Seven card stud poker has been growing in popularity during the last few years. Actually each of the three Stud poker variants has grown at roughly the same pace. In 2010, 7 card stud, 7 card stud h/l and razz poker traffic levels are up around 200% compared to the same time last year and roughly 400% compared to 2008. Each week the 2 largest online poker rooms host a huge guaranteed tournament for each Stud variant with prize pools ranging from $5,.000 to $10,000. In this post I will give a breakdown of the current popularity for each stud poker variant in 2010.
7 Card Stud In 2010
Seven card stud has seen an enormous increase in traffic at a wide range of stakes. At Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker alone you can find not hundreds but thousands of real money 7 card stud players around the clock. More 7 card stud tournaments are running per day in 2010 compared to the number of stud tournament that run per week in 2007.
7 Card Stud H/L In 2010
Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo has also seen a comparable increase in traffic at both ring tables and tournaments. Stud HL offers slightly less traffic than Stud at most poker rooms and the tournament action is roughly the same.
Razz Poker In 2010
Razz poker has easily been the biggest gainer out of the three stud games. This is especially true for Razz poker tournaments. At Pokerstars for example there is a big guaranteed event for each stud game as I mentioned above. The stud and stud hl events only have $5,000 prize pools while the razz poker tournament is double that at $10,000. I would say there are 50% more razz poker tournaments than 7 card stud or stud 8 or better.
Stud Poker In Mixed Poker Games
Mixed poker games have exploded in 2008-2009 as well. Every major mixed poker game these days includes at least one stud poker variant, if not all three. H.O.R.S.E poker has been the most popular mixed game for the last 50 years and it includes all three. In 2010, two new variants have taken the lead and they include all three as well, 7-Game Mix and 8-Game Mix. As mixed games grow the stud games will gain more traffic as players fall in love with them or just want to become better players so they can compete in the mixed games.
