There are a number of different versions of stud poker, the most common being the five card and seven card variations.
In five card stud poker each player is given a card face down, followed by one card face up, starting with the first person on the left of the dealer. Betting then starts.
It should be pointed out that in some house rule games, an ante may or may not have been decided on beforehand. Also, in some games a forced bet called a ‘bring in’ might also be used. This is an initial bet placed by one of the players based on the value (highest or lowest depending on the game being played) of the face up card.
If a ‘bring in’ is used, betting then starts with the player next to the ‘bring in’.
After the first round of betting, the dealer burns the top card of the deck and then gives each player another face up card.
Betting starts again with the person who has the best poker hand showing at that time.
Once this betting round has finished, the dealer then gives each player a third card face up and a third round of betting begins (again based on the best poker hand).
After this round, a fourth face up card is dealt and another betting round begins. After this, if there is more than one player left contending for the pot, there is a showdown.