Gambling terms, explained straight

Poker

5 card stud

A poker variant where each player is dealt one hidden card and four exposed cards, with a betting round after each exposed card.

Deck
Standard 52-card deck1
Players
Up to 101
Betting rounds
Four, after the initial deal and each face-up card1

Key points

  • Each player gets one hole card and one upcard, then three more upcards one at a time, each followed by a betting round.1
  • The highest visible card or a minimum opener starts the first betting round.1
  • After the final round, the best five-card poker hand among active players wins the pot.1

Common questions

How do you play 5 card stud?

Each player gets one card face down and four face up, with a betting round after each upcard. The highest visible card starts the betting. After the last round, players show their hands and the best five-card hand wins.1

How to deal 5 card stud?

Deal one card face down to each player, then one card face up. After a betting round, deal three more face-up cards one at a time, each followed by a betting round.1

Where this term is used

Poker 5 card stud poker rules Detailed rule variations and common house rules for 5 card stud. Poker 5 card poker hands Rankings of five-card poker hands from royal flush to high card. Poker 5 card poker rules General rules for five-card poker games including draw and stud. Poker 5-card Omaha strategy Strategic advice for playing five-card Omaha poker. Poker 5-card Omaha hi-lo strategy Strategy for five-card Omaha hi-lo split games. Poker Cut card poker A poker variant where players can cut the deck to replace cards.

Sources

  1. Five Card Stud Poker - card game rules - Pagat pagat.com Provides the core rules, deck size, player limit, and betting round structure for 5 card stud.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.