Stud Poker Games
This class of games includes all games in which players either receive
some cards at the initial deal and acquire more cards as the game progresses,
or receive all their cards at the initial deal and reveal them one by one.
Jump to game:
Stud Poker,
Abyssinia,
Auction,
Baseball,
Chicago,
Cowpie Poker,
Dakota,
Dirty Schultz,
English Stud,
Follow the Queen,
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly,
Grocery Store Dots,
Have a Heart,
Henway,
Royal ChiKings and Little Ones,
Mexican Stud,
Mexican Sweat,
Midnight Baseball,
The Price is Right cago,
Second Hand High,
Sequence,
Shipwreck,
Ten-card Regrets,
Tens and Adders,
Turbo Five-card Stud,
Wall Street,
Want It? Want It? Got It! (aka Selection/Rejection),
Jack the Shifter
Stud Poker
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- : 3-10
- : 1 down, 1 up (5 card stud)
or 2 down, 1 up (7 card stud) to each player
- : Betting begins after the deal. After
each round of betting, each player is dealt one card face up except for
the last card, which is dealt face down. Showdown occurs after the last
round.
- : High and low hands split.
- : Last card dealt face-up.
Adding wild cards. Canadian Stud: 5 card stud. 4-card straight beats a
pair, 4-card flush beats a 4-card straight, 2 pair beats a 4-card flush.
This adds more hands to shoot for, making 5 card stud more interesting.
Abyssinia
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- : 3-12
- : None
- : One card is turned face up on each
side of the deck. Each player in turn has the option to buy one of the
up cards or the top card from the deck, each at preset prices. After each
round of purchasing comes a round of betting. Play continues until each
player has 5 cards. Costs are assigned by card rank (2-5 = 25 cents, 6-K
= 10 cents, A = 50 cents). Cardsfrom the deck are dealt up so the cost
can be paid. Players may hold cards purchased.
- : High and low hands split.
Auction
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- : 3-7
- : two cards down to each player
- : A number of cards equal to the number
of players is turned up in the middle of the table. Each person then secretly
chooses an amount of at least the minimum bet and places it in their hand.
Then everyone drops their coins at once. The person who "bid"
highest gets chooses one of the up cards 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,
then the person nearest a spot rotating clockwise from the left of the
dealer chooses first with the other people choosing in clockwise order.
All bids are added to the pot. This continues until all people have 7
cards. Then there is a single betting round starting with the high hand
on the table, followed by a high/low/both declaration and a showdown.
- : High and low hands split.
Baseball
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- : 3-7
- : two down and one up to each
player
- : As with 7 card stud, with these exceptions:
threes and nines are wild. If a four is dealt face up, the recipient immediately
receives another card down.
- : High hand
- :
- Rainouts - If the Queen of Spades is dealt face up, the hand is
terminated and redealt-- but only for players who are still in.
- Rainouts as above, but after 3 of them you build a dome over the
stadium, preventing further rainouts.
- Paying for wild cards. Usually, the required payment is to match
the pot. Possibilities include:
- Face-up threes, nines, or both require the recipient to pay
for them to be wild, otherwise they're just face value.
- Face-up threes, nines, or both require the recipient to pay
for them or fold.
- Pay for face down wilds as well as face up ones.
- Paying for the additional card when a four comes face up.
- Allowing someone with a face-down four to flip it face up and receive
an additional card.
- The way we usually play is: Nines are free, as are down threes.
Up threes require you to match the pot or fold. The additional card
from a four is free, and you can turn a down four up to get it.
Chicago
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- : 4-7
- : two cards down and one up
to each player
- : As with 7 card stud, but whoever
has the highest Spade in the hole (face down) gets half the pot.
- : High hand and high spade in the
hole split.
- : Adding wild cards
- Washington Park: each player's
lowest down card is wild for that player, along with all cards of
the same rank.
- Low Chicago (aka Baltimore):
low spade in the hole gets half the pot instead of high spade.
Cowpie Poker
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- : 3-7
- : Two cards down and one up
to each player.
- : Deal and bet as in 7-card stud. After
the betting round following the final down card, all remaining players
split their hands into a 5-card hand and a 2-card hand. The 2-card hand
must contain at least one down card. The 5-card hand must be a better
hand than the 2-card hand. Following the split there is one more betting
round.
- : Highest 5-card hand and highest
2-card hand split the pot.
Dakota
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- : 3-7
- : 3 cards down to each player
- : After the deal, players simultaneously
turn one card up. After each round of betting, players receive a new down
card and must turn one down card up. Before getting the seventh down card,
a player must decide whether or not to buy the Option. If he declines
the option, he does not turn another card up. If he buys the Option (at
a cost of the maximum allowed bet), he turns a card up normally. After
a final betting round players declare hi/low/both and reveal their hands.
