Before Texas Hold’em became the most popular version of poker in the world there was Seven Card Stud. Seven Card Stud is still being played throughout the United States but is more common and widespread on the east coast.

Being a stud variant of poker Seven Card is played with a combination of down cards and up cards. Players each start with two down cards (hidden) and one up card that is seen by all the players. The players are dealt three more up cards and then a final “river” card that is dealt face down. Players use the seven cards to form the best possible five-card hand. There is a betting round after the initial deal and after each subsequent card. Seven Card Stud also generally makes use of antes and bring in bets to ensure a pot is built up. These forced bets replace the blinds that are common to Hold’em games.

Seven Card Stud became popular in the early 1900’s and continued to grow in popularity throughout wartime overseas. In the late 1970’s the game lost a lot of its popularity due to Texas Hold’em being used in the WSOP Championship Event. Many poker purists still consider Seven Card Stud the best variant of poker being played today. You will be the game being dominated in many casinos by older players who grew up with the game.