53.1 One deck, up to ten players, and it never runs out
Five cards each for ten players is 50 cards, so one 52-card deck covers up to ten players with no common card.
Rules of Poker · Chapter 53 · 2026 edition
5-Card Stud
Five-Card Stud is the oldest form of stud and the simplest: one card face down, four face up, and the best five-card hand wins. Stud poker appeared in America in the 1860s and this was its first form. Seven-Card Stud, Hold'em and Omaha overtook it in the late twentieth century, but it is still dealt in home games, online and, as Sökö, in Finland.
Everything in 7-Card Stud about stud betting applies unless this chapter says otherwise. The shared rules are Betting action betting action, Blinds, antes and bring-ins antes and bring-ins, The deal and misdeals the deal, Showdown showdown, Pots pots and Hand rankings hand rankings.
The examples use a $10/$20 game with a $1 ante and a $3 bring-in.
Jump to
The deck and the table
53.2 Where it is still played
Five-Card Stud was a World Series of Poker event from 1971 to 1974 and was dropped in 1975. Since then it has mostly been a small home-game and casino game, picked up again by some online rooms, while its Sökö form (53.12) stays popular in Finland.
Source: Wikipedia, Five-card stud; pagat.com, Five Card Stud, introduction.
The deal
53.3 One down and one up, then three more up
Each player gets one card face down (the hole card) and one face up, and the first betting round follows; this is second street. Third, fourth and fifth street each bring one more face-up card, with a betting round after each, so there are four betting rounds. At the end each player has one card down and four up.
Source: pagat.com, Five Card Stud, "The Play"; Wikipedia, Five-card stud.
The betting rounds
53.4 The low card brings it in, or the high card opens
In card rooms the player showing the lowest up card posts the bring-in, ties broken by suit (50.7), and may complete to a full small bet as in Seven-Card Stud (50.8). The traditional rule has no bring-in: the player showing the highest card opens the first round and may check, and the ante is larger instead.
Source: pagat.com, Five Card Stud, "Order of Betting"; Wikipedia, Five-card stud.
53.5 Later streets: the best hand showing opens
From third street on, the player whose face-up cards make the best hand opens the betting, and that can change every street. Only pairs and better count; a partial straight or flush is just high cards. pagat.com breaks a tie by the suit of the highest card; Wikipedia's account, for a game with no bring-in, breaks it by seat order clockwise from the dealer. Agree which before the deal.
Source: pagat.com, Five Card Stud, "Order of Betting"; Wikipedia, Five-card stud.
53.6 Small bets on the first two rounds, big bets on the last two
In fixed-limit Five-Card Stud, card rooms use the small bet on second and third street and the big bet on fourth and fifth. pagat.com notes that home games usually don't hold to this, and allow small bets on the last two rounds too.
53.7 An open pair on third street allows the big bet
When any player shows a pair on third street (two up cards each), anyone may bet or raise the big bet that round, pair or not, the same rule Seven-Card Stud uses on fourth street (50.14). In $10/$20 the opener may bet $10 or $20. Some games then require every later raise that round to be at least the size of the last; pagat.com notes many home games don't.
Making your hand
53.8 Your five cards are your hand
There is nothing to choose: your hole card and your four up cards are your hand, ranked as ordinary high poker hands (Hand rankings).
Showdown and the pot
53.9 Showdown and the odd chip
At showdown each player still in turns up the hole card and the best hand wins. A split pot's odd chip goes by suit, as in Seven-Card Stud (50.16).
Source: pagat.com, Five Card Stud, "The Play"; Robert's Rules of Poker v11, Section 3, "Ties," rule 5(b).
Common mistakes and disputes
53.10 Calling when the board already beats you gets no refund
With four of five cards face up, it is common for a hand to be beaten by what an opponent shows. A player who calls anyway can't take the chips back once they see it: the call stands. Robert's Rules states this for stud generally.
Source: Robert's Rules of Poker v11, Section 8, "Seven-Card Stud," rule 19.
Usual variants and house rules
53.11 High-low, lowball and the last card down
Home games deal Five-Card Stud in several forms. Some deal the fifth card face down. Lowball versions play for low, usually ace-to-five in American casinos and ace-to-six in many home games (Hand rankings); the highest card brings it in and a pair showing doesn't allow the big bet. High-low versions split the pot between the best high and best low, either by cards speak or, in many home games, by each player declaring high or low after the last bet.
Source: pagat.com, Five Card Stud, "Variations," "Lowball" and "Five Card Stud High-Low".
53.12 Sökö, or Canadian stud: a four-flush and a four-straight count
Sökö, also called Canadian or California stud, is Five-Card Stud with two extra hands. Four cards to a straight beat one pair, and four cards to a flush beat four to a straight; both lose to two pair. From lowest: high card, one pair, four-straight, four-flush, two pair, three of a kind, and on up as usual. pagat.com's own text says both new hands rank below a pair, but its ranking table puts them above, and Wikipedia agrees with the table.
Source: pagat.com, Five Card Stud, "Sökö"; Wikipedia, Five-card stud, "Canadian stud".
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