"7 Card Stud Poker Strategy"Your first 7 card stud poker strategy is the cards you play! Your first three cards are the MOST IMPORTANT, they determine what kind of hand you're trying to make. Trips are the best starting, aka being "rolled up". A hand like (10c-10d)10s is a great starting hand and will be difficult for your opponents to beat. The only hands that could beat you would be higher trips. It is also very deceptive because your opponents don't really know what two down cards you hold. If you raise with this hand, your opponents could put you on a big pair in the hole, a flush draw or they might think you're overplaying a pair of tens. Any time you get trips, you are a big favorite and should bet/raise a s many times as possible!
A pair is also a playable starting hand. You want to play big pairs though, 10's through aces. You can play them either split or in the hole. A split pair looks like (Qs-Js)Qd, a pair in the hole looks like (Js-Jh)10c. You don't want to play pairs smaller than 10's though. Say you start with (7c-8d)8s and your opponent starts with (Jc-10s)Jh, on fourth street you catch the 7h and your opponent catches the 10c. Now you might be excited that you have two pair on your fourth card, but when you make it to the river and your opponent shows two bigger pair, you won't be as happy. If you start with the best hand in 7 card stud, it's usually the best hand on the river. It's hard to come from behind, because your hand is just as likely to improve as your opponents is! Another 7 card stud poker strategy: when everyone gets their first three cards, try to make a mental note of everyone’s up cards as they pertain to your cards. Say you start with (10c-Jd)10s and you notice that two other players have the 10h and the 10d as their up cards, you should muck your hand. You could catch a J to make two pair but there are at best only three jacks left to catch and your tens are dead, you want as many "live" cards for your hand as possible. There are two more starting hands you can play, as part of your 7 card stud poker strategy, they are FLUSH and STRAIGHT DRAWS. With the flush draw you'll need to start with three cards of the same suit. (Ac-Kc)10c is a great hand to draw at, make sure that you are getting good odds to draw at it though. Also make sure that your draw is live. If you look around the table at your opponents up cards and see that three or more of the cards you need to make your flush draw are already out, then you should fold your flush draw. Straight draws have to be open ended. If you have (7c-8s)9h make sure that fives, sixes, tens and jacks are still live, the cards that will make your straight. Those are some 7 card stud poker strategy for playing starting hands, now I'll go over some that will help you play on fourth,
fifth, sixth, and seventh streets. 7 card stud poker strategy on fourth street you'll want to push out opponents that might beat you on later streets. If you started with the best hand, then it's still good, you should bet/raise as many times as possible!!! One thing you need to be concerned with is if someone has a pair showing on fourth street. It could mean they now have trips, it doesn't always mean that, but it's a possibility. When there is a pair on fourth street any active player can bet twice the normal amount. Say you're playing a $4-$8 limit, if someone pairs on fourth street the usual bet is $4, but they or any other active player can choose to bet $8, and the betting is done in increments of $8 for the rest of that hand. Play on fifth street is easy, if you still have the best hand play aggressively, this is also where the betting round doubles. Another one of your 7 card stud poker strategy should be to keep track of your opponents up cards and try to figure out what kind of hands they have. Do their cards look like they are still drawing at a hand?, or does it look like they have a made hand? Keep this in mind and
play accordingly. On sixth street you need to decide if your hand is still the best or not. If it is, you need to bet, the seventh card will make a lot of peoples hands, if you think someone has you beat then you can still bet, but if you're raised you should consider folding. Say someone shows four suited cards or four cards that can make a straight, it's a big possibility that your beat, calling a
bet here on sixth street almost means you'll have to call on seventh street too, the pot odds will be too good not to! Seventh street is where you get the most money out of your opponents, if you still have the best hand. If you feel you are beat but the pot is giving you 10-1 or better, then you should call. The only reason I would fold here is if I know there is no way my opponent could bet and not have me beat, in other words I know my opponent isn't capable of bluffing me! Most bluffs don't happen on the river though. You'll have to call on seventh street most of the time, the pot will be too big to fold! I hope 7 card stud poker strategy wins you some money at the tables! Good luck! |
