Vincent’s Poker Blog

The beauty of Seven Card Stud is that the upcard rather than being a hindrance to you can actually make you money if you play this advantage correctly.

If your up cards look weak but you actually have the nut flush then you play to milk the most out of your opponent whilst they are thinking you are the Muppet You can also uses strong upcards to hide what may be a terrible hand. An aggressive raise whilst showing an Ace could make someone fold their trips, not realising you only have a 5 and a 7 in the hole all off suit. Sneaky!

What other players are showing can also be used to your advantage. As you know, there are 13 cards to each suit. You need 5 cards of one suit to make a flush. So, if you’ve got a flush draw, be sure to look at what your opponents are showing. If you’re holding 3 hearts and there’s a total of 6 other hearts on the table, there’s only 4 left in the deck. Do this same thing if you’re trying to complete a straight; there’s only four of each card in the deck that could help you make your straight. You don’t want to bet your money on a slim chance at drawing the only Jack left that may or may not be in the deck.

Seven Card Stud players who take note of all the upcards in play and folded have an advantage; so don’t bury your face in your own cards.

The best starting hands in stud are hands that are going to help you make a straight or better. In Stud even trips are probably not going to win you the game. Like Hold’em you may have to wait for a good starting hand.

So what does make the best starting Hand? Three of a kind starting with (A-A) A and on down. You can look to make a full house or four of a kind.

Next there are the big pairs (AA-TT). Value a hidden pair with a big kicker the most. A hidden pair makes your hand harder to read.

Big suited connectors such as AKQs down to QJTs can help with flushes and straights (or hopefully a straight flush!)

Big suited semi connectors such as AKJs or KQTs can also help you draw for a nut flush or high straight.

Medium Pairs with a high kicker are probably the minimum you would look for in a hand medium trips or full house will be vulnerable as the second best hand.

With these starts as a guide look for hands where the value is hidden as if your hand is perceived a weak you are in a great betting position.

Before you start doing cartwheels because your starting hand is fantastic on last thing to consider is what cards everyone else has. There is no point chasing a hearts flush if you notice that every other person playing hearts in their up cards. If the only cards you need to make your hand stronger are in someone else’s pile then you may need to rethink your hand.

Players new to Seven Card Stud are likely to make mistakes if they are still thinking like Hold’em Players. You can lose big if you adopt a laisser-faire attitude to stud. You need to put the work in to master this variation of poker. So I’ve put together a list of some of the sins of seven card stud.

Impatience
Don’t play too many hands. Be patient grasshopper you will soon have the right hand to play. Playing too man hands will leave you giving away cash to your competition. You will not get away with the any starting card can ideas you have from playing Hold’em.

Inattention
Please please please pay attention to what cards are out. Otherwise you could be drawing for a card that will never come. So also take notice of cards that have been folded for obvious reasons. The most attentive players are the most profitable players.

Over-cautiousness
If you have the best hand or what you think is the best hand, bet. Don’t let other players outdraw you on the river. It is an expensive mistake. Be decisive and control the pot. If you have an excellent draw with many outs, bet. Don’t be pushed on the defensive by weaker hands/draws.

Being a calling station
Why call with a good hand. If you are calling more often than you re betting you are probably a losing player. Also you will get a reputation for being a suck out. And nobody likes a suck out.

Stubbornness
Don’t get glued to a hand because it started off well. It will cost you dear. Try give up those Aces if you look to be losing. It is a hard but important lesson to learn.

Seven Card Stud is a popular game amongst home games of poker. The recent surge of Hold’em has put it in the shadows somewhat. So let’s put it back in the spotlight. Like Hold’em you are trying to make the best 5 card hand from seven cards, the highest hand wins and Ace plays both high and low for straights. Unlike Holdem there are no community cards and it has five betting rounds rather than four.

The rules are as follows:

Each player is dealt 3 cards, 2 faced down and one face up.

Then the player with the lowest face up card starts the betting. If two or more players have the same value card, it is determined by suit value. Suit values from lowest to highest are: clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades. Players to the left then have the option of folding, calling or raising.

A further 3 cards are dealt face up. Each time there is a round of betting however this time it is the person dealt the highest card that starts the betting.

The last card is dealt face down. (So there are a total of three face down and four face up) The betting is started by the person with the highest value cards face up.

You must be very observant to play this variation of poker. Not only must you take note of players betting tendencies but you must also remember the up cards of the players who have folded.