Each player's lowest down card (and all other cards in their hand of the
same rank) is wild if the player went high. Nothing is wild for low hands.
- : High and low hands split
Dirty Schultz
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- : 3-7
- : two cards down and one up
to each player
- : As in 7 card stud, with the following
variations: whenever a natural pair is dealt up to a player, the next
card dealt up (and all cards of the same rank) becomes wild. If another
pair is dealt up, the next up card replaces the previous wild as a new
wild. If the second card of a pair is the last up card, nothing is wild.
- : High hand
English Stud
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- : 3-6
- : 2 down, one up to each player
- : As in 7 card stud, with the following
exceptions: Players only get 6 cards. Before the sixth card is dealt,
each player beginning at the dealer's left may exchange one card. If he
discards an up card, he is dealt a new up card; if he discards a down
card, he gets a new down card. A player may choose not to exchange. When
all players have exchanged or stood pat, the sixth card is dealt. After
the ensuing round of betting, players may make another exchange. This
is followed by a final round of betting and a showdown.
- : Pay to exchange.
With 5 players, this game can be played with 7 cards. With 6 players,
it can be played with 7 cards with the understanding that some players
may be unable to exchange cards in the second exchange. If this is done,
it is highly recommended that you also require players to pay for the
right to exchange-- this increases the chance that some players will
not exchange, giving all players the opportunity to make the choice.
Follow the Queen
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- : 3-7
- : two cards down and one up
to each player
- : Play the same as 7-card stud, with
the following variations: All queens are wild. Additionally, when a queen
is dealt up, the next card dealt up (and all cards of the same rank) is
also wild. If another queen is dealt up, the next up card replaces the
previous wild as a new wild card (but queens remain wild). If a queen
is the last card dealt up, only queens are wild.
- : High hand
- : Pay for queens. Queens
are not wild. If last card up is a queen, only queens are wild (or nothing
is wild) All cards after a queen are wild (no cancellations-- not recommended
for the squeamish). Black Mariah: If the Queen of Spades is dealt face-up,
the hand immediately ends. All players re-ante and the hand is redealt.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
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- : 3-7
- : 2 cards down, 1 up to each
player, three down on the table
- : The same as 7 card stud with these
modifications: After the fourth card is dealt, flip the first of the table
cards. This is The Good, and is all cards of the same rank are wild (but
The Good card itself is not shared). After the fifth card is dealt, flip
the second table card. This is The Bad, and all cards of the same rank
must be discarded. After the 6th card is dealt, flip the last table card.
This is The Ugly, and anyone who has an up card of the same rank must
fold.
- : High hand
Grocery Store Dots
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- : 3-7
- : Two cards down and one up
to each player, plus three up cards to the table (the grocery store) with
the left-hand card marked with a chip.
- : Deal and bet as in 7-card stud, with
the following exception: before being dealt each up card, each player
has the choice instead to buy his card from the grocery store. First card
(the marked one) costs one betting unit, the second costs 2, and the third
costs 3. If the player chooses not to buy, then he is dealt an up card
normally. Prior to each potential purchase, the store is restocked as
necessary from the deck. Note that this means that, if the dealer buys
a card, the store shows only two cards during the ensuing betting round--
it is not restocked until the next dealing round. The remaining store
stock is discarded after all players have four up cards. "Dots"
consist of the pips in the center column of each number card: threes have
3 dots; twos, eights, and tens have 2 dots; aces, fives, sevens, and nines
have 1 dot; fours, sixes, and face cards have no dots.
- : Highest 5-card hand and the 7-card
hand with the most dots split the pot.
Have a Heart
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- : 3-7
- : 2 down, 1 up to each player.
- : As in 7 card stud, but whenever a
player is dealt a heart face up, he takes a card (either up or down) from
another player. The player whose card is taken does not draw a replacement.
- : High hand.
- :
- Trade a Heart: You
must trade one of your own cards (up for up, down for down) with the card
you take.
Henway
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- : 3-5
- : 10 cards down to each player
- : Players split their cards into two
5-card hands, laying each hand down in their desired order. Each rotating
betting round is preceded by all players turning over the top cards from
both of their hands.
- : High and low hands split
- : Add wild cards.
