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Five-card stud is the oldest form of stud poker. Each player gets one card face down (the hole card) and one face up, and then three more face-up cards, one at a time, with a betting round after each card. That makes four betting rounds. The best five-card hand at the showdown wins, unless one player bets and everyone else folds first. [2][3] In China, Hong Kong and Taiwan the same game is known as 梭哈 (suō hā), a borrowing of the English “show hand”, and it is usually played with a short deck of 28 cards, 8 to ace. [5][6]
| Cards per player | 5: one face down, four face up [3] |
|---|---|
| Deck | 52 cards in the Western game; 28 cards (8 to A) in most Chinese 梭哈 rules [3][6] |
| Players | Up to 10 with 52 cards; 2 to 4 in 28-card 梭哈 [3][6] |
| Betting rounds | 4, one after each upcard [2] |
| Forced bets | Ante, often with a bring-in by the lowest upcard [3] |
| Who acts first later | The best hand showing [3] |
| Origin | United States, around the time of the Civil War (1860s) [2][3] |
How a hand is dealt
Cards are dealt clockwise, one at a time, starting with the player to the dealer’s left. Because each player needs only five cards, a 52-card deck is enough for up to 10 players. [3] A hand runs like this:
- Antes. Every player puts an ante in the pot.
- Second street. Each player gets one card face down and one face up. First betting round.
- Third street. A second upcard. Second betting round.
- Fourth street. A third upcard. Third betting round.
- Fifth street. A fourth upcard. Fourth and last betting round.
- Showdown. The players still in turn over their hole cards, and the best five-card hand takes the pot. [3]
Your hand is simply the five cards in front of you. One variation deals the last card face down. [3]
Betting: antes, the bring-in and who acts first
Rules differ most here. There are two common ways to open the first round:
- Bring-in by the lowest card. The player showing the lowest upcard must make a small forced bet, the bring-in. Pagat describes this as the normal rule in formal games hosted by American casinos. [3] If two low cards tie, suit breaks the tie. [2] Robert’s Rules of Poker uses the same approach for seven-card stud, with suits ranked spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs from highest to lowest. [4]
- High card first, no bring-in. The traditional rule, still common in home games: the player with the highest upcard acts first and may check. Without a bring-in, the ante should be larger. [2][3]
On every later round, the player whose upcards make the best poker hand acts first. Pairs, two pair and three of a kind count; partial straights and flushes do not. So the first player can change from round to round. [2][3]
Five-card stud can be played fixed limit, pot limit or no limit. [2] In a typical fixed-limit game with a $5 small bet and a $10 big bet, the ante might be $0.50 and the bring-in $2. Later players can “complete” the $2 bring-in to a full $5 bet. In the second round, big bets are allowed if anyone shows a pair. In casino games the last two rounds use big bets only, but many home games do not follow that rule. [3]
The showdown
If two or more players remain after the last bet, they show their hole cards and the best hand wins. Most hands never get there: with four cards face up, a player often bets and nobody calls. [2] In casino poker, suits never decide who wins a pot; identical hands split it. [4] Chinese 梭哈 rules are different, as explained below.
Hand rankings and odds with 52 cards
Five-card stud uses the standard poker ranking. Because you get exactly five cards, the odds of being dealt each hand are the classic five-card numbers. [1]
| Hand | Example | Ways to make it | Chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight flush | 9♠️ 8♠️ 7♠️ 6♠️ 5♠️ | 40 | 1 in 64,974 |
| Four of a kind | Q♠️ Q♥️ Q♦️ Q♣️ 4♥️ | 624 | 1 in 4,165 |
| Full house | J♠️ J♥️ J♣️ 6♦️ 6♠️ | 3,744 | 1 in 694 |
| Flush | A♦️ J♦️ 8♦️ 5♦️ 2♦️ | 5,108 | 1 in 509 |
| Straight | 10♣️ 9♥️ 8♦️ 7♠️ 6♣️ | 10,200 | 1 in 255 |
| Three of a kind | 7♠️ 7♥️ 7♦️ K♣️ 2♠️ | 54,912 | 1 in 47 |
| Two pair | K♠️ K♦️ 5♥️ 5♣️ 9♠️ | 123,552 | 1 in 21 |
| One pair | 8♥️ 8♣️ A♠️ 10♦️ 3♥️ | 1,098,240 | 42.3% |
| High card | A♣️ Q♦️ 9♠️ 6♥️ 3♣️ | 1,302,540 | 50.1% |
Half of all five-card hands contain no pair, so a single high pair often wins.
