7 Card Stud

This is something I wrote on one of my blogs, ffcowboy.pokerplasm.com. I hope it helps people here too.

How many of you out there have tried to enter a H.O.R.S.E. tourney, but don’t feel comfortable playing because of the Stud elements of the game? Well, fear no more, here is a beginners guide to Seven Card Stud.

HOW THE GAME WORKS

Seven Card Stud is played with a maximum of 8 players per table. To start, each player posts an ante and is dealt two cards face down, your hole cards, and one face up, your door card. After the deal is completed the player with the lowest door card has the forced bring-in, usually the bring-in is half the small bet. If multiple low cards of the same rank are exposed, then the bring in (in most cases) defaults according to “suit rank.” Diamonds are considered to be the lowest rank, followed by clubs, hearts, and finally spades being the highest ranking suit. The other way to handle this “tie for the bring in” would be the first person (with the shared low door card) to the left of the dealer will be the bring in. Instead of blinds, stud uses antes and a forced bring-in to establish its pot. Do not feel committed to your hand just because you have money in the pot, in other words, don’t protect you “blind.” After the forced bring, all the remaining players have the option to call the bring-in or complete the bet. I will discuss more later on when to complete vs. when to call the bring-in. One card is burnt and 4th Street is dealt to all the players in the hand face up, with first action on the highest showing hand. 5th and 6th Streets follow the same as 4th Street. 7th Street, or the river, is dealt face down after burning a card, with action starting with the highest showing hand. IF there are not enough cards for every player to get a 7th card, the final card is dealt face up in the center of the table. This card is used as a community card for all players. The showdown goes the same way as Texas Hold’em, with the highest 5 card hand winning.

STRATEGY
Seven Card Stud is a game of observation. With most of your cards, as well as your opponents, being exposed, it becomes imperative that you learn how to read the hands and habits of those you are playing with. For those of you who will be starting out playing online, I would recommend not playing more than a single table at a time. There is simply too much going on in a single hand of stud to pick up on everything if you are multi-tabling.

People have asked me what the best starting hand in Stud Hi is and I give them two answers. The theoretical best starting hand is AAA, rolled aces, but I also say that any 3 cards that work well together can beat rolled cards. The best starting hands are (in no order): any rolled card, any high pocket pair, any 3 suited cards (use common sense), any 3 connected cards, and any other pocket pair. As I stated before, there is a lot of information that can be gained just by looking around the table. When deciding on whether or not to play a hand, take a look at the door cards. If you see more than 3 cards that would help your hand, you probably don’t want to play it, even if it’s AKQ. All you are doing by playing your hand is decreasing your odds to win, making all of your bets and calls donations to the winner.

Here is an example. You hold [Jd 4d] Jh. You see the following door cards: 9c, 8h, 7h, Kd, 10h. Should you play this hand?

Yes and no. Proceed with caution, just calling the bring-in.

There are a few things you should have picked up from the door cards. First, you possibly have 2 Jacks alive in the deck. Second, your flush draw, though it’s a long shot, is alive and well. Third, you shouldn’t be playing to make a straight. If you see an opponent starting to show a straight, use caution and consider folding.

Earlier I mentioned the option to complete the bring-in after the deal. I don’t recommend to a new player to even consider completing the bring in unless you are holding rolled cards. Stick to just calling the bring-in and play your cards vs. what your opponent is showing. The best wisdom I can give you is to not be afraid to fold if you feel your beat. I know the image of Stud is that it’s a drawing mans game, but use the information given to you by reading the table. Don’t try to draw out on players, fold, save your chips for a better opportunity to get them into the middle.