Jack the Shifter
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to variants >
- : 3-7
- : 2 cards down and one card
up to each player
- : Normal seven card stud until a Jack
is turned face-up. The player with the Jack may then name any 7 card stud
game, and the rest of the hand is played out as that game. If another
Jack is turned up, the owner of that Jack may name a different stud game,
and so forth. The game named must be an accepted, named game within your
poker circle-- no calling "6's wild" when you've got a pair
of sixes (unless, of course, your group routinely plays a sixes wild game).
A face-down Jack may be turned up at any time, at which point that player
names a game. To prevent timing conflicts, before the final round of betting
the dealer should ask each player, in turn, if they wish to reveal a jack,
starting with the player with the best hand showing and proceeding clockwise.
Any player who declines to show a Jack when asked at this time forfeits
the ability to do so for the rest of the hand.
- : High hand, unless changed by the
game called.
Kings and Little Ones
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- : 3-10
- : 5 down to each player
- : As in 5 card draw, but after the
draw there is no further betting. Instead, each player clockwise (starting
to the dealer's left) declares whether he's in or out. If nobody stays
in but the dealer, everyone in turn gets another chance to stay in. Players
who stay in compare hands. Losers pay the amount of the pot to the winner.
If only one player stays in, he takes the pot and the game ends. Otherwise
the pot stays and the deal rotates. Kings are wild, as are all cards of
the lowest rank in your hand.
- : High hand
Mexican Stud
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- : 4-10
- : two cards down to each player.
- : Players roll one of their two cards
and then there is a betting round. Players are dealt another card down
and roll one of their remaining two down cards, followed by a betting
round. This continues until all players have five cards: one down, four
up. Showdown after the final round of betting.
- : High hand
- : High/low Down card
(and all other cards of the same rank in that hand) is wild. Deal three
cards to start, continue until everyone has seven cards, with the seventh
card dealt up. Deal last card down. Low card down is wild in each player's
hand.
Mexican Sweat
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- : 3-7
- : seven cards face down to
each player and one up card on the table.
- : Do not look at your cards! This game
is similar to Midnight Baseball, but without all the special cards. The
player to the dealer's left is the lead player. The lead player starts
rolling cards until his revealed hand beats the highest revealed hand
on the table (initially, the single up card). As soon as his revealed
hand becomes the best hand, he stops rolling cards and begins a round
of betting. If he rolls all his cards and does not beat what is on the
table, he is out and a betting round begins with the high hand. Either
way, the next player becomes the new lead player and the process repeats,
with a round of betting whenever someone stops rolling cards. If at any
time the lead player rolls a card of the same rank as the card dealt up
from the deck at the initial deal, he must immediately fold and a betting
round begins with the high hand. The game continues until all the cards
have been turned up or there is only one person left in the game.
- : High hand
- : If a player rolls
all his cards without beating the high hand, there is no betting round--
the next player begins rolling immediately. If a player folds because
he matches the initial up card, there is no betting round.
Midnight Baseball
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to variants >
- : 3-7
- : seven cards face down to
each player and one up card on the table.
- : Do not look at your cards! This game
is similar to baseball, except you can't look at your cards until they're
flipped up. The player to the dealer's left is the lead player. The lead
player starts rolling cards until his revealed hand beats the highest
revealed hand on the table (initially, the single up card). He must obey
any payment rules which apply as he flips cards (paying for wild cards,
fours, etc). As soon as his revealed hand becomes the new best hand, he
stops rolling cards and begins a round of betting. If he rolls all his
cards and does not beat what is on the table, he is out and a betting
round begins with the high hand. Either way, the next player then tries
to beat the high hand in the same manner, with a betting round ensuing
whenever someone stops rolling cards. The game continues until all the
cards have been turned up or there is only one person left in the game.
- : High hand
- : If a player rolls
all his cards without beating the high hand, there is no betting round--
the next player begins rolling immediately. Players can look at their
cards and lay down the cards of their choice until their exposed hand
beats what's on the table. Makes this game more strategic.
The Price is Right
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- : 3-7
- : two cards down to every player
and two up cards in a row on the table next to the deck.
- : Beginning with the player to the
dealer's left and rotating around the table, each player has the opportunity
to purchase a card. The leftmost up card costs a nickel, the second up
card costs a dime, and the top down card from the deck costs 15 cents
(feel free to adjust the amounts to suit your group-- some play nickel-dime-quarter,
for example). Up cards stay up, down cards stay down. If the nickel up
card is bought, the dime up card slides down and becomes the new nickel
card. If the nickel or dime card is bought, the topmost card of the deck
is dealt up to become the new dime card. This continues until everyone
has 7 cards. A showdown occurs after one round of betting.
- : High and low hands split
- : 3 up cards plus the
deck, for purchase options of 5, 10, 15, and 25 cents.
