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Seven Card Stud Strategy
Seven Card Stud was the most popular poker game for most of the 20th Century, until Texas Hold'em gained TV fame in the 90's. More about 7 Card Stud poker Strategy
Below you find the best online poker rooms which you can play seven card stud:
Basic Strategy:
In Stud 8, you want to aim to scoop the whole pot. From 3rd street on, your main goal should be winning both the low and high hand. Winning half of the pot is considered 'escaping.' When you escape with half the pot, you generally don't win much. For example, take a three handed pot where you split with another hand. Hence, your profits are ½ of one person's bets. If you scooped the same pot, your profits would have been both people's bets, which is four times greater. As you can see, escaping with half the pot really just means you don't lose money; it's not a way to make money.
If you are new to stud 8, you should take full advantage of this concept. Many newbies simply call all the way, simply hoping to win half of the pot. This is a recipe for losing because they put in a lot of money, hoping to just escape with a little return.
Other Key Seven Card Stud Hi/Low concepts:
Many seven Card stud concepts apply:
aying attention, pot odds, etc. are all seven stud concepts that apply equally as well to stud 8.
Pay attention to the math, forget bluffing: Seven Card Stud Hi/Low is a very math, technically intensive game. It is very, very hard to bluff at the lower limits, as people are shooting for both the high and low pots. The key to winning is playing a tight, aggressive game where you are getting good odds; don't expect to win by using deception tactics like bluffing.
If you hit bad, toss it: You generally want to know by fifth street if you plan on calling all the way to the river. This way you don't invest any big bets into a losing hand. If you have 345 (all of spades), you have a great starting hand. However, if the next two cards are JQ of hearts, your hand just turned into garbage.
The tight, aggressive wins in the long run: Since hand selection and odds are critical at stud 8, people who simply call and call are guaranteed losers in the long run. Most of the time, these people are just shooting for half the pot and their lucky catches will not offset the many bets they put into the pot attempting to escape.
Pot Odds: It is harder to calculate in pot odds in 7 stud then limit, but the concept still applies. Again, pay attention to the number of cards that will improve your hand. If there is 10 cards showing, that means there is 42 cards left. Your odds to improve are outs/cards left, so compare that number with your bet in relation to the pot. Again, since it is difficult to have a calculator in front of you and this does not take into account implied odds, an easier way is to simply multiply your outs by 3 and compare that % to the bet/pot. Obviously this will overestimate your percentage chance for hitting, but it in a way factors in implied odds.
Pay Attention: Paying attention is key at seven stud. Often, new players just call along, hoping to hit a good hand. They don't realize that most of their flush cards are out on the board and will even keep drawing to a flush or straight when someone has trips showing (hence, very likely to have a full house).. If you have to, drink a cup of coffee because paying attention to each and every game is crucial.
Value Betting: You should bet in a manner that makes the game the most advantageous to you. An example of that is betting hard, raising when you have two pair/trips on fourth/fifth street to shut out the draws.
Resources for various Seven Card Stud topics:
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