FOR THE ADVANCED PLAYERS
I’m going to touch briefly on when and why to complete a bring-in. Obviously when you are holding rolled A’s, you’re going to want to push hard. Your hand, unless you boat, is very vulnerable to being beat by a straight or a flush. You have two options on how to play the hand after the deal. If you know your table and can expect someone behind you to complete the bet, just call the bring-in and re-raise when the action comes back around to you. If you don’t think someone will complete the bet, do it yourself. You will push people out of the hand, which improves your odds of winning. Either action works well for establishing the fact that you have a strong hand. In my opinion, displayed strength goes a long way to helping you push players off of draws.

This is a start to the knowledge needed to play Stud Hi. I am always available to answer questions about Stud. Don’t hesitate to ask me a question; after all, the dumbest question is the one you didn’t ask.

very nice strategy and i would like to ad my expertise on stud hi lo if i may--...*all cards in parenthases are rolled up or your "hole" cards*
stud hi/lo is the same as hi and it isnt...strategically one of the best starting hands in stud hi/lo is (A2)3 triple suited...drawing hands are EXCELLENT in this situation and put you in a great position to "scoop"(win the whole pot instead of split it hi/lo) as well as hitting a pair of aces or aces up with 4 other low cards...razz rules apply to the low aspect of the game so i generally raise with any Ace with two other low cards of 6 or less/ EG. (A6)4 regardless of the suit...one thing i took from david slansky about stud hi low is..."YOU NEVER WANT TO BE IN A POSITION WHERE YOU ARE CHASING FOR ONE/HALF THE POT"...its ok to be chasing for both ends of the pot together, but never just one lets say you have (J9)T unsuited...next card off comes a blank of 3...and you then hit a K on 5th street, your opponent is showing (xx)456...hes already probably got the lo half of the pot now your chasing for the top half, he might even have you beat with a pair of 5's...this is a situation where u just let it go if hes ramming the pot, if he gives you free cards, take em...if you make your low hand...in your opponents position you want to generally ram the pot especiialy if there are multiple opponents in the pot...lets say as above, (xx)456...underneath you have (A2)...a 6 low is a sinch hand and now you are freerolling to hit your straight for the hgih portion so you ram the pot to build it for two reasons...1)to get a bigger payout on the low portion of the hand AND 2)if you do hit your 3 or running overs for the straight, you scoop a HUUUUGE pot....ok thats all i have for right now, anyone who wants to discuss this with me, please let me know i love chatting strategy....-MIKE

some things i forgot...

hands that are starting lows, but no ace and no straight or flush possibility should be folded..such as
(2c 5h) 8s etc...remember dont only go for half the pot, go for the WHOLE THING!
drawing hands like
(2c3c)4c you want to keep as many ppl in these hands as possible bc its a big payoff if you hit ur flush OR straight OR low...
hands like
(KcJs)5h should be folded bc u need to hit alot of cards and even if you make a pair, people play aces hard and you could be drawing for only the top half...
(KcAc)Ts are CALLING HANDS dont raise keep the pot small...if you hit your hi ace or straight...RAM IT...
the biggest thing you need to learn about stud hi/lo is to KNOW YOUR OPPONENT...read your opponent as a tight player, you can ram it sometimes on draws and hell give up....if you know your opponent is a solid player who makes good decisions proceeed cautiously and dont try to outplay him...show him a good hand, even if you lose the pot...if you know hes a calling station and chases draws, make him pay for to hit is card and make sure u atleast have half the pot locked up...

Kings,

Thanks for adding that. When I wrote that I was just starting to master playing Stud Hi. Since then I've worked hard to start to master Stud Hi/Lo. I've noticed that 60% of the time there doesn't seem to be a low, unless someone set out to win the low only. Everyone seems to forget about the low when selecting starting hands. You see alot of people happy to limp in with (AK)Q in a Hi/Lo game, which I tend to avoid. While it is a good Hi starting hand, I'm much more concerned with trying to get the whole pot when I'm in a hand. By doing this, I tend to play fewer hands, which gives me the tight image, allowing me to bluff a few hands from people with scary cards showing and nothing underneath. It also seems to keep my bankroll growing.