General
5 Card Stud Poker is rarely, if ever, played at casinos. It is most often found being played by friends or family at home.
The rules for 5 Card Stud Poker is similar to 7 Card Stud Poker. The obvious difference is the game is played to total hand of five cards and not seven.
Game Play
All players are required to contribute to the Ante, and are then dealt two cards. One card face down and the other face up.
The lowest face up card determines who opens the betting. If there is a tie, then the suit of the cards determines order. Betting happens in the same manner as 7 Card Stud Poker with play rotating clockwise. Once this round is complete its onto the Third Street round. Again the players are dealt one card face up. Low Limit bets are placed in this round and players have the same options (Call, Raise and Fold) as in 7 Card Stud Poker.
In the next round (Fourth Street), another open (Face Up) card is dealt, and betting is done, as in 7 Card Stud Poker, with the table High Limit. For the Fifth Street round, the final card can either be dealt face up, or face down, depending on the specific rules being used. Betting again occurs as in 7 Card Stud Poker's Seventh Street, with checking, calling, raising or folding.
Once the fifth Street betting is completed, the Showdown occurs where the person with the highest poker hand takes the pot.
The reason most players don't prefer 5 Card Stud Poker, is due to the fact that because by the Fourth Street round, all the players more or less know what hand you have and that makes bluffing very difficult.
