Although nowadays Hold'em is by far the most widely played form of poker, Seven-Card Stud is still very popular, particularly on the Eastern coast of the United States.
In some ways Hold'em and Seven-Card Stud are quite similar. Each player must make the best possible five-card hand from the seven available.
Unlike Hold'em (and Omaha), however, there are no community cards in Seven-Card Stud. Each player can only use the cards from their own personal board. Sometimes the card you need to complete your hand will be dealt to one of your opponents. However, that card is his and his alone!
The other key difference between Hold'em and Seven-Card Stud is the number of hidden cards dealt to each player. In Hold'em every player receives two hole cards. In Seven-Card Stud, however, you receive three hidden cards (known as down cards) and four open cards (known as up cards).
Let's move on to see how the game of Seven-Card Stud works in practice.