A worked example hand
Four players, a 52-card deck, fixed limit with a 1-chip ante, a 2-chip bring-in, small bets of 5 and big bets of 10 on the last two rounds. The pot starts at 4 chips.
- First round. Upcards: Ana 9♥️, Ben 3♣️, Chen Q♠️, Dana J♦️. Ben has the lowest card and brings it in for 2. Chen (hole card A♦️) completes to 5. Dana folds, Ana (hole card K♠️) calls 5, and Ben folds. Pot: 16.
- Second round. Ana gets 9♣️ and Chen gets 10♠️. Ana’s pair of nines is the best hand showing, so she acts first. She bets 5 and Chen calls. Pot: 26.
- Third round. Ana gets 2♦️, Chen gets J♠️. Chen now shows Q♠️ J♠️ 10♠️ and holds an ace, so a king makes him a straight. Ana bets 10 and Chen calls. Pot: 46.
- Fourth round. Ana gets 5♠️, Chen gets K♦️. Ana still shows the best hand (a pair) and checks. Chen bets 10 and Ana calls. Pot: 66.
- Showdown. Chen turns over A♦️ for an ace-high straight, A K Q J 10. Ana has a pair of nines with a king. Chen wins 66 chips.
梭哈 (suō hā): the Chinese short-deck version
梭哈, pinyin suō hā, is the Chinese name for five-card stud. Wiktionary records it as a borrowing from English “show hand”. [5] Other names include 沙蟹 and, in Cantonese, 話事啤 (Hong Kong). [5] Chinese sources also call it 港式五张 (“Hong Kong five-card”), the game made famous by Hong Kong gambling films such as 《赌神》 (God of Gamblers). [8][9]
The deal is the same as the Western game: one hole card, then four upcards, with betting starting after the second card. The main differences, as published by Chinese rules sites and online game rules, are: [6][7][9]
- The deck. 28 cards: 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K and A in four suits, for 2 to 4 players.
- No bring-in. The player with the best cards showing bets first on every round, then play goes clockwise.
- Hand order. Straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card. A full house beats a flush, as in the 52-card game.
- Suits break ties. Spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds, from highest to lowest (黑桃, 红桃, 草花, 方片). Equal hands are decided by suit, not split. [7]
- Straights. In most rule sets, 8 and A do not connect, so A 8 9 10 J is not a straight. Some sites let the ace play as a 7 to make the lowest straight. [9]
- “Show hand”. Calling 梭哈 (or 梭了) during a hand means betting the maximum the table allows, in effect going all in. [6][7]
Not every version is short-deck. A Tencent News explainer on Hong Kong films says the 港式五张 seen there uses all 52 cards. [8] A related Western game, Asian five-card stud (also called Americana), removes the 2s to 6s to leave 32 cards (7 to A), and there a flush ranks above a full house. [2] We found no Chinese rule set for 梭哈 that ranks the flush above the full house.
Hand odds with the 28-card 梭哈 deck
| Hand (梭哈 order) | Chinese name | Ways to make it | Chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight flush | 同花顺 | 12 | 1 in 8,190 |
| Four of a kind | 铁支 | 168 | 1 in 585 |
| Full house | 葫芦 | 1,008 | 1 in 98 |
| Flush | 同花 | 72 | 1 in 1,365 |
| Straight | 顺子 | 3,060 | 1 in 32 |
| Three of a kind | 三条 | 6,720 | 1 in 15 |
| Two pair | 两对 | 15,120 | 15.4% |
| One pair | 对子 | 53,760 | 54.7% |
| High card | 散牌 | 18,360 | 18.7% |
The numbers show something surprising. With only seven ranks, a flush (72 ways) is 14 times rarer than a full house (1,008 ways), and even rarer than four of a kind (168 ways). The usual 梭哈 ranking keeps the familiar 52-card order anyway, while stripped-deck games such as Asian five-card stud move the flush above the full house. [1][2] In the 32-card version (7 to A), a flush has 208 ways against 1,344 for a full house. [1] Before you play, agree which order your table uses.
