When you buy through affiliate links in our content, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn Techopedia’s guide to Mississippi Stud rules will give you all the information you need to know about playing this game. After reading this guide, you will be ready to play Mississippi Stud and have all the tools necessary in order to play in the most optimal way. Mississippi Stud is easy to learn and offers exciting gameplay while potentially paying out as much as 500:1 on 10x your ante in a single hand.
Mississippi Stud Fundamentals
Mississippi Stud was created around 2005 by Mark Yoseloff, who, at the time, was the CEO of Shuffle Master. It took about five years for the game to finally take off but it can now be found at most major casinos and the best online poker sites.
The goal is to make legitimate poker hands using two hole cards and three community cards. You’re paid in relation to the paytable, so the better your hand is, the more money you’ll make.
There is certainly a larger element of risk involved in Mississippi Stud as you must keep betting in order to chase high-paying hands like straights and flushes. In a perfect world, you’ll be dealt a big pocket pair and be able to bet the maximum risk-free on every street.
Mississippi Stud is very similar to Let It Ride except the game is much more volatile, requires higher wagers, and can lead to higher payouts. The key difference between the two games is that to continue seeing more community cards, it is mandatory to keep betting in Mississippi Stud. This, of course, is optional in Let It Ride, where you receive three cards and see two community cards.
If you’re still curious, let’s take a step-by-step look at how to play a hand of Mississippi Stud.
Mississippi Stud – Step-by-Step
- Each player is required to post an ante. The total you wager in a game will be determined by the size of your ante bet.
- Each player will receive two hole cards while the dealer lays three community cards face down.
- Players will then make their ‘Third Street Bet’, which can be 1x-3x their ante. Players can also decide to fold and forfeit their ante.
- The dealer will then reveal the first of three community cards.
- Players will then decide whether they want to make a ‘Fourth Street Bet’ of 1x-3x their ante or if they want to fold and forfeit previous bets.
- The dealer reveals the second of three community cards.
- Players will then make a final decision whether they want to make a ‘Fifth Street Bet’ of 1x-3x their ante or if they want to fold and forfeit all previous bets.
- The dealer reveals the third and final community card.
- Following the final card, players who have at least a pair of jacks will win a multiplier of the total amount of their wagers in relation to their hand on the paytable. A hand that’s a pair of sixes to a pair of tens will result in a push while all worse hands will result in a loss. See the paytable for exact odds.
- Players are paid out and a new hand begins.
As you can see, if you’re dealt a pocket pair of at least a pair of sixes, you’ll be able to bet 3x on every street risk-free in hopes of improving your hand. You’ll be able to bet as much as 10x your ante on every hand and win up to 500x your total wager.
Mississippi Stud Guide – Poker Hand Rankings
Just like in any poker game, it’s important to know which hands are stronger than the others. This is especially true in Mississippi Stud considering the higher your hand ranking, the more money you stand to win. The payouts, based on hand rankings, could determine whether or not it’s worth paying down extra streets.
In Mississippi Stud, you’ll be making the best five-card hand similar to most poker games.
| Poker Hand | Example |
| Royal Flush | Ts-Js-Qs-Ks-As |
| Straight Flush | 8h-9h-Th-Jh-Qh |
| Four-of-a-Kind | 5-5-5-5-X* |
| Full House | 6-6-6-2-2 |
| Flush | 2d-6d-7d-Jd-Ad |
| Straight | 3-4-5-6-7 |
| Three-of-a-Kind | A-A-A-X-X |
| Two Pair | K-K-9-9-X |
| One Pair Win (JJ+) | Q-Q-X-X-X |
| One Pair Push (66-TT) | 8-8-X-X-X |
* = any unrelated card
How to Play Mississippi Stud Online
Playing Mississippi Stud online can be a fun and potentially rewarding experience, especially if you use our tips and strategies that can be found later in this tutorial. Before you get to playing, you’re going to need to set up an account so you can start playing Mississippi Stud online for real money.
1. Find a Place to Play
Choose a reputable offshore online casino site where you can play Mississippi Stud and a whole bunch of other online casino games. We will also provide a list of the best online casino gaming retailers to play Mississippi Stud later in the article.
2. Create Your Account
From our list of reputable offshore online casinos, BetUS is our top recommendation for Mississippi Stud. Fill in some minor details and you can start playing immediately.
3. Find Your Game
Should your retailer carry Mississippi Stud, it will almost always be found in the table games section of any online casino. Click on the game to start playing.
4. Place Your Bet
On BetUS, you can wager anywhere between $1 and $100 as your ante. Keep in mind that it’s possible to wager up to 10x your ante in any given game, so bet wisely. Select your wager and hit the green check mark to start playing. In the game below, we have opted to wager $5.
5. Receive Your Hole Cards
You will receive two cards and decide whether you want to fold or place a bet that’ll range between 1x and 3x your ante. Here, we have decided to continue on for 1x since we have one high card and one medium card for a total of three points (more on that later).
6. Third Street is Revealed
The first community card is shown and players must decide if they’d like to continue or not. Like every bet you make, you must place a bet that’s between 1x and 3x your ante. Here, we decided to play on for 1x since we have a flush draw. If the ace was not a heart, we would still continue as we have a total of three points or more (five points).
7. Fourth Street is Revealed
The second community card is shown and this will be the final decision you make. Will you continue or not? Here, we lose our flush draw but have decided to see the last card for 1x since we have at least four points (six points).
8. Fifth Street is Revealed
The third and final community card is shown and there is no more betting. If you have at least a pair of jacks, all your bets win based on the paytable’s multiplier. Pairs between sixes and tens are a push on all your bets. Unfortunately, we do not hit our card and we lose a total of $20 (4x our ante).
