Guide to 7 Card Stud Poker
Edited reviewed in-house414 wordsby the EasyPlay.Vegas desk
Although surpassed in popularity by Texas Hold’em during recent years, 7 Card Stud remains a cornerstone of the home game and is still widely played in certain areas such as California or Vienna in Europe where they have the European 7 Card Stud Championship which is the biggest Stud tournament in the world.
21+ No operator we name holds a licence from a state regulator, and what you are allowed to play is settled by the state you sit in, not by us. This desk books no wagers, holds no balances and deals no cards — every button hands you over to the operator, and the terms you agree to there are the operator’s own. Conditions ride on every offer. Who pays this site, and for what.
Casino sites with a welcome from a $20 deposit
What put each of these rooms on this page, and what its welcome offer demands in exchange. A commission reaches us if you open an account; every figure is the operator’s own.
- 1

Welcome from a $20 deposit
100% up to $2,000 + 20 free spins on the first deposit
- Minimum deposit
- $20
- Wagering
- 35x on bonus plus deposit
- Free spins
- 20
- Running since
- 2013
- The catch
- Our record names no licence for this operator at all.
- 2

Welcome from a $20 deposit
250 free spins on the first deposit, 25 per day for 10 days
- Minimum deposit
- $20
- Wagering
- 1x on the deposit
- Free spins
- 250
- Licence on record
- Panama Gaming Commission
- The catch
- We hold two independent records of this operator, which is thin for this list.
- 3

Welcome from a $20 deposit
250% up to $1,500 on the first deposit
- Minimum deposit
- $20
- Wagering
- 40x on bonus plus deposit
- Licence on record
- Curacao
- Running since
- 2016
- The catch
- Wagering is 40x — nothing on this list asks for more.
- 4

Welcome from a $20 deposit
230% match up to $20,000 across the welcome package, code ROYALSHOW
- Minimum deposit
- $10
- Wagering
- 40x on bonus plus deposit
- Licence on record
- Government of Anjouan (Union of Comoros), Curacao eGaming
- Running since
- 2020
- The catch
- The operator has only been running since 2020 — a short record next to the rest of this list.
- 5

Welcome from a $20 deposit
Welcome offer up to $8,000 across the first four deposits
- Minimum deposit
- $10
- Wagering
- 30x
- Licence on record
- Anjouan, Comoros Gambling License Authority
- Running since
- 2019
- The catch
- We hold no independent record of this operator beyond its own pages.
- 6

Welcome from a $20 deposit
100% up to $1,000 on the first deposit with code CAWELCOME100
- Minimum deposit
- $20
- Wagering
- 25x on bonus plus deposit
- Licence on record
- Curacao
- Running since
- 2011
- The catch
- We have not tested a withdrawal at Bovada Casino ourselves.
- 7

Welcome from a $20 deposit
245% + 55 free spins
- Minimum deposit
- $10
- Wagering
- 40x
- Free spins
- 55
- The catch
- No crypto payout is listed in our record — card and wire only.
- 8

Welcome from a $20 deposit
200% up to $500 on the first deposit
- Minimum deposit
- $20
- Wagering
- 40x
- Running since
- 2013
- The catch
- We hold one independent record of this operator, which is thin for this list.
- 9

Welcome from a $20 deposit
125% up to $1,000 on the first deposit with code SIGNUP1000
- Minimum deposit
- $20
- Wagering
- 30x on bonus plus deposit
- Licence on record
- Curacao, Saint Kitts And Nevis
- Running since
- 1996
- The catch
- No poker room sits behind this account.
- 10

Welcome from a $20 deposit
Crypto welcome: 300% up to $3,000 split between casino and poker
- Minimum deposit
- $20
- Wagering
- 25x
- Licence on record
- Curacao
- Running since
- 2016
- The catch
- Casino only: there is no sportsbook on the same wallet.
Every room above accepts deposits from the United States and keeps the account in US dollars. Not one holds a licence from a US state regulator; a licence our record does name is printed in that room’s card. A commission reaches us if you open an account, and every figure above is the operator’s own — read yours in their cashier before paying anything in, and our procedure says what this list is and is not.
7 Card Stud Poker – By Dave Tarbet
The biggest Stud cash game in the world can be found at Larry Flynt’s Hustler Casino in Los Angeles where you can find the aforementioned host playing for ultra high stakes with his fellow celebs and a select few pros lucky enough to have earned an invite.
7 Card Stud is not a community card game like Hold’em or Omaha, each player uses only their own cards. There are no blinds to post, instead everyone pays an ante before the cards are dealt.
How to Play 7 Card Stud Poker
After the antes are posted each player receives three cards, two face down and one face up. The player with the lowest up-card must make a forced bet known as the bring-in.
This is usually half the size of a small bet, although the player has the option to make a full bring in which is the same size as a small bet. Betting then continues in a clockwise direction with players able to call, raise or fold as usual.
The remaining four cards are dealt individually with a betting round between each. After the first betting round it is the highest hand showing which opens the betting on subsequent rounds.
Cards four, five and six are dealt face up and card seven face down leaving a final hand of four up-cards which are visible to the whole table and three down cards known only to each individual player. Players then make their best five card poker hand from the seven available to them.
Okay, so now you know the fundamentals, let’s have a look at some starting hand requirements. As with all poker games, the key to success is only playing strong starting hands. In 7 Card Stud these are:
- Three of a kind.
- A pair of tens or better.
- Three cards to a flush. Preferably three high cards.
Weaker hands like pairs smaller than tens or three cards to a straight can also be played if the circumstances are right. However, these hands are very marginal and if there has been a raise before the action gets to you it’s probably better just to throw these hands away.
With the bet on the fourth card (called fourth street) being at the smaller limit, (the same amount as third street) it is almost always correct to stay in at this time, having already made the decision to play on third street, even if you don’t improve.