A short history
Stud poker appeared in America as early as the 1860s, and five-card stud was its first form. [3] Wikipedia dates its origin to the American Civil War. [2] It was a World Series of Poker event in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974, and Bill Boyd won all four. It was dropped from the 1975 schedule and has not returned. [2] In the late 20th century seven-card stud and community card games such as Texas Hold’em overtook it. [3] Today it is still played in parts of the world, especially Finland, where a version called Sökö is popular. [2] In Chinese-speaking regions it lives on as 梭哈.
Frequently asked questions
Is 梭哈 the same as five-card stud?
Yes, in structure: one hole card, four upcards and a betting round after each upcard. Wiktionary defines 梭哈 as five-card stud. [5] The usual Chinese rules change the details: a 28-card deck (8 to A), the best hand showing always bets first, and suits break ties. [6][7]
Does a flush beat a full house in 梭哈?
Not in the Chinese rule sets we checked: they all rank the full house (葫芦) above the flush (同花). [6][7][8] The flush ranks higher in Western stripped-deck games such as Asian five-card stud and Telesina. [2]
What is the difference between five-card stud and seven-card stud?
Seven-card stud deals two hole cards and one upcard, then three more upcards and a final hole card, with five betting rounds. You make your best five-card hand from seven cards. [4] In five-card stud you get five cards, one hidden, and four betting rounds.
Who bets first in five-card stud?
On the first round, either the lowest upcard pays a bring-in (the casino rule) or the highest upcard acts first (the traditional rule). On every later round, the best hand showing acts first. [2][3]
How many players can play five-card stud?
Up to 10 with a 52-card deck. [3] With the 28-card 梭哈 deck, published rules allow 2 to 4 players. [6][7]
What does “梭哈” mean when people say it at the table?
Besides the name of the game, it is the call to bet the maximum allowed, the equivalent of going all in. [6][7]
Keep learning
- How to play seven-card stud, the stud game that replaced five-card stud.
- How to play Razz, seven-card stud played for the lowest hand.
- Poker hand rankings, from straight flush to high card.
- Poker basic rules and gameplay: antes, blinds and betting options.
- How to play Texas Hold’em, step by step.
- How to play poker: all our rules and variant guides.
Sources
- World Poker Federation, full enumeration of five-card hands from 52-card, 28-card (8 to A) and 32-card (7 to A) decks, October 23, 2026.
- Wikipedia, Five-card stud, accessed October 23, 2026.
- John McLeod, Pagat.com, Five Card Stud Poker, accessed October 23, 2026.
- Bob Ciaffone, Robert’s Rules of Poker, Version 11 (Section 8, Seven-Card Stud; Ties), accessed October 23, 2026.
- Wiktionary, 梭哈, and Chinese Wikipedia, 梭哈, accessed October 23, 2026.
- 梭哈 Poker, “梭哈”游戏起源、历史、简介 (rules and origin), in Chinese, accessed October 23, 2026.
- NetEase (163.com), 梭哈游戏规则你知道吗？, July 7, 2017, in Chinese, accessed October 23, 2026.
- Tencent News, 一篇文章看懂赌片”黑话”！赌神玩的梭哈怎么玩, July 29, 2020, in Chinese, accessed October 23, 2026.
- Cnblogs, 梭哈玩法, July 10, 2011, and 360 Games, 港式五张规则, June 28, 2017, both in Chinese, accessed October 23, 2026.
Written by the WPF Editorial Team with the help of AI tools, then checked and edited by our team. Hand frequencies were calculated by the WPF and compared with published references. House rules for five-card stud and 梭哈 vary, so agree on them before you play. Last verified: October 23, 2026. Poker should be played for fun and within your means; you must be of legal age in your country to play for money.
