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Stud Games

Stud games are based on 5 and 7 card variations of Stud Poker. See Basic Stud Poker for details.

7's Take All
Basic Stud Poker
Abyssinia
Auction
Black Mariah
Blind (or Night) Baseball
Blind Stud
Chicago
Choose Your Own
Control
Dakota
Day Baseball
Dictator, The
Dirty Schultz
Do-Ya
English Stud
Follow the Queen
Fours
Frankenstein
Have a Heart
Henway
Jack the Shifter
Limbo
Low Hole
Mexican Stud
Mexican Sweat
Roll Your Own
Sequence
Seven Card Regrets
Strategery
Ten Card Regrets
Tens and Adders
The Good, The Bad &
    The Ugly
The Price is Right
Three Card Poker
Turbo Five Card Stud
Want it? Want it? Got it?
Whiskey Poker

7's Take All
PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: 7 cards.
PLAY: Normal 7 card stud, no wilds, except a pair of 7's is the highest possible hand. You cannot have three 7's anywhere in your 7 cards. Only a pair counts. It gets very interesting when a seven gets dealt up.

Basic Stud Poker
PLAYERS: 3-10 
INITIAL DEAL: 1 down, 1 up (5 card stud) or 2 down, 1 up (7 card stud) to each player 
PLAY: 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. 
WINNER: High hand.
VARIATIONS: 
· Last card dealt face-up or allow player to choose last card up or down.
· Optional Hands ("Canadian 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
PLAYERS: 3-12 
INITIAL DEAL: None 
PLAY: 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). Cards from the deck are dealt up so the cost can be paid. Players may hold cards purchased. 
WINNER: High and low hands split.

Auction 
PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down to each player 
PLAY: 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 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 showing on the table. NOTE: Our game limits auction bids to $1.00 per round. This game can get a little pricey
WINNER: High and low hands split.

Black Mariah
PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down, 1 up to each player. 
PLAY: The same as seven card stud with these modifications: In order to win, player must have the best poker hand AND the highest spade (up or down). If no player can produce both, everyone re-antes. WARNING: THIS GAME CAN SOMETIMES TAKE FOREVER AND RACK UP A HUGE POT. ALL PLAYERS MUST AGREE TO THIS GAME BEFORE IT IS DEALT.
WINNER: High hand with high spade.

Blind (or Night) Baseball 
PLAYERS: 3-5
INITIAL DEAL: nine down with no peeking. 
PLAY: First player turns up one card and this is the high hand to beat (this hand will always be high card). The next player must turn over cards until he (that's right, I said "HE" because there are no women in the Monday Night Poker Club) beats the previous hand. This hand will either be a higher card or a pair. Play continues until a showdown or only one player is left. Threes and nines are wild. Fours grant the player another card.
WINNER: High hand 
VARIATIONS: 
· Rainouts ("The Wench") - If the Queen of Spades is dealt face up, the hand is terminated and redealt-- but only for players who are still in.
· Paying for wild cards. Dealer sets the amount.
· Paying for the additional card when a four comes face up. 

Blind Stud ("Stevie Wonder")
PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down, 1 up to each player.
PLAY: The same as seven card stud but players are not allowed to look at their two hole (down) cards until after the last round of betting.
WINNER: High hand.
VARIATIONS:
· Five Card Blind Stud (deal 1 down and 1 up initially)

Chicago
PLAYERS: 4-7 
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down and one up to each player 
PLAY: As with 7 card stud, but whoever has the highest Spade in the hole (face down) gets half the pot. 
WINNER: High hand and high spade in the hole split the pot.

