Follow the queen poker is a unique variation of seven card stud poker that features a variety of wild cards, including all queens. The game takes a bit of patience to learn and even longer to master. If you'd like to get started playing this exciting game, read on to learn how to play follow the queen poker.

The basic gameplay is the same as seven card stud, with each player making the best five-card hand from their seven cards. Three of the cards are dealt face up, while the other three are dealt face down. Betting occurs between each round of card being dealt, leading to a showdown at the end. Whichever player has the best hand at the end of the round will win the pot.http://www.pokerrakeback.com/poker-skool/follow-the-queen-poker-rules

Unlike seven card stud, queens are always wild, allowing players to make very high ranking hands like five of a kind. Additionally, should a queen be dealt face up during the course of the hand, the card that follows such queen is also wild, making a total of eight wild cards in a standard 52-card deck. If a second queen is flipped up, the card that follows the queen become wild, however the original secondary wild card loses its wild powers and is treated at face value.http://www.pokerrakeback.com/poker-skool/follow-the-queen-poker-rules

This step-by-step guide explains how to play follow the queen poker including learning about the rules, ranking of hands and gameplay.

Before you start playing, it's a good idea to know all of the rules. For home games, you'll also need to decide on a few ground rules, like the blinds and bet amounts, before play begins.

1. Cards are always dealt clockwise, starting with the person to the immediate left of the dealer. The dealer, or dealer button, movies one seat clockwise after every hand.
2. Games can contain from two to nine players. Should all nine players at a table play the entire hand, there will not be enough cards to go around. In that case, rather than dealing the last card to each player, it can be placed in the center and used as a community card.
3. Each table will need a standard deck of 52 cards and chips or other objects to use for betting.
4. Stakes can vary based on preference, anywhere from a few cents to hundreds of dollars. Be sure everyone at the table agrees on the stakes before the game begins.
5. If a player receives a queen or other wild card dealt face up, they are required to pay for it by adding a certain amount automatically to the pot. Be sure to decide on this amount as well.http://www.pokerrakeback.com/poker-skool/follow-the-queen-poker-rules
6. Limits can also be varied, playing with a fixed limit, no limit or pot limit rule.
7. The player showing the lowest face-up card is required to open the betting. Should two players tie for the lowest card, the cards will be ranked in order of suit in the order of spades, hearts, diamonds then clubs.

Similar to seven-card stud, follow the queen uses a standard scale for ranking strength of hands, with one big difference. As there are as many as eight wild cards in play at a given time, five of a kind hands can be made and trump all other hands, including the elusive royal flush. Despite the fact that each hand has seven cards and they can be as many as eight wild cards in play, each hand is based on the best five-card combination. Aces rank high, but can also be used low in straights. The rankings of the hands for follow the queen poker are:

After everyone decides on all the limits and blinds, as well as knows the hand rankings and rules, it's time to get playing! Remember, if a queen is dealt face up, the next card dealt is also wild. Should a second queen be exposed, the card following the second queen replaces the first wild card. For example, if a queen is followed by an five, both queens and fives are wild. If a second queen is dealt face up, followed by an eight, queens and eights are wild, but fives are no longer wild.

1. Each player bets an ante, which should be considerably smaller than the minimum bet.
2. The dealer gives each player three cards, the first two face up and the third face down.
3. Starting with the player with the lowest-ranking face-up card, starts the betting. Betting continues around the table clockwise.
4. The dealer gives each player another card, face up.
5. A second round of betting follows, again starting with the player with the lowest face-up cards.
6. Steps four and five are repeated three times, with each player receiving a total of seven cards, four face up and three face down, with betting rounds separating each round of dealings.
7. If players remain after the seventh card is dealt and a final round of betting occurs, players reveal their best five-card hand. Whichever player has the best hand wins the pot.
8. The dealer moves one seat clockwise, the cards are shuffled and the process is repeated for each hand.http://www.pokerrakeback.com/poker-skool/follow-the-queen-poker-rules