| Seven
Card Stud is a popular, well-known form of poker. It is played with up
to eight players at the table.
The Game:
Before the start of the game, internally the EmpirePoker system
generates a fresh deck of cards for the hand. On EmpirePoker, we use a
single deck of cards to play a hand of poker, where a deck refers to 52
cards excluding the jokers. Online poker rooms use what is called the
Random Number Generator (RNG) to shuffle a deck of cards for the hand.
How does it work?
The system generates a random set of numbers, which are used to place a
card of the deck in a particular position. Once the complete deck is
created, the deck is used for that particular hand only.
We shuffle the deck of cards every time we start a hand, and the random
numbers previously generated are discarded and new ones generated before
the shuffle. The RNG code has been successfully audited by BMM,
Australia, and its integrity is verified daily.
BMM is one of the leading auditors of gaming solutions in the industry.
The First round:
A fresh table starts off with all the players posting the “ante”
(putting a predetermined amount in the pot before the cards are dealt).
This amount is based on the size of the game. While the ante amount is
not based on a set rule, the same is decided upon by the prevailing game
trends. For e.g. the ante amount for a 1/2 table is 25 cents while for a
3/6 table, it is 50 cents. A new game on an active table starts with all
the players at the table posting antes.
In Seven-card stud poker, players receive seven cards, three "down"
cards and four "up" cards.
After the antes have been placed each player is dealt three cards (two
"down" cards and one "up" card). The "up" card is also known as the
"door card" or "Third Street". The lowest "up" card must initiate the
action with a "Bring-In" bet. (If two or more players have the same
lowest card, the person who brings it in is determined by suit order
progressing from clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades.)
Each player is allowed one bet and three raises in each betting round.
To continue to play, players must take an action from what is displayed
to them on each "street" or betting round (unless they are all-in).
The Second Round:
After the first round of betting another card is dealt face-up to each
player that still remains in the pot (those who didn't fold on "third
street"). This is "Fourth Street" (the second round of betting). From
"Fourth Street" on, the highest hand showing begins the action by
checking or betting. If a pair is showing on "Fourth Street", players
have the option to make a single or double bet. If a player makes a
single/double bet, the other players may call, raise the single bet,
raise the double bet or fold. In case of a double bet, only an equal
amount can be raised (to the extent of the double bet).
The Third Round:
Upon completion of the betting on "fourth street", another card is dealt
face-up to those who remain in the pot. This is called "Fifth Street"
(the third round of betting - which doubles (the value of each bet is
double of what was available in the first two rounds) - and continues at
this amount for the remaining betting rounds). The highest hand showing
again starts the action by checking or betting.
The Fourth Round:
Upon the completion of betting on "fifth street", another card is dealt
face-up. This is "Sixth Street" (fourth betting round).
The Fifth Round:
The final card is dealt down. The last card is also known as the "River
Card" or "Seventh Street" (final round of betting).
Some standard rules
A maximum of four bets, which includes one bet, and three raises are
allowed for each betting round per player. To continue to play, players
must take an action from what is displayed to them on each "street" or
betting round (unless they are all-in). The term cap is used to describe
the final raise in a round since betting is then capped and no one can
make another raise. Once capped, players will have the option of calling
or folding only. Folding can be done at any stage of the game. The
action of folding basically shows the player cards being moved to the
dealer. The player from then on would not be considered as part of the
game. He/she would not have any rights over any pots created on the
table.
Poker is typically played "table stakes", meaning only the chips in play
at the beginning of each hand may be used throughout the hand. This
means that the player cannot get additional funds from the cashier while
he is in the midst of a game. The table stakes rule has an application
called the "All-In" rule, which states that a player cannot be forced to
forfeit a hand because the player does not have enough chips to call a
bet.
Exceptions to the value of betting in each round:
A player who does not have enough chips to call a bet is declared
All-In. The player is eligible for the portion of the pot to the point
of his final wager. All further action involving other players takes
place in a "side pot", which is unavailable to the player who has
already gone All-In. When a player goes All-in, the pot currently at the
center of the table, which has contributions from him/her as well, is
treated as the main pot, over which the All-in player has rights. After
the player goes all-in, all the new bets are placed in a side pot, over
which only the contributing players have rights. The All-in player does
not have any rights over the side pot. The side pot is then given to the
next winning combination.
As this is a multi player game, the players are expected to play within
a set time frame, the actions during their turn. On EmpirePoker we
provide players with approximately 30 seconds to play with. Initially
the player is given 10 seconds, after which there is a timer countdown,
which is displayed on the table for 20 seconds. The user goes all-in if
he has contributed some money to the pot; otherwise his hand is folded
in case he/she does not respond in time. The system is intelligent in
detecting if the player has got disconnected or not. This means if a
players gets disconnected and reconnects back and he has some seconds
left for his turn, then he is given an additional 20 seconds to play his
turn. But if the player is not able to connect back to the table before
the time elapses, then the player goes All-in. All-in basically means
that the player is in the game, but would not be an active player
(placing any bets). Whatever pot is collected till this time is referred
as the main pot, and the all-in player has rights (if he wins) to this
pot only. After this the money that is bet on the table is added to a
side pot, over which the all-in player does not have any rights (if he
wins).
Upon completion of the final round of betting, the best hand wins the
pot. (The pot may also be won by someone who bets without being called
at any time during the hand.). Your "hand" is determined by using the
best five of seven cards. A combination of the following may be used -
- Five cards from
the seven dealt to you
- One board
(community) card and four of the cards dealt to you.
There is a set
rank of cards, which is used for deciding the winning combination.
If two or more hands
are the same ranking, the winner is the one having the higher cards. For
example, a Flush with an Ace high beats a Flush with a King high. If the
poker hands remain tied, then the highest card not being held in common
(the kicker) determines the winner.
The suit order of the cards is not taken into account while deciding on
the winning cards. EmpirePoker follow standard rules of poker. Should
poker hands be absolutely identical in ranking, the rule of poker pot
distribution will be split evenly between the two or more winning
players. If there is an odd chip, the winning player to the left of the
button/dealer will receive it. This applies to both play money and poker
for real money.
For all the five rounds of betting, the house based on set rules
collects a commission, which is known as the rake in poker terminology.
The rules set at EmpirePoker are:
ALL MONEY GAMES will
be raked according to the chart below:
| Limit |
Number of Players |
Pot Size |
Rake |
| $0.50/$1.00 |
2 - 10 |
$5 |
$0.50 |
| and $1/$2 |
|
$12 |
$0.75 |
| |
|
$20 |
$1.00 |
 |
| $2/$4 |
2 - 3 |
$20 |
$1.00 |
| |
4 - 5 |
$20 |
$1.00 |
| thru |
|
$30 |
$1.50 |
| $10/$20 |
|
$40 |
$2.00 |
| |
6 - 10 |
$20 |
$1.00 |
| |
|
$30 |
$1.50 |
| |
|
$40 |
$2.00 |
| |
|
$50 |
$2.50 |
| |
|
$60 |
$3.00 |
|
|
| $15/$30 |
2 - 3 |
$40 |
$1.00 |
| |
4 - 5 |
$40 |
$1.00 |
| thru |
|
$55 |
$1.50 |
| $30/$60 |
|
$70 |
$2.00 |
| |
6 - 10 |
$40 |
$1.00 |
| |
|
$55 |
$1.50 |
| |
|
$70 |
$2.00 |
| |
|
$85 |
$2.50 |
| |
|
$100 |
$3.00 |
|