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Seven card stud games generally require greater skill than draw or five card stud games, since players have lots of information to process.
 
 

Seven Card Stud

• PLAYERS 
• Up to seven.
• INITIAL DEAL 
• One down, one up to each player.
• PLAY 
• Bet. Deal one up to each player. Bet. Continue alternating up cards and bets until each player has seven cards. Seventh card is dealt down. Bet. Showdown.
• WINNER 
• High hand.
• VARIATIONS 
• Lowball 
• Best low hand wins.
• High-Low Split 
• Pot is divided between the player with the best high hand and player with the best low hand. Add a declare and an extra betting round after the final bet in regular seven card stud.
• Chicago 
• Pot is split between player with high hand and player with highest spade in the hole.
• Black Mariah 
• Pot is split between player with high hand and player with lowest spade in the hole, such as the ace of spades.
• Second Hand High 
• Pot goes to player with the second highest hand, or to the only remaining player if everyone else folds.
• Second Hand High-Low 
• Pot split between players with the second highest hand and the second lowest hand. Note that this adds a declare and another bet immediately before the showdown, as in High-Low Split above.
• Seven Card Flip 
• Deal four down to each player. At dealer's signal, players simultaneously expose two cards face up. Bet.
• Continue as seven card stud with two up cards and a final down card. May be played high-low.

• PLAYERS 
• Up to seven.
• INITIAL DEAL 
• Two down and one up to each player.
• PLAY 
• Seven card stud, but when a queen is dealt up, the next card dealt up and all cards of the same rank are also wild.
• If another queen is dealt up, the next card dealt up replaces the previous wild as the new wild card.
• If a queen is the last card dealt up, then nothing is wild.
• WINNER 
• High hand.
• VARIATIONS 
• Queens are also wild.
• Black Mariah 
• If the Queen of Spades is dealt face-up, the hand immediately ends. All players re-ante and the hand is redealt.

• PLAYERS 
• Up to seven.
• INITIAL DEAL 
• Two cards down and one up to each player.
• PLAY 
• As in 7 card stud, with the following changes. 
• Whenever a natural pair is dealt up to a player, the next card in the deck is dealt up in the center as a marker. All cards with the same rank of the marker are wild.
• If another pair is later dealt up, the next card from the deck replaces the marker, which means that, in all probability, the wild card will change.
• Each player's seventh card is dealt up. However, a player may pay a preset amount and have their seventh card dealt down, thereby decreasing the chance that the wild card marker will change.
• WINNER 
• High hand.

• PLAYERS 
• Up to eight.
• INITIAL DEAL 
• Two down to each player, plus a joker displayed in the center of the table.
• PLAY 
• Same as seven card stud, except everyone shares their third card, which is the joker. The joker, which is placed in the center of the table to reflect that it is shared by all players, is wild.
• WINNER 
• High hand.
• VARIATION 
• Instead of using a joker as the community third card, deal a regular, nonwild card from the deck for everyone to share.
• NOTE 
• This game is notable because it allows an additional eighth player to participate in a game similar to seven card stud. Most seven card stud games are limited to seven players.

• PLAYERS 
• Up to seven.
• INITIAL DEAL 
• Two down and one up to each player.
• PLAY 
• Seven card stud with threes and nines are wild plus these changes: 
• If a player is dealt a face-up three, the player must immediately either match the pot (perhaps limited to a preset amount) or fold.
• If a player is dealt face up four, the player immediately receives another up card. If that up card is also a four, the player immediately receives another up card.
• WINNER 
• High hand.
• VARIATIONS 
• Rainout Rule 
• If Marge Schott (Queen of Spades) is dealt face up, the hand is terminated and redealt. After three rainouts, a dome is built over the stadium, preventing further rainouts.
• Football 
• Instead of threes and nines, threes and sixes are wild. Players dealt a three face up must match the pot (perhaps limited to a preset amount) or fold.
• Instead of fours, players dealt an up two get an additional up card.

