Mississippi Stud is a popular casino card game that belongs in the group of so-called “carnival games.” The game was developed by Scientific Games, one of the world’s largest game studios, and inspired by Let It Ride. In fact, Mississippi Stud is often described as a reversed Let It Ride.
This is a simple game where you only need to focus on the strength of your own poker hand. Unlike some other variants, such as Ultimate Texas Hold’em, you don’t need to beat the dealer to win.
In this guide, we’ll teach you all you need to know before you sit down to play, including Mississippi Stud rules, hand rankings, betting options, payouts, and, of course, the optimal Mississippi Stud poker strategy to give yourself the best chance of winning every time you play.
What Is Mississippi Stud Poker?
Mississippi Stud is a relatively new addition to the range of poker-based carnival games. It was introduced by Scientific Games, specifically by Mark Yoseloff, CEO of Shuffle Master, one of the company’s core brands.
Yoseloff was inspired by Let It Ride, a popular table game, and believed it would be more exciting if players were required to either bet or fold, rather than have the option to pull back their bets and continue the hand. And so, Mississippi Stud was born.
For the first few years, the game wasn’t very popular, and it was available only in a couple of US casinos. Lately, however, it’s gained traction, and more venues have begun adding it to their repertoire.
The game is played with a standard 52-card deck; there are no jokers or wild cards, and it uses standard poker hand rankings, such as those in Texas Hold’em or Five Card Draw.
Mississippi Stud Betting Options
Basic betting options in Mississippi Stud are pretty straightforward. There is the ante bet, which is mandatory to be dealt into the hand, and then there are three additional bets for each street, i.e., flop, turn, and river.
A key feature of this game is that players cannot skip any bets. You have to play every street, or fold your hand, relinquishing all the money you wagered up to that point.
The Ante Bet
Like in other games of this type, the ante bet is the first and mandatory bet a player must make to be dealt into the hand.
So, to start with, you have to place the ante bet, and the amount can be anywhere between the table minimum and the table maximum.
Once all ante bets are in, the dealer deals two cards to each active player and three face-down community cards in the middle, initiating the first betting round.
Street Bets
Street bets are at the heart of Mississippi Stud, and they are what make the game exciting and engaging.
There are three betting rounds in total, namely:
- 3rd Street – the first bet that a player can make after seeing their two cards
- 4th Street – the second bet, made after the first community card is revealed (one to three times the ante bet)
- 5th Street – the final bet that is available after the second community card is revealed (one to three times the ante bet)
As mentioned, Mississippi Stud rules don’t allow players to skip any of the betting rounds. While you can choose between betting one, two, or three times the ante, you can’t pass on betting. If you decide you don’t want to place any further bets at any point in the hand, you must fold, surrendering all the bets made up to that point.
If you make it all the way to the river, your payout is based entirely on the strength of your own hand. You don’t need to beat the dealer or any of the other players. Once the hand is over, you’ll be paid according to the following pay table:
| Poker Hand | Raise Payout |
| Royal Flush | 500:1 |
| Straight Flush | 100:1 |
| Four of a Kind | 40:1 |
| Full House | 10:1 |
| Flush | 6:1 |
| Straight | 4:1 |
| Three of a Kind | 3:1 |
| Two Pair | 2:1 |
| One pair, Jacks or better | 1:1 |
| Pairs 66 through TT | Push |
| All Other hands | Loss |
Three Card Bonus Wager
Some versions of Mississippi Stud feature a three-card bonus wager. This bonus is based solely on the three community cards and is independent of players’ actions and the outcome of the hand.
| Poker Hand | Payout |
| Mini Royal (AKQ of the same suit) | 100:1 |
| Straight flush (three suited and consecutive cards) | 50:1 |
| Three of a kind | 25:1` |
| Straight (three consecutive cards) | 5:1 |
| Flush (three cards of the same suit) | 3:1 |
| Pair | 1:1 |
Mississippi Stud Progressive Jackpot
In some casinos, you’ll also come across a progressive jackpot side bet. This option typically has a fixed bet amount ($5 or $1) and pays one of the three progressive jackpots or a fixed amount based on the player’s final hand strength.
| Poker Hand | Raise Payout |
| Royal Flush | Mega Jackpot |
| Straight Flush | Major Jackpot |
| Four of a Kind | Minor Jackpot |
| Full House | 50 for 1 |
| Flush | 40 for 1 |
| Straight | 30 for 1 |
| Three of a Kind | 9 for 1 |
Playing a Hand of Mississippi Stud
Now that you have the full understanding of Mississippi Stud bets and payouts, we’ll walk you through the entire process of playing a hand, which should help you visualize how the game happens at the table.
- Place Your Bets: Place the mandatory ante wager and any side bets that you wish to play (if there are any available). The dealer will announce that the betting is over, and the round begins.
- Check out your hole cards.
- Place the 3rd street bet: if you want to continue, place the bet of 1x, 2x, or 3x in the 3rd Street betting field.
- Make your turn decision: after this, the dealer will reveal the first community card, and you’ll have the same option for the 4th Street bet.
- Make your final decision: The second community card is revealed, and you can decide once more if you want to play, and whether you want to bet 1x, 2x, or 3x the ante.
- As mentioned earlier, you may fold at any time. If you fold, you’ll automatically relinquish all the bets you placed up to that point.
Mississippi Stud Poker Strategy
Now we come to the possibly most important part of this guide, and that’s the Mississippi Stud strategy. So far, you’ve learnt that you are allowed to fold or bet up to 3x the ante on any street, but how exactly do you make a decision on what to do?
The optimal strategy for Mississippi Stud revolves around the pay table. Your goal is to make a hand that is at least guaranteed to push. If you can do that, the worst-case scenario is you get your money back; if you improve, you’ll be paid more, depending on the final hand.
To understand how the strategy works, we first need to explain the points system you can apply to the game, namely:
- High cards (J to A) = 2 points
- Middle cards (6 to T) = 1 point
- Low cards (2 to 5) = 0 points
Armed with this information, you can now dig into the Mississippi Stud strategy breakdown for each street shown in the table below:
| 2 Cards | 3 Cards | 4 Cards |
| 3x raise with any pair | 3x any made (paying) hand – middling pair or higher (66+) | 3x any made (paying) hand – middling pair or higher (66+) |
| 1x raise if you have at least 2 points | 3x a royal flush draw | 3x any four-flush hand |
| 1x raise with 6-5 suited | 3x a straight flush draw that is at least 5-6-7 and contains no gaps | 3x an open-ended straight draw, eight or better |
| Fold all other hands | 3x a straight flush draw that contains at least two high cards and two gaps | 1x with all other straight draws |
| 1x raise any three suited cards | 1x with any low pair | |
| 1x raise with any low pair | 1x raise with four points | |
| 1x raise with at least three points | 1x raise if you have three mid cards and have made at least one 3x raise before | |
| 1x raise with a straight draw that is at least 4-5-6 and contains no gaps | Fold all other hands | |
| 1x raise a straight draw with two middling cards and one gap |
Give Mississippi Stud Poker a Try
Now that you know all Mississippi Stud poker rules, payouts, and the optimal strategy for the game, go ahead and give it a try at your local casino or on your favorite online website. It is a fun, fast-paced game that will keep you entertained, especially if you love poker.
With several betting streets, this game can become expensive, so we recommend starting with smaller bets. Once you become more comfortable and more certain about the strategy, you can start increasing your bets.
The game is not as available online as some other poker variants, but you should be able to find a few decent online casinos that have it. Happy hunting and good luck at the tables!