Royal Chicago
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- : 3-7
- : 2 down, 1 up to each player
- : As in 7-card stud. If nobody wins
(see below), the pot stays and the hand is redealt.
- : Player with any two of: high hand,
low spade in the hole, high spade in the hole.
Second Hand High
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- : 3-7
- : Two cards down and one up
to each player
- : Deal and bet as in 7-card stud. Cards
speak for themselves to form the best poker hand available within those
7 cards.
- : Second highest hand, or the only
remaining hand if all but one player fold.
- : Play in any standard
poker format (draw, 5-card stud, etc) Play with wild cards Second-low
in a lowball format Split pot between the highest and second highest hands
Sequence
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to variants >
- : 3-7
- : 2 down, 1 up to each player
- : As in 7 card stud, but: if a 2 turns
face up, all twos become wild. If after that a 3 turns up, all threes
are wild instead. And so on, with each successively higher number replacing
the previous wild card rank if it appears face up.
- : High hand
- : High/low
Shipwreck
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to variants >
- : 3-7
- : 2 down, 1 up to each player
- : As in 7 card stud. Every player's
low card in the hole, and all cards of the same rank in their hand, are
wild. Note that since the last card is dealt face down, this can change
a player's wild card.
- : High hand
Ten-card Regrets
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- : 3-5
- : 10 cards down to each player
Do not look at your cards! Each player will be forming two hands: a low
on the left, and a high on the right. Each round players draw two of their
10 cards, look at them, and place them to their left or right. The cards
can go to different sides or to the same side at the player's choice,
but neither side can have more than five cards. One a card is placed to
one side, it may never be moved to the other. When all players are ready
they reveal their cards. There follows a round of betting. Repeat until
all 10 cards are up. Cards speak for themselves when the last one is flipped.
Hands on the left can only win low, and hands on the right can only win
high. When evaluating hands, hands are only compared against other hands
on the same side (lows aren't compared against highs).
- : High and low hands split
- : Seven-card Regrets.
Playable with up to 7 players. Similar to above, but players are dealt
only 7 cards and look at only 1 each time, either keeping it or discarding
it. When finished, all players will have a 5-card hand. All hands are
high only.
Tens and Adders
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to variants >
- : 3-7
- : 2 down, 1 up to each player
- : As in 7 card stud, but: if a player
has two cards (up, down, or mixed) which add to 10, they can be used together
as a single wild card (an "adder"). If a player has an adder,
then additionally all 10s they have are wild. Each player can have only
one adder. Face cards are neither wild nor usable in adders.
- : High hand
- : High/low Pay for face-up
10s (match the pot or fold).
Turbo Five-card Stud
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- : 3-7
- : 4 down, 1 up to each player
- : As in 5 card stud, but: after the
first round of betting, each player is dealt a down card. Each player
must then discard a down card and turn a down card face-up. After the
bet, this is repeated. After the third betting round, players do not get
more cards but must turn up one of their remaining two down cards before
the final round of betting.
- : High hand
- : High/low
Wall Street
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to variants >
- : 3-7
- : Two cards down and one up
to each player, plus four up cards to the table (Wall Street) with the
leftmost card marked with a chip.
- : Deal and bet as in 7-card stud, with
the following exception: before being dealt each up card, each player
has the choice instead to buy his card from Wall Street. The first (marked)
card costs one betting unit, the second card costs two units, the third
costs 3 and the fourth 4. If the player chooses not to buy, an up card
is dealt normally. Prior to each potential purchase, Wall Street is restocked
from the deck if necessary. Note that this means that if the dealer buys
a card, Wall Street shows only 3 cards during the ensuing betting round.
The remaining Wall Street stock is discarded once all players have 4 up
cards. After the betting round following the last down card players declare
high-low, then hold one last betting round.
- : High and low hands split
Want It? Want It? Got it! (aka Selection/Rejection)
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to variants >
- : 3-7
- : two cards down to each player
- : Rotating lead player. At the start
of each round, the dealer flips up the top card and offers it to the leader.
The leader can either accept it or pass. If passed, the card is then offered
to the next player, who can also accept it or pass. If passed, the next
player must take the card. A new card is turned up and offered to the
next player in turn. This continues, skipping players who already received
a card in the current round, until everyone has taken a card. Betting
ensues, and a new round begins. This continues until everyone has four
up cards. After that round of betting, everyone gets a 7th card down.
After a final round of betting, everyone declares high/low/both and a
showdown occurs.
- : High and low hands split
- : Each person in turn
can reject the first card dealt to them, but must take the next card.