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After looking at Omaha over the last few weeks, we continue to look at alternatives to Texas Hold 'Em with an overview of Seven Card Stud.

Historically Seven-Card Stud was THE way to play poker before the rapid rise of Texas Hold 'Em took centre stage.

In Seven Card Stud, players are dealt seven cards throughout the course of the hand but only the best five-card hand possible for each player is used to determine the winner.

If you are used to playing Hold 'Em, here are the chief differences between the two games.

- There are no community cards

Each player is dealt two hidden hole cards and one exposed card initially. A face-up card is then dealt to the players who remain in the game after all four subsequent rounds of betting. The only exception is in the unlikely event when all eight players (and eight is the maximum in Stud) are still in the hand on the river as the total number of cards needed for all the players to receive their own card would not be available in a standard deck of cards. In this case the river card is dealt face up on the table and it will be used as a community card.

- An ante and a bring-in bet are used instead of blinds

Before each hand all players ante a nominal amount and then the player with the lowest exposed card is the "bring-in", and is forced to bet either half a small bet or a full small bet. The bring-in bet is the only time in poker where card suits come into play when there is a tie for the lowest card. The highest suit is spades, followed by hearts, diamonds, and clubs. The two of clubs is the lowest possible card for bring-in purposes. Most players opt for the minimum bring-in even if they have a strong hand.

- There are five betting rounds as compared to four in Hold 'Em

As in Hold 'Em with the blinds, the stakes for the table depends on the ante. And then after the bring-in, the action continues clockwise around the table until betting is complete for the round. Assuming the player who brings the hand in does do so for the minimum, the next player to act, like in Hold 'Em, may choose to fold, call or raise. However once the opening round of betting has finished, a face-up card is dealt to the players who remain in the game on each of fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh street (or the river).

- The player who shows the best hand starts the action on every betting round, except for the first

The betting action starts with the highest visible hand with the player showing the highest hand called first to either bet or check. If there is a tie, suits once again come into play. Therefore there is no positional advantage before the cards are dealt as the cards determine who acts first and last on every betting round. As in Limit Hold 'Em with the figures for the small and big blinds, Seven-Card Stud games have two figures to signify the stakes i.e $5 and $10 and all bets and raises are done by either at the lower dollar figure or the higher dollar figure. Normally bets for the first two rounds are the smaller figure and the higher figure for the final three betting rounds.

- There is a larger short-term luck factor

Because you don't share community cards with other players in Stud, it is somewhat easier to catch up when you are trailing. Very often in Texas Hold 'Em, a card that improves your hand by nature improves an opponent's hand by an equal amount. In Stud, any card you catch is uniquely yours.

Angus MacKenzie / Eurosport