Choose Your Own (Poor Man's Auction)
PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: Players are dealt two cards face down and one card face up, as in 7 card stud. One card is dealt face up in the center for each person playing (3-7 cards).
PLAY: 7 card stud where the lowest hand showing during each round gets to choose their card from several face up cards. Rules.  The player who has the lowest hand showing gets to pick which card they want. Hands are ranked as in low ball with ties going to the player closest to the dealer's left. After that, the next lowest hand chooses, and so on, until the highest hand takes the last card. Another round of betting is followed by another round of face up cards, with the lowest hand again choosing first. Players bet and there is a final round of face up cards that players choose from. After betting, everyone is dealt one more card face down (for a total of seven) followed by a final round of betting and showdown. The player with the best five card hand (High hand) takes the pot. Strategy. Strategy can be interesting, because it is often in a player's best interest to choose a low card which will allow them to choose early in the next round. Matching one of your down cards often works well because you don't have a pair showing, which would cause you to choose later in the next round. Straights and flushes can be chosen without your up cards beating other's up cards. Of course, your selection may also be influenced by trying to prevent the next player from getting the card they want.

Control 
PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: 2 down, 1 up (7 card stud) to each player 
PLAY: Betting begins after the deal. After each round of betting, each player is dealt one card face up. After the 6th card is dealt and the betting round occurs, the player with the best hand (the guy in control) showing decides whether or not the game will proceed to the final showdown. If he decides the game will proceed, the last card is dealt (face down) and the showdown follows. If he decides NOT to proceed, all hands are turned in, the deck is reshuffled and all remaining players re-ante to play another round. This continues until the guy in control allows the game to proceed to the end.
WINNER: High hand.

Dakota 
PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: 3 cards down to each player 
PLAY: 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. 
WINNER: High and low hands split.

Day Baseball

PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: two down and one up to each player 
PLAY: 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. 
WINNER: High hand 
VARIATIONS: 
· Rainouts ("The Wench") - If the Queen of Spades is dealt face up, the hand is terminated and redealt-- but only for players who are still in.
· Paying for wild cards. Dealer sets the amount.
· 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 Dictator
PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: 2 down, 1 up (7 card stud) to each player, plus one card in the center (the dictator)
PLAY: This game is played like seven card stud with the simple exception of the card in the center-the dictator. The dictator decides whether the game will be played high or low (or both, splitting the pot). If the dictator is a 2-7, the game is low. If the dictator is an 8-K, the game is played high. If the dictator is an ace, their is no change in the game. At the end of every betting round, the dictator can be changed (overthrown) by the player with the worst showing hand. If the game is currently played high, the lowest showing card can overthrow. If the game is low, the highest card can overthrow. In the case of a tie, the player closest to the dealer can overthrow. For a player to overthrow the dictator, he must pay 25 cents (or whatever the dealer decides before the game is dealt). Once this is done, the dealer puts a new card in the middle and this becomes the new dictator. The last card dealt can be up or down, at the discretion of the player, before the card is dealt.

Dirty Schultz 
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down and one up to each player 
PLAY: 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. 
WINNER: High hand

Do Ya
INITIAL DEAL: One hole card to each player. This card is wild for each player (i.e. "low hole" is wild). Subsequently, any cards of this rank dealt up to the same player are also considered wild. Then dealer turns over the first card from the deck.
PLAY: The first player can choose to take the initial up card offered to him. If he refuses this card, another card is turned up. He now has two cards to choose from. Should he decide to pass on these two cards, he MUST take the next card that is turned up. Cards are place face up for each player. The next player can choose based on the cards remaining (e.g. if the first player took the first card, the sequence would start all over again. If he chose from one of the two cards, the next player could opt for the remaining up card and continue the sequence from there. If the first player chose the first card, the next player would have to choose from the remaining two or take the next card dealt.). After all players have taken their first card, there is a betting round. The remaining cards are placed under the deck (called, "ducking"). After the betting, the "do ya" round starts all over again, followed by more betting, gnashing of teeth, etc. until all players have five cards.

