Exposing Seven-Card Stud

by Mike O Malley | Published: Jan 02, 2004

I was playing in a $20-$40 mixed game recently that included my least favorite game, seven-card stud. A situation occurred that at first glance seemed like a simple decision, but after hearing the floorman's ruling and talking to some very knowledgeable poker personnel, I was surprised to learn that this situation isn't explicitly covered in most rulebooks. I was even more surprised when I realized there were many reasonable decisions that could be made for such a simple ruling.

The dealer dealt out the first downcard correctly to each player, but on the second, he exposed the downcard for the player in the No. 5 seat. By all rulebooks, the dealer would then deal the third card (an upcard) down and everything would play out normally. In this case, the dealer accidentally dealt the player's third card up, as well, leaving this player with two upcards and only one downcard.

The floorman was called to the game to make what at first appeared to be an easy decision. Given the information, what ruling seems easiest and most logical?

1. Would you rule that the player could play his hand "as is" and receive his fourth card facedown? If you allowed this, would you consider the first exposed card or the second to be his doorcard when deciding who held the low card (for bring-in purposes)?

2. Would you return the player's ante and declare his hand dead?

3. Would you make the entire hand a misdeal?

4. Would you replace an exposed card with what would be the next burn card? If so, which card would you replace?

I was surprised when the floorman ruled that he could play the hand as is and then receive his fourth card facedown. This to me seemed like a bad decision, because by allowing the player to continue with a hand that has two exposed cards, you are subjecting his play to a disadvantage for one round of betting, and are possibly altering the way the hand will play out. I talked to the floorman after the decision was made, and he explained to me that his thought process had been centered on low-limit ($1-$5) stud games when he made the decision. As much as I hate inconsistencies in rulings because of limits, I agreed that this would not be the worst ruling for a very small-limit game, as it more than likely wouldn't alter the way the hand played out. Nonetheless, I wouldn't recommend it as the correct ruling, and would never make that decision.

What about No. 2? My first reaction was to declare the player's hand dead and return his ante. I still think this is possibly the best decision to be made in this case.

Is No. 3 the right answer? I don't think making the entire hand a misdeal is the best decision. Yes, the player is entitled to play the hand, but declaring one person's hand dead instead of declaring a misdeal would be more reasonable.

Or, does the correct answer lie with No. 4? At first glance, I thought this was the correct answer, but before I could decide for sure, I realized there was a problem. If you are going to replace an exposed card with the burn card, which exposed card is the correct one to replace? The first exposed card was originally supposed to be a downcard, but as soon as it was exposed, it automatically became the upcard and the would-be upcard then became the downcard. When the dealer accidentally forgot to turn the upcard facedown, he created the real mistake. So, realistically, the second exposed card is the problem, and that is the card that should be replaced. But wait, what if the floorman can't ascertain which card was exposed first and second? All of a sudden this ruling became more confusing to me, and I realized I didn't think it would be correct. One other thing about No. 4 is that it would have to be spelled out in detail in the rulebook for it to be used.

After hearing the different possibilities, I was convinced that declaring the player's hand dead and returning his ante was the proper ruling. This ruling may seem like a small deal, but it is important to find these seldom-used rules and come up with a reasonable solution so that problems don't arise when decisions need to be made.