Mississippi Stud Strategy and Tips
While some websites will advise what the optimal play is, most online casino platforms will not. This will force you to have to learn and play the best strategy possible to give yourself the best odds to win.
There are a few fundamental rules that you must follow for success during each of the three betting rounds. Cards that are a jack or higher (winning cards) are worth two points, sixes through tens (push cards) are worth one point, and deuces through fives are worth no points.
The easiest and most fun thing to remember is to 3x every single street as soon as you have at least a pair of sixes because you cannot possibly lose.
It’s worth noting that while you can make a 2x bet, there is never an appropriate time to do so. We recommend that you do not ever make 2x wagers.
Two Card Strategy
Two card strategy is quite easy to remember as there are only four rules to go by. It gets a little more complicated as the betting rounds continue.
For Texas Hold’em players, it may seem odd to not 3x hands like ace-king suited but it’s important to remember that this is not Texas Hold’em and we do not 3x anything except for pairs.
- 3x any pair
- 1x when you have at least two points
- 1x 6-5 suited
- Fold everything else
Three Card Strategy
- 3x any made hand (pair of sixes or higher)
- 3x royal flush draws
- 3x a straight flush draw (no gaps) 7-high and above
- 3x single-gap straight flush draws with one high card (J or better)
- 3x double-gap straight flush draws with two high cards
- 1x all other flush draws
- 1x when you have at least three points
- 1x low pairs (fives and below)
- 1x 6-high straights and above
- 1x single-gap straight draws with at least two points
- Fold everything else
Four Card Strategy
- 3x all made hands (pair of sixes or higher)
- 3x all flush draws
- 3x open-ended straight draws eight-high or better
- 1x all other straight draws
- 1x when you have at least four points
- 1x low pairs
- 1x with three points after a previous 3x
- Fold everything else
Mississippi Stud Payouts
Of course, you have to know how much you stand to win. Here’s the Mississippi Stud paytable, which you will find everywhere you can play Mississippi Stud right on the table. The multiplier refers to the entirety of your bets and may differ, depending on the retailer.
For example, if you are dealt pocket aces with a $10 ante and 3x all three streets without improving, you will have bet a total of $100 and be paid out $200 for a $100 profit.
| 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 Pairs | 2 to 1 |
| Pair of J’s or Better | 1 to 1 |
| Pair of 6’s thru 10’s | Push |
Three Card Bonus Bet
Some Mississippi Stud games offer a Three Card Bonus Bet, where you can bet on the dealer’s community cards. This bet has nothing to do with your hole cards and was created as a way to keep players engaged in the action, even if they folded their hole cards before the community cards were dealt.
This is the typical paytable of the the bonus bet. Odds may differ depending on the retailer.
| Hand | Pays |
| Straight Flush | 40 to 1 |
| Three of a Kind | 30 to 1 |
| Straight | 6 to 1 |
| Flush | 3 to 1 |
| Pair | 1 to 1 |
Mississippi Stud Progressive Jackpot
Some casinos offer a progressive jackpot side bet, where you usually put a single dollar down for each hand. Like many table game progressives, you will have to make a royal flush in order to win 100% of the progressive while a straight flush is usually good for 10% of the jackpot. Hands that make at least a straight up to a four-of-a-kind usually result in a jackpot win for a fixed dollar amount.
How to Play Mississippi Stud in Vegas (and Land-Based Casinos)
Mississippi Stud rules are, for the most part, exactly the same whether you play online or in person at your favorite brick-and-mortar casino. The key differences could be the inclusion and/or exclusion of the Three Card Bonus Bet and the progressive jackpot.
The other main difference is that you will be at a table, most often with fellow players. The table fits up to six players in total, all facing the dealer. Before sitting down, make sure that there is an open seat and that the table’s limits are within your budget.
If you don’t have chips, place the cash on the table in front of the dealer and wait for them to make change. If you already have chips, simply place the ante amount of your choice in the ante circle when it is appropriate to do so. Should you want to play the progressive or the Three Card Bonus Bet, place bets in the appropriate circles as well. We recommend that your ante be larger than your bonus bet.
When you receive your hole cards, you will usually receive your cards face down. While it is normally not kosher to show the cards to your fellow player, it is usually appropriate to say what cards you have. If you wish to continue, take your chips and make a bet worth 1x-3x your ante in the Third Street circle. If you do not, you can fold by pushing your cards towards the dealer when appropriate to do so.
Patiently wait until the next card is dealt and repeat the steps on every street. If you win, do not touch your chips until the dealer has completed paying out. Take your winnings, add them to your stack, and get ready to play again. You may take your chips and walk away at any time between hands.
It’s worth noting that when you make a pair of sixes or better, it is appropriate and encouraged to make 3x bets in all remaining betting circles immediately. There is no need to 3x on your street and wait until the next card is dealt.
Check the Paytable
Once in a while, a Mississippi Stud table may not have the standard paytable. While this is extremely unusual, side bonuses and progressives are more likely to have minor differences. Before you start playing, make sure to take a look at the payouts and verify the progressive rules with the dealer. If the payouts and the rules are to your liking, enjoy playing Mississippi Stud responsibly.
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Resources
- https://www.responsiblegambling.org/
- https://senecaniagaracasino.com/casino/table-games/how-to-play-mississippi-stud/
- https://rwnewyork.com/games/how-to-play-mississippi-stud
- https://www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com/-/media/project/shrss/sga/casinos/hard-rock/hollywood/casino/table-games/mississippi-stud-rules.pdf?rev=388bb29de50441c3be044b7b28936735