• PLAYERS 
• Up to seven.
• INITIAL DEAL 
• Seven cards face down to each player.
• PLAY 
• Do not look at your cards! This game is similar to baseball, except players may not look at their cards until they are flipped up, as described below.
• The player to the dealer's left exposes a card. Bet.
• The next player on the left starts exposing cards until that player's revealed hand beats the highest revealed hand on the table.
• Rolling player must obey any Baseball payment rules that apply as player flips cards (paying for an exposed three, extra down card for a four, etc).
• As soon as player's revealed hand becomes the highest showing hand, player stops rolling cards and begins a betting round.
• Player to left of lead player then rolls until that player has exposed the best hand. Bet.
• If a player rolls all the cards and does not beat what is on the table, player is out and a betting round begins with the player with the highest exposed hand.
• The game continues to the left ,with players flipping cards and starting betting rounds, until all the cards have been turned up or there is only one person left in the game.
• WINNER 
• High hand.

• PLAYERS 
• Up to seven.
• INITIAL DEAL 
• Seven cards face down to each player.
• PLAY 
• Do not look at your cards! This game is similar to Night Baseball, but without all the special cards, and is played high-low.
• The player to the dealer's left is the first lead player. The lead player exposes one card and starts a betting round.
• After the betting round, the next player on the left starts rolling cards until that player's revealed hand beats the highest revealed hand on the table (initially, the first lead player's single up card) or until the rolling player has exposed six of the rolling player's seven cards. Bet, beginning with player with highest poker hand exposed.
• Continue in turn with each player rolling until player has the high hand or has exposed six cards, with a round of betting whenever someone stops rolling cards.
• When no one can defeat the high hand without rolling a seventh card, bet.
• Now all players may look at hole card(s). (Note that the player with the highest exposed hand may have more than one hole card to peek at.)
• Declare. Bet. Showdown.
• WINNER 
• High and low hands split.

• PLAYERS 
• Up to seven.
• INITIAL DEAL 
• Two down, one up to each player.
• PLAY 
• In form, this game is seven card stud high-low with kings wild. However, there are important differences.
• Player may push the first up card dealt to player in a given round to the player on his or her left by paying a small fee to the pot.
• A player who pushes a card to the left must accept next card in the deck. This deck card is dealt to the pushing player when someone down the line accepts the pushed card, or the pushed card is discarded by its final recipient.
• Player who receives a card pushed from the right also has the option of passing the card to the left for the same small fee, again paid to the pot.
• If the last player to receive a card for that round pushes the card, the card is discarded.
• Bet, beginning with the player with the best poker hand showing.
• Another round of up cards is dealt, beginning with the player with the best low hand showing and following around to the right. Bet.
• Repeat through sixth cards. Bet. Seventh card is dealt face down. Bet. Declare. Bet. Showdown.
• A player that has a face up king at the showdown may only win the high half of the pot and must declare high only.
• WINNER 
• High and low hands split.
• VARIATION 
• Serial Regicide (Super Kings). 
• Same as above, but players get two chances to push a card each round. First card pushed costs a litte (in our game $0.25), second pushed card costs a lot (in our game $1.00). Player must accept third up card received in round.
• Seventh card is also dealt up, with all the accompanying pushing rules.
• NOTE 
• Our game does not begin each dealing round with the player with the best low hand showing, but I wish it did. We simply deal new cards beginning with the player to the dealer's left. In my opinion, this provides quite a disadvantage to the dealer and a diminishing disadvantage to players on dealer's right. But our group doesn't agree with me, so we don't play that way.

