Rules for Playing Five-Card Stud Poker

5 Card Stud Full Hand

Ron Maijen/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0 

Five-card stud is the original form of poker and dates back to the time of cowboys and outlaws sitting and gambling in old West saloons. It's not as popular as it was during the American Civil War, but it is still a game worth learning because it's the basis for many other games and it's super easy to learn.

How to Play

  1. Each player is dealt one card facedown and one card faceup.
  2. The first bet can come from one of two options:​
    1. The first is that a forced bet or "bring in," where the player with the lowest faceup card must put in a certain amount.
    2. The second option is that there is no forced bet and the first choice of whether to bet or check goes to the player with the highest faceup card. If two players have the same faceup card (say two people have kings), the first one clockwise from the dealer gets the option to bet first.
  3. After the round of betting, each remaining player gets another card dealt faceup.
  4. From now on, the player with the highest hand showing bets first.
  5. After each round of betting, the remaining players will be dealt another card faceup until each player has four cards faceup. After the fourth faceup card is dealt, a final round of betting occurs, and then the remaining players reveal their facedown or "hole card" to reveal their entire five-card poker hand.
  6. The highest hand wins.

What You Need

  • Two to 10 players
  • A deck of cards
  • Poker chips