English Stud 
PLAYERS: 3-6 
INITIAL DEAL: 2 down, one up to each player 
PLAY: 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. 
VARIATIONS: 
· 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
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down and one up to each player 
PLAY: 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, a card is dealt into the middle of the pot and becomes wild if in any remaining player's hand. Players can choose to take their last card up or down.
WINNER: High hand 
STANDARD VARIATIONS: 
· Pay for queens. 
· Queens are not wild (only the cards that follow them)
· If last card up is a queen, only queens are wild (or nothing is wild)
· The Wench: If the Queen of Spades is dealt face-up, the hand immediately ends. All players re-ante and the hand is redealt.

Fours (4 Up, 4 Down, 4's are Wild)
PLAYERS: 3-6
INITIAL DEAL: 3 down, 1 up 
PLAY: 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. Players will have a total of 8 cards.
WINNER: High hand.

Frankenstein
Frankenstein is played just like regular Five-Card Draw, only that all the discarded cards for that round (but not the folded hands) go into a pile called The Monster. When the hands are called, the highest hand takes the pot, unless the cards in The Monster can be made into a hand that beats it. If so, the highest hand has to match the pot, which remains for the next round, when a new Monster is created. Play continues until someone beats The Monster. For a kinder variation, say that players may only discard two cards.

Have a Heart 
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: 2 down, 1 up to each player. 
PLAY: 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. 
WINNER: High hand. 
VARIATIONS: 
· Trade a Heart: You must trade one of your own cards (up for up, down for down) with the card you take.

Henway 
PLAYERS: 3-5 
INITIAL DEAL: 10 cards down to each player 
PLAY: 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. 
WINNER: High and low hands split 

Jack the Shifter 
PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: 2 cards down and one card up to each player 
PLAY: 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. 
WINNER: High hand, unless changed by the game called. 
MNPC Accepted Shift Games (as of 6-8-2000): Follow the Queen, Low Hole, Dirty Schultz, Chicago, Day Baseball, Deuces Wild, Lowball, Sequence, Tens and Adders, Fours (which adds a card and can only be done with up to 6 players).

Limbo
PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: 6 face down to each player (no peek) and seven face up in the center. Dealer arranges the seven in the middle into the best high hand possible and discards the remaining two cards.
PLAY: Player to the dealer's left exposes a car. Bet. Next player exposes cards until the best interpretation of the player's hand is the best hand showing. However, if the best interpretation of player's exposed hand is superior to the center hand, the player must fold. Bet. Next player exposes the same way, followed by a bet. Continue until just one player remains. The winner will have the highest hand showing without beating the hand in the middle.

Low Hole (Shipwreck)
PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: 2 down, 1 up to each player 
PLAY: 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. 
WINNER: High hand

Mexican Stud
PLAYERS: 4-10 
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down to each player. 
PLAY: Players turn over one of their two cards and then there is a betting round. Players are dealt another card down and turn over 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. 
WINNER: High hand 
VARIATIONS: 
· 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 
PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: seven cards face down to each player and one up card on the table. 
PLAY: Do not look at your cards! This game is similar to Blind 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. (Note: We usually refer to this as "the canon")
WINNER: High hand

Roll Your Own
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: three down cards to each player
PLAY: Each player decides which card he wants to turn up, then all the players turn up their cards at one time, followed by a betting round. Repeat until four cards are face down. The last card is dealt down, but no rolling, and there is a final betting round, followed by the showdown. RANK OF HANDS: poker using five best cards. STANDARD VARIATIONS: Adding wild cards to play. Having the low card in the hole being wild. Called Mexican Stud. STRATEGY: Throwing twos is almost always good idea (except, perhaps for bluffing) since it prevents twos from nullifying other down pairs (for example, a pair of threes and a two down is probably not as good as a pair of threes and something else down).

