Five Card Stud Poker Rules

A Beginners' Guide to Five Card Stud
Five Card Stud is one of oldest forms of poker in the world, but recently its popularity has declined and it is hard to find a game spread anywhere. It has relatively straightforward poker rules, and it is played in a very similar way to Seven Card Stud. There are several betting rounds which are also known as streets, from 2nd street to 5th street. The following guide describes the poker rules for a Fixed Limit Five Card Stud hand (Five Card Stud is rarely, if ever, played using Pot Limit or No Limit poker rules).

Starting a Hand
A hand of Five Card Stud begins with all players paying an ante, which is a small forced bet before anyone has received any cards. The ante is normally around 1/3 of the small bet. So, in a $10/$20 game where the small bet is $10, the ante could be around $3. Once all players have posted an ante, cards are dealt out, starting with the player to the dealers left (there is no dealer button in Five Card Stud, so cards are distributed based on the person who is physically dealing the cards). Each player is given two cards - one face down and then one face up.

2nd Street
The player with the lowest upcard showing must begin the betting with a "bring-in". This is a forced bet normally equal to around 1/3 to 1/2 of the small bet. In Five Card Stud poker rules, if there are more than two players with the same value up-card, then suits are used to determine who acts first. The order from lowest to highest is as follows: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades (alphabetical order), so the 2c is the lowest possible card. However, suits have no effect on the final hand rankings. The player to the left of the bring-in has the option to fold (muck his hand and take no further action in the pot), call (put in an amount equal to the bring-in) or "complete" (take the bring-in bet up to the value of a full small bet). After the bet has been completed, the next player has the option to raise (put in an extra small bet in addition to the previous bet) instead of complete. Play continues in this manner around the table until all players have matched the current bet amount or folded. The bring-in contributes to the player's bet - however, if no one raises before action gets round to the bring-in player again, he does not have the option of re-opening the betting. Instead, he has the option at the start of the hand - to bring in for a full small bet instead of the smaller bring-in. Normal fixed limit poker rules dictate there is a maximum of 3 raises on any betting round.

3rd Street
When all betting is complete, another card is dealt face up to each player. This is known as 3rd street, and bets at this stage are of the lower betting limit (so $10 in the same $10/$20 Five Card Stud game). This time, betting begins with the player whose upcards show the highest hand, and he has the option to check or bet. A check is simply declining the opportunity to bet, and can only be done if there have been no bets so far. Play continues in a clockwise direction until all players have matched the required bet or folded.

4th Street
Each player receives an additional card face up, and then there is a round of betting. Bets at this stage are of the higher betting limit (so $20 in the same $10/$20 game), and again betting begins with the player whose upcards show the highest hand. Play continues in a clockwise direction until all players have matched the required bet or folded.

5th Street
The last round in a hand of Five Card Stud is called 5th street, and it begins with each player receiving their last card, face up. All players remaining in the hand should now have five cards - one down, followed by four up. A round of betting identical to 4th street now occurs, and if there are two or more players still in the hand, then there is a showdown.

Showdown
All players still left in the hand at this stage now turn their cards over. Each player uses all five cards in their hand to form their final five card poker hand using standard poker rules. The best hand at the showdown wins the pot, and if there are two or more hands of the same value, then the pot is split up into equal parts.