Play 5 Card Stud Poker Online
Update: It’s become increasingly difficult to get real money games started at 5 Card Stud tables at any online poker room. Carbon Poker is no exception to this rule, and while they are our favorite online poker room for other products they offer there is no point in suggesting them at this current time for 5 Card Stud Games. We have however recently come across a very wild and juicy 5 Card Stud Games at DoylesRoom.com that are worth checking out.
How the Poker Game 5 Card Stud is Played
5 Card Stud is one of the most basic and oldest forms of poker, its also the version of poker with the least hidden information. Players have exactly one card in their hand that is known only to them while all other cards are exposed for all players to see. Amazing enough, especially so online, fish will chase away with just an over-card or will even draw to straights or flushes in this five card game, making it very easy profit for anyone with half a poker brain.
The way the game works is all players ante a small amount (relative to the stakes) and then they are dealt two cards, one of which is face down (for their eyes only) and the other is face up so all players can see. The first round of betting then takes place and when completed players are dealt a second face up card. This process of getting a card and then having a betting round continues until players have four up cards and their one private down-card card. Once the final betting round is complete players reveal their hidden card and the person with the best 5 card poker hand wins the pot.
5 Card Stud is played in both the fixed limit, pot limit and no limit varieties. The most popular place to play 5 Card Draw is PokerStars where dozens of tables can be found running simultaneously at a variety of stakes, and by far the softest 5 Card Draw games can be found at the online poker room DoylesRoom.com
5 Card Stud Poker Strategy and Tips
It does not take long to master fixed limit 5 Card Stud Strategy as that game is all about playing ABC Poker. On the first betting round in fixed limit games anytime you have a pair or anytime your hole card is higher than all cards on the board plus your kicker and hole card are live (do not match any other card on the board) you’re going to open the pot for a raise. If you have vulnerable cards meeting these conditions and are facing an early position raiser - let your hand go. This is such an easy and simple game only fish voluntarily enter raised pots in iffy situations – don’t be a fish. After just a short while of sticking to these mentioned starting requirements you’ll get a feel for how to play the rest of the streets. This is a game that a winning poker player of any other variety can easily adjust to.
The rest of this article refers to no limit version of 5 Card Stud. This is the game where fish tend to make the most mistakes. In this came you want to make sure you are focused closely – this is not the type of game you’ll want to be multi tabling more than two tables. Here are the tips:
#1 Always start with the best hand! This is a general rule that can be broken on occasion if you suspect your opponent is on a steal. When you have a hand like a mid card with a hidden ace (both live!), play these hands fast by coming in for a raise before third street. Also be willing to play any pair no matter how small, and be willing to min raise or call a small raise with the mid pairs. Your big pairs are worth playing a bit slower hoping your opponent also pairs and makes a mistake. Anytime you have a big upcard and a big hole card that is live – be willing to play but don’t get involved with early position raisers.
#2 Win the pot early with vulnerable hands, for example if you start with a pair of fours you want to win or get away from this hand before making it to fourth street. Also be willing to go all the way with pairs against certain players. The nice thing about 5 Card Stud is these games have far less fresh blood in them then typical poker games do, meaning a lot of your opponents are the games regulars. Take notes on which players are capable of pushing all in without a pair.
#3 Bets half the size of the pot are your best friend in No Limit 5 Card Stud! In this game you either have the best hand or you don’t. There are not many situations where a player will ever have the odds to call a bet half the size of the pot, but because you’re betting half the pot, or slightly less, these players tend to want to chase the pot and because they are doing so at less than favorable odds this is obviously good for us.
#4. Check the river! If you have a pair exposed on your board and your hole card does not improve it to two pair or trips, you want to check 100% of the time. Players will not call if they can’t beat your board so a bet on the river under this circumstance is a big -EV mistake.
#5 This tip is a reminder of tip #1, always play with the best hand. In 5 Card Stud its easy to know if you have the best hand or not, don’t act like a fish and play with the worst of it.
