Five Card Stud Poker

Introduction:  Five Card Stud Poker is one of the easiest of the Poker game varieties to learn to play.  It is popular among online players as a recreational game, wherein little strategy is required and most games are won with a pair. 

History:  The history of Five Card Stud Poker is uncertain, as is the case with most Poker games.  Some Poker historians place the game’s origins in the middle ages, claiming a similar game was played by both medieval merchants and nobleman in what was formerly known as Persia.  Though this bit of history is debatable, what is for certain is that American riverboat gamblers had a passion for Five Card Stud in the early part of the nineteenth century.  The riverboat gamblers played on the boats that carried food and textiles up and down the Mississippi River.

Five Card Stud Poker came into vogue somewhere around the time of the American Civil War.  As its popularity grew, gamblers tinkered with its rules and betting structure until there evolved the game that is today played in all the best online poker rooms.  Five Card Stud has grown into one of the fastest played variations of Poker found on the World Wide Web, and some tables even have “wild” cards added to the game to augment its thrill factor.

Variants:  As with most online poker variations, there are several options when it comes to betting protocols.  Five Card Poker is typically played in one of the following betting structures: Limit Betting, which has a pre-set amount that can be wagered at different intervals of the game; No Limit Betting, which may have a fixed blind ante amount, but no limit to the amount that can be wagered at the end of each round of cards dealt face up (also known as streets); and Pot Limit Betting, which is more prevalent in other types of Poker games, and has no range except up to the size of the pot.

There are also “wild card” variants that can be employed.  Cards like Deuces, one-eyed Jacks and red Queens are often played “wild cards,” meaning they can represent any card in the deck.

Rules:  Five Card Stud Poker rules are nearly the same as those for the Seven Card Stud variation, with one exception – the number of cards that are dealt.  This seemingly minute change alters the game’s flow entirely and requires that a new strategy for approaching the game be developed.

In Five Card Stud, there are four rounds, or streets, in which betting occurs.  These streets take place upon the dealing of cards face up to the players.  There are four separate rounds wherein cards are dealt face up to the participants, and one card is dealt to the players face down.

The strategy employed changes because there is little opportunity for receiving a pat hand.  Most hands are won with a pair.  Therefore, it is incumbent upon the player at the Five Card Stud table to keep track of the cards his opponent receives.

Showdown follows the dealing of the 5th card, after which the player with the best Poker hand wins the pot.

Betting:  A small “ante” typically precedes the start of each game.  Thereafter, betting follows the distribution of each of the four face up cards dealt.  The pots in games of Five Card Stud can be considerable because anyone can get a winning card on the last deal and steal the pot.