The game begins with each player being dealt two cards face down and one card face up. The player with the lowest-ranking upcard pays the bring-in (a forced bet - like a blind), and betting proceeds after that in normal clockwise order. The bring-in is considered an open, so the next player in turn may not check. If two players have equally ranked low cards, suit may be used to break the tie and assign the bring-in (worst-best: club, diamond, heart, spade).
After the first betting round, another upcard is dealt to each player (after a burn card and starting at the dealer's left as will all subsequent rounds), followed by a second betting round beginning with the player whose upcards make the best poker hand. Since fewer than five cards are face up, this means no straights, flushes, or full houses will count for this purpose. On this and all subsequent betting rounds, the player whose face-up cards make the best poker hand will act first, and may check or bet up to the game's limit (3rd/4th Streets: $2 & 5th/6th/7th Streets: $4). If a player is showing a pair on 4th Street, the initial bettor has the option to bet $2 or $4.
The second round is followed by a third upcard and betting round, a fourth upcard and betting round, and finally a downcard, a fifth betting round, and showdown if necessary. Seven-card stud can be summarized therefore as "two down, four up, one down". Upon showdown, each player makes the best five-card poker hand he can out of the seven cards he was dealt.
Note that seven cards to eight players plus four burn cards makes 60 cards, and there are only 52 in the deck. In most games this is not a problem because several players will have folded in early betting rounds. But there are certainly low-stakes home games where few if any players fold. If this is the case in your game, you may want to limit the game to seven players. If the deck does become exhausted during play, previously-dealt burn cards can be used when only a few cards are needed to complete the deal. If even those are not sufficient, then on the final round instead of dealing a downcard to each player, a single community card is dealt to the center of the table, and is shared by everyone (that is, each player treats it as his seventh card).
Summary
3 Cards Dealt (2 down, 1 up)
Round of Betting
1 Card Dealt (up)
2nd Round of Betting
1 Card Dealt (up)
3rd Round of Betting (Betting Doubles)
1 Card Dealt (up)
4th Round of Betting
1 Card Dealt (down)
5th Round of Betting
Our Game
Everybody antes $0.50.
Bring-In: $1.00 (Low card showing)
3rd/4th Streets: $2-4-6-8
5th/6th/7th Streets: $4-8-12-16
