Third, Fourth, and Fifth Street: After the first round of wagering is complete, the dealer begins what is sometimes known as the ‘street’ stage, in which they hand out the rest of the cards face up round by round. After each player has their card for that round, the player with the highest-value hand begins the betting, much the same as the bring-in. They can either place the small bet or check, meaning that they put no money into the pot. If they do check, the subsequent players can do so until someone decides to pay in, at which point no one can check.

Showdown: If there are two or more players remaining in the game who have decided against folding after the fifth street, the game comes to a showdown. This is where the hole card is overturned to complete the five card hands for the players. At this point, the winner of the game is decided by the highest-ranking hand at the table, with that player claiming the prize pot.

What Bets Can be Placed in Five Card Stud Poker?

As you can see by the breakdown of the 5 card stud poker rules above, there are not a great deal of bets that need to be placed in this form of the game. In fact, there are just a handful that a player needs to be aware of before sitting at the table:

• Ante: This is the first bet players put in before cards are dealt. It is usually a fraction of the defined small bet.
• Small/Big Bet: These two bets are the amounts decided by players beforehand to set limits.
• Bring-In: This is the bet that begins the action. The player with the lowest door card gets to start.
• Call: This means matching the previous bet.
• Raise: This means to increase the previous bet.
• Check: In subsequent rounds of betting, if the player who begins the round does not want to pay in, they can choose to skip that betting round.

What are the Best Hands in Five Card Stud Poker?

As with any variant of poker, five card stud has a predefined ranking of hands that players should know before getting started. There are hands of cards that trump all the others, so knowing what you need and where you stand is imperative:

• Royal Flush: A, Q, K, J, 10 (One suit)
• Straight Flush: Five cards in sequence (One suit)
• Four of a Kind: Four identical cards (All suits)
• Full House: Three identical cards, and two of any other same value (All suits)
• Flush: Five cards of the same suit - any order (One suit)
• Straight: Five cards in sequence (All suits)
• Three of a Kind: Three identical cards, and two of separate values (All suits)
• Two Pairs: Two sets of two identical cards, and one different (All suits) Pair: Just one set of two identical cards, and three of separate values (All suits)
• High Card: None of the above hands - the highest card determines its value