5 card stud has an indistinct and a long history. Some people believe that this game was discovered in Persia since it resembles a gambling game known as As Nas. People say that this game was taken to US by the Persian sailors. 25 cards with five different suits were used to play this game at that point of time. There are not many differences between the old 5 card stud and the modern form and there were different hand combinations. In New Orleans, people started playing this game on a regular basis during late 1820s. They used to play the game with 20 cards and the betting was done on the hand's value.

The earliest form of 5 card stud was played using 20 cards and there were 4 players who used to participate in a 5 card stud poker game. At that time, there were no draws and there were very narrow variety of combinations on which the betting used to take place. This game was different from the classic poker game and a hand with 4 aces or with 4 kings was completely unbeatable. The practice of different gambling activities on the Mississippi riverboats was responsible for the growing popularity of the 5 card stud poker game in the United States.

Right after this phase the deck got extended to the modern day fifty two cards and the introduction of the flush took place. The aim behind introducing more number of cards was basically to have more players in a single 5 card stud poker game. The game of 5 card stud was further expanded and developed during the time of the Civil War and a lot of variants of 5 card stud was brought into picture. In the initial period of its origination, Poker was played with a single betting round in which all the five cards were face down and there were not any draw cards, like in the modern 5 card stud poker game.

Certain changes in the rules and strategies were implemented by some professional gamblers with the aim of increasing the profit earning in the game. Bluffing and the usage of wild cards became more prominent while the introduction of the draw took place around 1850, which allowed an additional betting round. Many important characteristics of the modern 5 card stud game like the draw and few variations of hands, also the flush and the straight were introduced in the British game known as Brag.