What Is Mississippi Stud?
Mississippi Stud is a poker variation created by Scientific Games, American gambling corporation known as the first company to introduce instant lottery tickets in 1974. The objective was to attract a younger generation of players and poker neophytes by offering a game with simple structure, easy-to-master strategies, and a low house edge.
A Disclaimer From Us –
If you have read other articles and how-to’s from us, you know that this is around where we would start to list some images for you so that you could see what we’re talking about. We don’t have any.
You see, the casinos that make our list genuinely deserve to be there. We won’t throw just anyone up there.
The problem now is that this game is not available at any of those casinos. So why would we tell you about it?
We know the game is gaining in popularity and we still want you to do well if you do find a place you’d like to play it.
We will gladly update this as soon as that changes. Until then, you can at least learn the best strategy so that you’re ready to go as soon as it is!
Bovada, BetOnline, and MyBookie are among the favorites!
Also, make sure you check out “10 Baccarat Myths and Misconceptions“
How to Play Mississippi Stud – Basic Rules and Table Layout
Scientific Games has definitely delivered on their promise to create the kind of poker variant that can be mastered in no more than a couple of minutes, regardless of any prior poker experience. The entire session can be broken into the following stages:
Step 1:
Players submit the Ante bet and receive 2 cards which will be combined with the 3 community cards (3rd Street, 4th Street, and 5th Street), all facing down and revealed one at the time in the subsequent stages of the betting process. The 3-Card Bonus bet must be submitted at the same time as the Ante bet, otherwise, it will not be acknowledged.
This guy here? He’s the card from Jump Street!
This then gets followed by
Step 2:
The player’s 2 cards are revealed, and the following options become available:
Fold
Drop out of the hand.
Raise
Submit a new bet equal to (or higher than) the Ante. The value of the follow-up bets can be up to x3 the Ante
If you decide to raise, one of the community cards will be revealed, and the players will once again have to choose between folding their hand or raising the stake until all the community cards are revealed.
The bets are settled when the last, 5th Street Card is disclosed, and the payout rate depends on the hand ranking:
- Royal Flush: 500:1
- Straight Flush: 100:1
- 4 of a Kind: 40:1
- Full House: 10:1
- Flush: 6:1
- Straight: 4:1
- 3 of a Kind: 3:1
- 2 Pairs: 2:1
- Pair of Jacks or up: 1:1
- Pair of 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, and 10s: Push
- Other: Bets are lost
Bonus Bet
The optional 3-Card Bonus bet wins if a Pair or a higher-ranking hand is formed by the community cards. The bet is settled independently from the Ante, according to the following payout table:
- Mini Royal – 50:1
- Straight Flush – 40:1
- 3 of a Kind – 30:1
- Straight – 6:1
- Flush – 4:1
- Pair – 1:1
This isn’t ‘Mississippi Stud’! What is this?!
This is just a small taste of the table games that are available at Bovada!
Mississippi Stud Tips and Strategies
Players who are still at the beginner level can activate the “Enable Advice” feature, which will suggest the best move.
The Mississippi Stud strategic principles were developed by Joseph Kisenwether, a mathematician and a former employee at Bally Technologies (Scientific Games subsidiary), Gaming Laboratories, and GameTech International.
The strategy is, of course, based on the value of the player’s initial two cards, and before the community cards are revealed, one should:
- Raise the stake x3 if the first two cards form any Pair
- Raise the stake x1 if one of the cards is high (A, J, Q, or K)
- Raise the stake x1 if one of the cards is a medium value card (6, 7, 8, 9, or 10)
- Raise the stake x1 with suited 5/6
Fold if none of the above applies.
After the first community card is revealed, the players will have more information about the possible outcome. At this point of the game, the strategy commands to:
- Raise x3 on any mid-value Pair or a higher-ranking hand
- Raise x3 on Royal Flush draw (a partially formed Royal Flush that needs extra cards to be completed)
- Raise x3 on Straight Flush draw with no gaps, 5-6-7 or up (in other words, the cards should be sequential)
- Raise x3 on Straight Flush draw with one gap (one missing connector card) and at least one high card
- Raise x3 on Straight Flush draw with two gaps and at least 2 high cards
- Raise x1 on any three suited cards
- Raise x1 on a low Pair
- Raise x1 on two or three high cards
- Raise x1 on three medium value cards
- Raise x1 on one high + one medium value card
- Raise x1 on a Straight draw, 4-5-6 or up (no gaps)
- Raise x1 on a Straight draw with one gap + two medium value cards
Before the last, 5th card, is revealed, the players are advised to follow these principles:
- Raise x3 on a “made hand” (a Pair or a higher hand usually formed by the player’s cards, independently from the community pile)
- Raise x3 on any four to a Flush
- Raise x3 on any four to an outside Straight, 8 high or up. (Outside hand can be completed from both ends: _9-8-7-6_ )
- Raise x1 on any Straight draw
- Raise x1 on a low Pair
- Raise x1 on two high cards
- Raise x1 on one high and two medium-value cards
- Raise x1 on one high card if you have already raised x3 on the previous two hands
- Raise x1 on 3 medium-value hands if you have previously raised x3 at least once
Fold otherwise.
Of course, you will not need to memorize all of this if you simply remember to activate the “advice” feature, but the guidelines above can be a great basis of developing your own strategy.
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