• PLAYERS 
• Up to seven.
• INITIAL DEAL 
• Dealer first gives two cards down to each player.
• Dealer then exposes top deck card and places it face up next to the deck.
• Dealer then exposes next deck card and places it on top of the deck.
• PLAY 
• Roughly similar to seven card stud.
• Beginning with the player to the dealer's left and rotating around the table, each player has the opportunity to purchase a card. The card next to the deck is free, the card on top of the deck costs one unit, and the unexposed card from the deck costs two units.
• If player buys the card next to the deck, dealer replaces it with the exposed card on top of the deck, exposes a new card from the deck, and place it on top of the deck.
• If player buys the card on top of the deck, dealer replaces it by exposing the top unexposed card from the deck and placing it on top of the deck.
• Player places purchased card face up in front of player. Continue to left until all players have an up card. Bet.
• Again beginning with player to dealer's right, players buy a second up card as described above. Bet.
• Continue until all players have four up cards. Bet.
• Dealer gives each player a down card from the unexposed cards at the top of the deck. Bet.
• Declare. Bet. Showdown.
• WINNER 
• High and low hands split.
• VARIATIONS 
• All sorts of changes may be made to the price of cards.
• After the first round of up cards, subsequent up card rounds begin with player with best low hand showing.

• PLAYERS 
• Up to seven.
• INITIAL DEAL 
• Two cards down to each player.
• PLAY 
• Dealer exposes a number of cards equal to the number of players face up in the middle of the table. The players will bid on these cards.
• The players take chips below the table and put a certain amount of chips in one fist as a bid. At the dealer's signal, the players simultanously expose their fists containing chips above the table.
• The player that exposes the highest value of chips selects an up card 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, the player showing the best poker hand selects first. If that doesn't resolve the tie, the player nearest the dealer's left selects.
• All bids are added to the pot.
• Player with high card showing begins a betting round.
• Dealer again exposes cards in the center to match the number of remaining players. Players bid on those cards as above, with bids paid to the pot, and then bet, beginning with player with highest hand showing.
• Continue until each player has five up cards, with the dealer continuing to deal a number of bid cards equal to the number of remaining players. Bet. Declare. Bet. Showdown.
• WINNER 
• High and low hands split.
• VARIATION 
• Choose Your Own 
• Center cards are not bid for. Instead, they are given free to the players based on how low their exposed hands are, with ties going to player closest to dealer's left. First up card is simply dealt to each player.
• High hand wins.

• PLAYERS 
• Up to seven.
• INITIAL DEAL 
• Two down to each player. Four up in the center in a line. A one-unit chip from the ante is placed as a marker on the first card in the line.
• PLAY 
• The first player to the left of the dealer selects a card as follows: 
• Card from top of the deck is free.
• Card with chip on it costs one unit, paid to the pot.
• Second up card in line costs two units, paid to the pot.
• Next up card costs four units, paid to the pot.
• Last up card costs eight units, paid to the pot.
• If player selected an up card, dealer slides each of the more expensive exposed cards down one position and deals a new card into the eight unit slot.
• Continue around the table until all players have an up card.
• Bet, beginning with player with highest card.
• Next card selection round begins with the first player to the left of player who began previous card selection round, followed by a bet by the player with the highest poker hand showing.
• Continue until all players have five cards.
• Bet. Declare. Bet. Showdown .
• WINNER 
• High and low hands split.

• PLAYERS 
• Up to seven.
• INITIAL DEAL 
• Two cards down and one up to each player, and three down in the center of the table.
• PLAY 
• Deal like seven card stud.
• After each player has four cards, dealer immediately flips the first of the three table cards. This is The Good, and is all cards of the same rank are deemed wild.
• After each player has five cards, dealer immediately flips the second table card. This is The Bad, and all cards of the same rank up or down must be discarded. If the Bad is the same rank as the Good, there is no Good, and all cards of that rank are deemed Bad.
• After each player has six cards, dealer immediately flips the last table card. This is The Ugly, and anyone who has an up card of the same rank must fold.
• Center cards are not shared; they merely serve as markers.
• WINNER 
• High hand.
• VARIATION 
• High-Low Split.