Knowing How To Play 5 Card Stud Poker

5 Card Stud Poker offers players an exciting alternative to all the other variations of poker available. This is mainly because in 5 Card Stud Poker the player gets a chance to pit their wit against the dealer as opposed to playing against other opponents at the table. All the cards are in your hands and you are in complete control of the game and can concentrate solely on the card combinations without having to think about Tells or what your opponents are doing.

The object of the game, much like Blackjack, is to produce a better hand than that of the dealer. Sounds simple? Well it really is although in 5 Card Stud Poker the player has more opportunity to play a strategic game and therefore has more control of the outcome.

The game starts with an Ante Bet. This can vary between poker rooms and indeed 5 Card Stud Poker tables so it is worth a player checking the size of the Ante before committing to a table. If you are new to the game then it is advisable to start on a small Ante while you build up your confidence.

The player is then dealt five cards face up. This is your hand for the duration of the game so at this point you should search for combinations and patterns that may make up a good poker hand.

The dealer is also dealt five cards, however the major difference here is in 5 Card Stud Poker only one of the dealers 5 cards appears face up. The remaining four will be dealt face down and stay that way until the end of the game.

Based on the strength of your own five card combination and the one card from the dealers hand, it is now time to make a decision on how you would like to proceed in the game. A player can either select the Fold (or Surrender) button if they think there is a possibility that their hand is worse than the dealers, or they can select the Challenge button. Selecting the Challenge button in 5 Card Stud Poker will automatically double your original Ante Bet.

At this point the dealers cards are revealed. However, the dealers hand must contain an ace and a king to qualify for the challenge. If there is no Ace or King present the challenge is nullified and your Ante will be returned to your bankroll.

If the dealers hand does contain the ace and the king then the player with the strongest hand wins. 2 hands of equal value will signify a draw and again your Ante will be returned to you.

It is worth noting that in 5 Card Stud Poker, different hands produce different payoffs i.e., a royal flush pays more than 2 pairs. Therefore it is worth checking different payoffs with different casinos before commencing a game.