Updated on: March 13th, 2025
There are dozens of alternatives to the game of Poker. Learning how to play poker is an imperative part of playing any variations.
Poker games can be divided into 2 main types of poker studs – Stud Poker and Draw Poker. In Stud Poker, rivals don’t see any of a player’s cards until it’s the showdown. In Draw Poker, some of the player’s cards are known to the opponents at the finale.
The rules on this poker studs page are to give the basic rules for Basic 5 Card Stud Poker.
Basic Five-Card Stud Poker
Preliminaries to learning How to Play Poker
All game players contribute an agreed initial stake to the pot. Every player is one card face down, and one card faces up.
First Round
The player that has the lowest value card showing must start the betting. If there are two or more bettors with the same value, either of these players closest to the dealer’s left begins. Every player in succession can do one of 3 things:
- “Fold” – Throw in their poker cards and take no further part in the hand.
- “Call” – Increase the stake in front of them to match the level of the player who raised it last.
- “Raise” – in addition to calling, a bettor may also raise the bet by adding more to the stake in front of him.
After a player raises, if all the following players either fold or call but don’t raise the stake further, no additional raises may be made until the next poker card is dealt.
How to Play Poker in Subsequent Rounds
Another card is dealt face-up to every player. The betting process then resumes with the first bettor to the dealer’s left who has not yet folded. In the second, third, fourth, and fifth rounds of gambling, until someone Raises, bettors may:
- “Fold” – Throw their cards and take no further part in the hand.
- “Check” – Stay in the poker game at the current stake level.
- “Raise” – a bettor raises the stake by adding more to the wager in front of him.
The Showdown
If only one gambler remains in the poker game, that player then wins the pot. The player’s hole card is not yet revealed to the other game players. This means that if the game player had been bluffing – feigning that his hand was highly ranked when it wasn’t, then no-one will be any the cleverer.
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