Five card stud is old school poker. There are several ways to play five card stud – two cards down, three cards up; one card down, three up, one down; alternating up and down, one down four up.  Betting begins with the player with the highest hand showing, or in the case of the betting opening before any cards are showing, with the player to the dealers left.

However you choose to play, it is a very simple game, with limited options when compared to Texas or Omaha. With only five cards being dealt and no fresh cards, the chances of hitting any major hands are considerably lower than in more modern games, so it is not unusual for a high card or pair to take the pot. As with any poker games, aggression is important, as is the ability to discern when you are beat and let go what you may consider to be a winning hand. There are several hands I am not letting go. If I am holding a big pair AA, KK, QQ, JJ – I am not letting this go unless I can see a better hand in the shown cards.  Three of a kind the same – I am not folding three of a kind unless I see three better cards in some one’s open cards. Which sucks for them if they have three of a kind showing.

Hidden cards are more valuable than shown cards. If you have three of a kind showing you are not likely to get paid off, but if you have only one of the three showing, you probably will.

It is usual to play five card stud as a limit game, although I have played it no limit. This changes the game quite considerably, as you stand a very good chance of being bluffed out of the pot in the later stages of the game. At least with limit, you are likely to pay someone off because you know what it is going to cost you before the last cards are dealt.

Five card stud is very much a bluffers game. Much more so than many other games. There is a high chance no one has a hand, so the most aggressive player is likely to take the pot. I have a feeling Doyle Brunsen learned his Texas Hold’em style from playing this game. Good old cowboy poker is what this is and I am sure resulted in quite a few shoot outs of the armed variety in its day.