Seven Card Stud 8 or better is a popular, well-known form of poker. It is played with up to eight players at the table.

The Game:

Before the start of the game, the stetsonpoker.com system generates a fresh deck of cards internally for the first hand. On stetsonpoker.com, we use a single deck of cards to play a hand of poker, where a deck refers to 52 cards excluding the jokers. Online poker rooms use what is called the Random Number Generator (RNG) to shuffle a deck of cards before the hand.

How does it work?

The system generates a random set of numbers, which are used to place each card in a particular, random, position in the deck. Once the complete deck is created, the deck is used for that particular hand only.

We shuffle the deck of cards every time we start a hand; the random numbers previously generated are discarded and new ones are generated before the shuffle.

The First round:

A fresh table starts off with all the players posting an "ante" (putting a predetermined amount in the pot before the cards are dealt).The ante is usually based on the size of the game. For e.g. the ante amount for a 1/2 table might be 25 cents while for a 3/6 table, it would be 50 cents. In Seven-card stud poker, players receive seven cards, three "down" cards and four "up" cards.

After the antes have been placed each player is dealt three cards (two "down" cards and one "up" card). The "up" card is also known as the "door card" or "Third Street". The person with the lowest "up" card must initiate the action with a "Bring-In" bet. (If two or more players have the same lowest card, the person who brings it in is determined by suit order progressing from clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades.)

Each player is allowed one bet and three raises in each betting round. To continue to play, players must take an action from what is displayed to them on each "street" or betting round (unless they are all-in).

The Second Round:

After the first round of betting another card is dealt face-up to each player that still remains in the pot (those who didn't fold on "third street"). This is "Fourth Street" (the second round of betting). From "Fourth Street" on, the highest hand showing begins the action by checking or betting. If a pair is showing on "Fourth Street", the player has the option to make a single or double bet. If a player makes a single/double bet, the other players may call, raise the single bet, raise the double bet or fold. In case of a double bet, only an equal amount can be raised (to the extent of the double bet).

The Third Round:

Upon completion of the betting on "fourth street", another card is dealt face-up to those who remain in the pot. This is called "Fifth Street" (in this, the third round of betting, the maximum bet is double what was available in the first two rounds and it continues at this amount for the remaining betting rounds). The highest hand showing again starts the action by checking or betting.

The Fourth Round:

Upon the completion of betting on "fifth street", another card is dealt face-up. This is "Sixth Street" (fourth betting round).

The Fifth Round:

The final card is dealt down. The last card is also known as the "River Card" or "Seventh Street" (final round of betting).

Some standard rules

A maximum of four bets, which includes one bet and three raises, are allowed for each betting round per player. To continue to be in on the stakes of a game, players must take an action from a number of choices displayed to them on each "street" or betting round (unless they are all-in). The term cap is used to describe the final raise in a round since betting is then capped and no one can make another raise. Once capped, players will have the option of calling or folding only. Folding can be done at any stage of the game. The action of folding basically removes the player from the action, giving him/her no rights over any pots left on the table.

Poker is typically played "table stakes", meaning that only the chips in play at the beginning of each hand may be used throughout the hand. This means that the player cannot get additional funds from the cashier while he is in the midst of a game. The table stakes rule has an application called the "All-In" rule, which states that a player cannot be forced to forfeit a hand because the player does not have enough chips to call a bet.

Exceptions to the value of betting in each round:

A player who does not have enough chips to call a bet is declared All-In. The player is eligible for the portion of the pot to the point of his final wager. All further action involving other players takes place in a "side pot", which is unavailable to the player who has already gone All-In. When a player goes All-in, the pot currently at the center of the table, which has contributions from him/her as well, is treated as the main pot, over which the All-in player has rights. After the player goes all-in, all the new bets are placed in a side pot, over which only the contributing players have rights. The side pot is then given to the next winning combination.

As this is a multi player game, the players are expected to play each hand within a set time frame. On stetsonpoker.com we provide players with approximately 30 seconds to play with. Initially the player is given 10 seconds, after which there is a timer countdown, which is displayed on the table for 20 seconds. The user goes all-in if he has contributed some money to the pot; otherwise his hand is folded in case he/she does not respond in time. The system is intelligent in detecting whether or not a player has been disconnected. This means that if a player gets disconnected and then reconnects back with some time remaining in his turn, then he is given an additional 20 seconds to play his turn. But if the player is not able to connect back to the table before the time elapses, then the player goes All-in. All-in basically means that the player is in the game, but would not be an active player (placing any bets). Whatever pot is collected till this time is referred as the main pot, and the all-in player has rights (if he wins) to this pot only. After this the money that is bet on the table is added to a side pot, over which the all-in player does not have any rights (if he wins).

Upon completion of the final round of betting, the best hand wins the pot. (The pot may also be won by someone who bets without being called at any time during the hand.). Your "hand" is determined by using the best five of seven cards. A combination of the following may be used

Five cards from the seven dealt to you
One board (community) card and four of the cards dealt to you.

There is no qualifying on the "High" side - the best hand automatically wins half the pot and could win the whole pot. To win the "Low" side, however, you have to qualify (which is why the game is called Seven Card Stud "8 or Better").

To qualify for the ÏLowÓ: It takes a five-card hand with different numerical values from Ace through eight (with the Ace being the lowest value) to qualify for the "Low" half of the pot. The best "Low" hand is A,2,3,4,5 (also known as the "wheel" or "bicycle"). The winning "Low" hand is the one with the lowest high card in it. If two or more players qualify for "Low" but have the same highest card, the second lowest high card (and if necessary progressing down to the third, fourth, or fifth lowest high cards) would be the winning hand. For example, a 2,3,4,6,8 would be a better "Low" hand than an A,2,4,7,8.

On the final round of betting, the player who bets first (or checks first if no one else bets) is required to show their cards first at the showdown. If they have the best hand, the remaining players may/may not show their cards as they wish. The aggressorsÌ hand is only turned over first if he was the last to initiate action on the river.

There is a set rank of cards, which is used for deciding the winning combination. To view the various ranks that are possible, click here

Split Pot: Any leftover odd chip goes to the "High" hand. If two or more players tie for the "High" side of the pot and there is an odd chip, the player with the highest card in their hand is awarded the odd chip. (If they have the same high valued card, the suit takes preference going from Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs.) If two or more players "tie" for the "Low" side of the pot and there is an odd chip, that chip is awarded to the player with the lowest card in their hand. (If they have the same lowest card, the suit takes preference in the order of Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades).

Some things to Remember:

Straights and flushes do NOT count against you on the "Low" side.
You may use any combination of cards for the "High" hand or the "Low" hand or you may use the same cards for both the "High" and "Low" sides.

If two or more hands are ranked at the same level, the winner is the one having the higher cards. For example, a Flush with an Ace high beats a Flush with a King high. If the poker hands remain tied, then the highest card not being held in common (the kicker) determines the winner.

The suit order of the cards is not taken into account while deciding on the winning hands. stetsonpoker.com follows the standard rules of poker. Should poker hands be absolutely identical in ranking, the pot distribution will be split evenly between the two or more winning players. If there is an odd chip, the player with the highest card in their hand is awarded the odd chip. (If they have the same high valued card, the suit takes preference goes from Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs).