Rules of Studded Guts Poker

Studded Guts is isn't particularly popular these days. It's a 5 Card Stud variant and does have in it's favor - it generates monster pots. The word 'Guts' in the name isn't there by chance. The reason for this being such a game of guts is that there are a number of things that need to happen to actually win a hand. A secondary hand is dealt during the game, also known as a 'ghost hand'. No player actually owns this hand. To win a pot a player must i) have the best hand, ii) beat the ghost hand and iii) have the highest single card out of both hands (ours and ghost). If all these conditions aren't met, the money stays in the pot and the next hand begins. This can go on for quite a few hands, meaning that 'monster pots' isn't an understatement. Hitting all 3 conditions can prove a challenge - this is perhaps the reason that it hasn't caught on as much as some other games. For anyone that knows poker, the more money in the pot, the more fierce the competition is to win it.

In terms of the actual game play, it's no different from 5 Card Stud. Check out this guide on how to play 5 Card Stud. In any case, here's a quick recap on the order of play:

All players ante

Each player is dealt one card face-down (hole card) and one card face-up (door card)

First betting round

Each player is dealt one card face-up

Second betting round

Each player is dealt another card face-up (4th street)

Third betting round

Each player is dealt a last card face-up (river)

Final betting round

Showdown

The best 5 card poker hand would win as long as the highest player card beats the ghost hand and the player with the best hand also has the single highest card (between their hand and the ghost hand). Unfortunately, this game isn't available to play online. We do have listings of the games that are currently available online.