Six Card Stud Rules

Six Card Stud is a hard-to-find variant of Seven Card Stud Poker. The key difference between the two games is that players in Six Card Stud only get six cards to choose from when making their hands. Because of that, big hands and big pots tend to occur slightly less frequently in Six Card Stud.

If you’re playing in a home game and have one person too many for Seven Card Stud, Six Card Stud is always a great alternative. With fewer cards being dealt, you can usually squeeze an extra player in when playing 6 Card Stud.

The game play of Six Card Stud is almost identical to that of Seven Card Stud minus the extra card. Each hand begins with an ante and then proceeds through several betting rounds before culminating in a final showdown.

Antes

Every player must pay an ante at the beginning of each hand. The ante is a forced bet that gets the pot started with a little money to generate action. The size of the ante ranges from about 10% of the lower betting limit to 25%. It will vary from location to location but 10-25% is about average.

First Deal and Betting Round

The dealer now gives each player two cards, starting with the player on the left and going clockwise around the table. One card is dealt face up and the other is dealt face down.

After all the players have received their cards, a round of betting begins with the player who has the lowest card showing. This player must pay the bring-in, which is an automatic bet that is equal in size to half of the lower betting limit.

The player who pays the bring-in may leave the current bet at that or he may raise it up to the lower betting limit. The betting then continues clockwise around the table.

Second Deal and Betting Round

The dealer gives each player one card face up and another round of betting begins. The player with the highest hand showing begins the betting by checking, betting or folding.

Third Deal and Betting Round

Each player gets one card face up and another round of betting begins. From now on, the upper betting limit is used with all bets.

Fourth Deal and Betting Round

Each player is dealt another card face up and another round of betting begins. This round of betting is identical to the previous round.

Fifth Deal and Betting Round

One final card is dealt face down to each player and one last round of betting takes place. If there is more than one player remaining after this betting round, the hand advances to a showdown.

Showdown

The remaining players now arrange their cards to make the best 5 card hand possible out of the six cards they have. The player with the best poker hand wins the pot. If two or more players end up with equal hands, the pot is split among those players.