Stud poker is a version of poker where each player is dealt a mix of face-down or “hole” cards and face up cards or “upcards” throughout the betting rounds.

Fun fact — the expression “ace in the hole” comes from hole cards, because these are the ones that are hidden from view and can potentially win the game.

Stud poker games are usually non-positional. This means that whoever places the first bet will not necessarily be the first to bet in the next round. Most often, it is the player whose “upcards” constitute the best hand of the current game.

A Stud With a History

Believe it or not, it was during the American War of Independence that stud poker gained popularity. While soldiers rushed into battle during the Siege of Yorktown, only the injured stayed back and — well, played some poker, apparently!

The four-card stud poker variation was the most played one during the aforementioned Revolutionary War. The five-card stud variant originated during the American Civil War, and it gained popularity very quickly. Apparently, the North and the South had one thing in common — soldiers on both sides played stud poker.

With time, the seven-card stud game got more popular, not just in home games but in the casinos as well.

Nowadays, the five- and seven-card stud games are what the modern variations are based on.

The betting rounds influence the betting structure of the game. A betting structure can go down in 4 ways. If it is a fixed-limit structure, it means that players can only bet/raise one (single) amount per round of betting. A spread-limit is when the bet/raise a player can make per round is limited to amounts within a spread or range. The pot-limit refers to the amount of cash players can bet or raise between whatever is determined as the minimum bet and whatever amount the pot size is in that current moment. Since there are a minimum and maximum limit, you can’t under-bet or over-bet. Finally, there is the no-limit variant, which means the only “limit” is the minimum amount of the game and the amount of cash that is on the table at that moment.

Five-card stud games have a maximum of four betting rounds, and they work well with any betting structure, especially no-limit and pot-limit style.

Studs with more betting rounds work better with the fixed- or spread-limit variations. Usually, the betting rounds have progressively higher limits, and the final round has the highest one.

Another common practice is to allow a higher bet in the 2nd round if a player receives an “open pair” — 2 of the cards that have been dealt face up.

One last convention to mention is that stud poker gave special and logical names to its betting rounds — a heritage from the original soldier-players, no doubt. So when everyone has 3 cards, the betting round begins and it’s called Third Street; when everyone has 4 cards, the round is called Fourth Street and so on. However many rounds there are, the end round is commonly called — River.

How To Play Mexican Stud

Here is where the story gets loco.

Many versions of five-stud poker are called Mexican-stud, Mexican poker or, simply, stud loco.

This version of poker is usually played with a “stripped” deck. This is a deck where some cards have been removed, usually to speed up the game a bit. Oftentimes, “wild” cards are used, meaning that a certain card is pegged to represent any other card you might be needing to boost your hand.

An example of a stripped stud with wilds is one where all 8s, 9s, and 10s get taken out of the deck, but then a Joker card is added. This way the deck has a total of 41 cards.

The next logical consequence is that the cards no longer go 5-6-7-8-9 but instead 5-6-7-J-Q and so on, and then that’s your straight. In this variation, a flush is stronger than a full house because it is rarer to get.

As for the Joker card, there are again variations of interpretation.

For example, if it is dealt face up, it’s a full on wild. If dealt face down, however, then it becomes a bug. A bug just means that it is used as an ace unless you’re missing a card to complete a flush or a straight. In that case, it becomes the filler you need. In another example, if it’s dealt as a hole card, then it’s a full wild, and if it faces up, then it can be an ace or a filler for a straight or flush. In the Shifting Sands variation of Mexican stud, for example, each player’s hole card (and all cards of that rank) can be used as wilds for that player only.

Just depends on which sub-variation you choose.

Needless to add — the player with the highest hand wins the pot.