Sequence 
PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: 2 down, 1 up to each player 
PLAY: 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. 
WINNER: High hand

Seven-card Regrets 
PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: 7 cards down to each player. Do not look at your cards! Similar to Ten Card Regrets, 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 one 5-card hand. All hands are high only (no splitting the pot)
WINNER: High hand

Strategery
Note: This game has another name, but we forgot it. Somehow or other, the name "Strategery" stuck. The name is in honor of SNL's Will Farrow and his portrayal of George W. Bush.
PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: One hole card to each player. There is nothing special about this card unless the player receives another one, face up. Then, the card becomes wild.
PLAY: After each player receives his card, dealer gives the first player a card, face up. He has three choices:
1. Pass the card on to the next player in order to receive another up card.
2. Keep the card and pass on his down card to receive another down card.
3. Keep BOTH cards.
After the player makes his choice, play passes on to the next player. This continues until each person has received a card for the round. Thus, everyone will have 2 cards (one up and one down) at this point. At this point there is a betting round. Play continues until each player has 5 cards (1 down and 4 up). If, at any time, you receive a pair showing, you have to pay 50 cents to keep it. This means that you either have to pass on the card (if you still have the option) or fold if you do not want to pay the 50 cents. 

Ten-card Regrets 
PLAYERS: 3-5 
INITIAL DEAL: 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. Once 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). 
WINNER: High and low hands split 

Tens and Adders 
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: 2 down, 1 up to each player 
PLAY: 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 as adders.
WINNER: High hand

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly 
PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: 2 cards down, 1 up to each player, three down on the table 
PLAY: 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. 
WINNER: High hand

The Price is Right 
PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down to every player and two up cards in a row on the table next to the deck. 
PLAY: 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. 
WINNER: High hand
VARIATIONS: 
· 3 up cards plus the deck, for purchase options of 5, 10, 15, and 25 cents.

Three Card Poker
PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: 1 card down, 1 up to each player.
PLAY: After the deal there is a betting round. Then, another card is dealt up followed by a final betting round. Hand values are as follows (based on probability):
1. Straight Flush
2. Three of a Kind
3. Straight
4. Flush
5. Pair
6. High Card
WINNER: High hand

Turbo Five-card Stud 
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: 4 down, 1 up to each player 
PLAY: As in 5 card stud, but: after the first round of betting, each player is dealt a down card (at this point, all players have six cards). 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 (therefore, players will only have five cards at the end the deal).
WINNER: High hand 

Want It? Want It? Got it!
PLAYERS: 3-7 
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down to each player 
PLAY: 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 a showdown occurs. 
WINNER: High hand

Whiskey Poker
PLAYERS: Up to 9
INITIAL DEAL: Five cards down to each player plus an extra hand down (the widow).
PLAY: Each player, beginning at the dealer's left, has three options. 1.) To exchange his hand with the Widow hand; 2.) Pass on the option to exchange cards; or 3.) "Knocking" on his pat hand. (A "knock" means that a player doesn't want to exchange any more cards and will show his present hand when it is his next turn around the table.) When a player exchanges hands with the Widow, he places his five cards face up on the table and they become the new widow. Once this happens the players options become 1.) Exchange one (1) card or all five (5) cards with the Widow hand; 2.) Pass on the option to exchange cards; or 3.) "Knocking" on their pat hand. A player may pass on the option to exchange cards with the widow in any turn in the hopes of a better selection in the next round, but he may not pass in two consecutive turns. If a player wishes to play his hand as is, upon his turn he signals by knocking on the table. Players continue to exchange cards from the widow until one player knocks. A player cannot draw cards from the widow and "knock" at the same time and once a player knocks he cannot draw anymore cards. A player may knock before the original widow is exchanged or exposed. If no one takes the widow by the time it comes around to the dealer, the dealer must either take up the widow for himself or turn it face up on the table. Even if the dealer knocks and does not take up the widow, he must expose the widow for each player to see and draw once more. Once a player knocks the betting rounds begin and all other players have one last turn to exchange cards with the widow. After each player takes their turn to exchange their last cards they initiate a round of betting. When the last player opts to exchange cards, there is a final round of betting. Showdown.