Mississippi Stud is a five-card stud game with no dealer hand. You get two cards, three community cards come out one at a time, and before each one you decide to fold or raise. Every bet is paid on a fixed paytable at the end. That gives you three decisions per hand, and each raise can be up to three times your ante. Good strategy swings far more money here than in most carnival games. Folding too little bleeds raises into losing hands. Raising too timidly with strong hands throws away the big payouts that pay for everything else.
How to play
- Place an Ante. You get two cards. Three community cards are dealt face down.
- 3rd street: fold (lose the ante) or bet 1×, 2× or 3× the ante.
- The first community card is turned.
- 4th street: fold (lose everything bet so far) or bet another 1× to 3×.
- The second community card is turned.
- 5th street: fold or bet a final 1× to 3×.
- The last community card is turned. Your five-card hand is paid on the paytable. Every bet you made (the ante and all three raises) is paid at the same odds.
Example: you hold K♠ 9♦. That’s 3 points (K = 2, 9 = 1), so raise 1×. The first card is the K♥. Now you have a pair of kings, a made hand, so raise 3×. You raise 3× again on 5th street. If nothing improves, your pair of kings pays 1 to 1 on 1 + 1 + 3 + 3 = 8 antes.
Paytable
| Final hand | Pays |
|---|---|
| Royal flush | 500 to 1 |
| Straight flush | 100 to 1 |
| Four of a kind | 40 to 1 |
| Full house | 10 to 1 |
| Flush | 6 to 1 |
| Straight | 4 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | 3 to 1 |
| Two pair | 2 to 1 |
| Pair of jacks or better | 1 to 1 |
| Pair of 6s through 10s | Push |
| Anything else | Loses |
Strategy
The standard strategy comes from Wizard of Odds analysis. Casino Coach checked it with exact dynamic programming over every deal: following these rules gives a house edge of 4.93%, against 4.915% for perfect play. The difference is under 0.02%.
The point count
| Cards | Points |
|---|---|
| J, Q, K, A (high) | 2 |
| 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (mid) | 1 |
| 2, 3, 4, 5 (low) | 0 |
Add up the points for every card you can see: your two cards plus any community cards that are face up.
3rd street (your two cards)
| Play | Hand |
|---|---|
| Raise 3× | Any pair |
| Raise 1× | At least 2 points (J-9, K-4, 10-8) |
| Raise 1× | 6-5 suited |
| Fold | Everything else |
4th street (three cards)
| Play | Hand |
|---|---|
| Raise 3× | Any made hand: a pair of 6s or better, or trips |
| Raise 3× | Royal flush draw (three suited 10s or higher) |
| Raise 3× | Straight flush draw with no gaps, 5-6-7 or higher |
| Raise 3× | Straight flush draw with one gap and at least one high card |
| Raise 3× | Straight flush draw with two gaps and at least two high cards |
| Raise 1× | Any other three suited cards |
| Raise 1× | A low pair (2s–5s) |
| Raise 1× | At least 3 points |
| Raise 1× | Straight draw with no gaps, 4-5-6 or higher |
| Raise 1× | Straight draw with one gap and two mid cards |
| Fold | Everything else |
5th street (four cards)
| Play | Hand |
|---|---|
| Raise 3× | Any made hand: a pair of 6s or better, two pair, trips |
| Raise 3× | Four to a flush |
| Raise 3× | Four to an outside straight, 8 high or better |
| Raise 1× | Any other straight draw |
| Raise 1× | A low pair (2s–5s) |
| Raise 1× | At least 4 points |
| Raise 1× | Three mid cards, if you raised 3× on an earlier street |
| Fold | Everything else |
Rules of thumb
- Made hands get the max. Once you hold a pair of 6s or better, you can’t lose. You either push or win, so bet 3×.
- The bar rises each street: 2 points, then 3, then 4. Each new card has to keep pulling its weight.
- Never raise 2×. The value of a hand climbs faster than the size of the raise, so the best play is always at an extreme: fold, the minimum or the maximum.
- What you’ve already bet matters. The last 5th-street rule (three mid cards after an earlier 3× raise) exists because more money is already on the table.
Common mistakes
- Raising only 1× with a made hand. A pair of 6s or better on 4th or 5th street is already a push or a win. Always bet 3×.
- Folding a low pair. A pair of 2s through 5s deserves at least a 1× raise on every street. It’s a 3× raise on 3rd street.
- Chasing junk on 3rd street. Hands with 0 or 1 point (other than 6-5 suited) should fold. Raising 1× with 4♣ 2♦ costs about 0.72 antes, per the trainer’s exact EV. The ante is the cheapest loss you’ll get.
- Raising 2×. It’s never the best option. It splits the difference between two plays, and at most one of them is correct.
- Folding too much. J♠ 3♦ looks weak, but it’s 2 points and a 1× raise is worth about 0.10 antes more than folding.
House edge explained
With optimal play, Mississippi Stud’s house edge is 4.91% of the ante. That looks steep next to other carnival games, but you bet about 3.59 antes per hand on average. Measured against all the money you put at risk, the edge is only about 1.37% (Wizard of Odds’ element-of-risk figure).
What drives the edge:
- Low pairs lose and mid pairs only push. Many hands that feel like winners return nothing.
- You pay to see cards. Each raise buys one more card. Good strategy only buys when the draw is worth the price.
- Folding forfeits everything bet so far. Folding on 5th street can cost you the ante and two raises, which is why the early-street rules are strict.
Best play: the point-count strategy above. Worst habit: raising timidly. Most of your profit comes from 3× raises on made hands and strong draws.
Variations to look for: the 4.91% figure assumes the standard paytable above. Check the posted paytable before you sit down, because any cut to a payout raises the house edge.
Practice in Casino Coach
Casino Coach deals Mississippi Stud with other players at the table and the standard paytable. In Trainer mode, every street decision is graded against the exact EV of folding, 1×, 2× and 3×, calculated by enumerating every remaining card with perfect play afterward. Near-ties count as “either is fine”, and you can block wrong plays until you correct them. The Street decisions drill serves fold, 1× or 3× choices on any street, with the bets already made shown because they change the answer. The Point count drill builds instant point counting. Analytics shows your accuracy by street, the EV lost to mistakes and your results against expectation. Chips are free, so train every street until it’s automatic.
Mississippi Stud FAQ
Should you ever raise 2x in Mississippi Stud?
No. Raising 2x is never the best play. The right answer on every street is always fold, 1x or 3x.
What do you do with a pair on 3rd street in Mississippi Stud?
Raise 3x with any pair, even 2s. A pair of 6s or better is already at least a push, and a small pair still has good chances to improve.
How does the Mississippi Stud point count work?
Jacks through aces count 2 points, 6 through 10 count 1 point, and 2 through 5 count 0. On 3rd street, raise 1x with 2 or more points. On 4th street you need 3 points, and on 5th street 4 points.
What is the house edge in Mississippi Stud?
With optimal play it is 4.91% of the ante. Because you raise on most hands you play, the edge on all money bet (the element of risk) is about 1.37%.
What hand pushes in Mississippi Stud?
A pair of 6s through 10s pushes, so you get every bet back. A pair of jacks or better pays 1 to 1, and a pair of 2s through 5s loses.
Practise Mississippi Stud until it's automatic
Real table, free chips, and a trainer that grades every decision with the expected value of each option.
Updated October 24, 2026