How To Play Baseball Poker

Step 1: General

Baseball poker is a variation of 7 Card Stud which has a reputation as one of the most well known poker games, and is often considered more sophisticated than Texas Hold'em because of the betting structure. This form of poker does not involve any community cards, only a mixture of "pocket" or "hole" cards and "door" cards from which your best hand is to be selected

Players are dealt seven cards throughout the course of the hand, but only the best five-card hand possible for each player is used to determine the winner.
In baseball threes and nines are wild cards - wild cards can be given any value. If a player is dealt a four then he receives another card face down. The rest of the rules for baseball follow the rules of seven card stud.

Step 2: Ante

Instead of blinds, in a game of Stud, all players have to put an ante into the pot to get the betting started.

Step 3: The deal

To begin the starting hand each player receives in turn from the dealer three cards, the first two are dealt face down (pocket cards) then a card is dealt face up. After these cards have been dealt, the first round of betting occurs, beginning with the "bring-in".

Step 4: The bring in

The player with the lowest showing door card must post the "bring-in", a mandatory initial bet of at least as much as the ante.

Step 5: Fourth Street

After the Bring-In bets have all been called, each player is now dealt another face up card, called "Fourth Street." Now, the highest showing hand opens the betting round. If a pair is showing for any hand on Fourth Street, that player has the option of doubling their bet amount, and "raising the stake" for this betting round. Otherwise, Fourth Street bets and raises are limited to the small stake.

Step 6: Fifth street

Another face up card is dealt to each player, and the high hand opens the betting round and betting continues as before.

Step 7: Sixth street

Another face up card is dealt to each player, and the high hand opens the betting round and betting continues as before.

Step 8: Seventh street or the river

The final card is dealt to each player face down, making a total of seven cards in each hand. Now the final betting round begins, and as before, the highest showing hand starts the betting.

Step 9: The Showdown

All the bets have been called, and it's time to pay the winner. The last player to bet or raise during the final betting round (the river) will show their hand first. If all the players checked through, the winning player is the one who has the highest hand using five cards including wild cards.