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STUD
Stud is characterized by a player having individual cards, with one or more of their cards face up. Seven-card stud is the most popular form. Seven-Card Stud is played high, low, and high-low split.
To avoid running out of cards on a deal, all Seven-Card Stud games normally will be restricted to a maximum of eight players. To start a deal, each player is dealt two down cards and one up card (called a "door card"). There is a betting round followed by an up card ("fourth street"), a betting round followed by an up card ("fifth street"), a betting round followed by an up card ("sixth street"), a betting round followed by a down card ("seventh street") and a final betting round followed by a showdown. The three forms of Seven Card Stud are played as follows:
Seven Stud High
On the first round, the low card by suit is required to initiate action with a bet. Suits are ranked:
Spades (highest), Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. On subsequent rounds, the high hand on board initiates the betting action. If hands are tied, the player to the left of the dealer acts first.
Seven Stud Low (Razz)
Aces are low cards only. Straights and flushes do not harm the value of a hand for low. On the first round, the high card by suit is required to initiate action. On subsequent rounds, the lowest hand on board initiates betting action. If hands are tied, the player to the left of the dealer acts first.
Seven Stud High-Low Split
A qualifier of eight or better for low will be in force for all high-low split games unless a specific posting to the contrary is made. The low card suit initiates betting action on the first round, with an Ace counting as a high card for this purpose. On subsequent rounds, the high hand initiates the action. If there is a tie, the player to the left of the dealer acts first. As in Seven-Card Low, Aces may be used for low. Straights and flushes do not harm the value of a hand for low. A player may use any five cards to make their best high hand and any other grouping of five cards, whether the same as their high hand or not, to make the best low hand.
DRAW (including Lowball)
Each player initially receives five down cards. The action is initiated by the player to the immediate left of the player with the dealer-button, if there are no blinds and by the player on the immediate left of the big blind if any blinds are used. The first player to make a wager on the initial betting round is called the opener and is said to have "opened the pot". After the initial betting round is over, the players have an opportunity to draw new cards. Players may either keep their original hands (stand pat) or discard as many cards as they choose and get a new card for each on thrown away. This process is called "the draw". There is a final bet and then a showdown. Games are restricted to eight-handed to make it very unlikely that the dealer will run out of cards and have to reshuffle the deck during a deal. Draw may be played High or Low ("Lowball"). Each of the forms is played as follows:
Draw High
The highest-ranking poker hand wins the pot. Aces are either high or low, at the player's option. If the joker is used, it may be employed either as an Ace or any specific card not already held that completes a straight, flush or straight-flush (no "double-Ace-flushes"). A player may open on anything unless a minimum opening requirement has been set. An often-used requirement is "Jacks-or-better to open".
Draw Low (Lowball)
The lowest ranking hand wins the pot. If the joker is used, it is the lowest card in a player’s hand that does not form a pair.
Ace-To-Five Lowball: Aces are low. The presence of a flush or a straight in a hand does not impair its low-card value. Therefore, the best hand is a 5-4-3-2-A, called a "wheel". Two aces is a better hand than two deuces. The joker is normally used. At limit play, a seven-low or better must bet after the draw (or have all bets after the draw refunded if the hand wins the pot), unless otherwise posted.
Deuce-To-Seven Lowball: Aces are high and flushes and straights count, virtually ruining a value of a hand. Therefore, the best hand is 7-5-4-3-2, with at least one card of a different suit than the other cards. The joker is not used. The hand 5-4-3-2-A is not a straight; it is "Ace-High" and loses to "King-High". KK beats AA. Deuce-to-seven is usually played no-limit.
Texas Hold 'Em and Games Using Blinds
Hold 'em is a community card game. After players receive their initial facedown cards, there is a betting round. The dealer burns a card and deals three board cards (called the "flop") and turns them up. There is a betting round and the dealer burns and turns the fourth board card. There is a betting round and the dealer burns and turns a final board card. There is a final betting round followed by a showdown.
The number of individual cards dealt each player depends on the form of Hold 'em being played. At Texas Hold 'em, each player receives two cards to start and at the showdown, may play both individual cards and three board cards, one individual card and four board cards or all five board cards, called "playing the board". At Omaha Hold 'em, each player receives four cards to start. At the showdown, the player must play two of those four combined with three board cards.
Certain types of Hold 'em, particularly Omaha, lend themselves very well to high-low split play. Most split-pot games use a qualifier of eight or better for low, unless specifically stated otherwise. A player may use any two cards from their hand for high and the same or any other combinations of two cards for low.
Games with a house dealer use a flat disk called the dealer-button (or just "button") to indicate the starting point of each hand. The player to the immediate left of the button is first to receive a card. Betting action on the initial round starts by the player on the left of the last player to post a blind bet ("blind"). On subsequent rounds, the first active player clockwise from the button acts first.