7 Card Stud tips!

[stapleface]

my friend is wanting to hold a 7 Card Stud tournament quite soon. i'm a bit iffy about it because of my lack of experience with 7 Card, so i was wondering if anybody could give me some tips? i find that i'm always following low pairs or straights/flushes because there'll be 2 or 3 more cards to be dealt, and i keep thinking that i'll catch something, but i tend to come out with nothing.

so yeah, any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Jernej Zorec]

You are dealt three cards, two down and one up. Stay on the first three cards if you hold:
(1) Any three of a kind, and draw the limit, that is, the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th cards.
(2) Two Aces or Two Kings, and draw the limit.
(3) Two Queens or less, and draw only one card and no more unless the hand is improved. The odds for making a winning hand are made prohibitive by drawing more cards.
(4) Any pair with the Ace or King, and draw one card and no more unless the hand is improved.
(5) Any 3-card straight or any 3-card flush, and draw only two cards and no more unless the hand is improved. If in five cards you make a 4-card flush or a 4-card straight, draw the 6th and 7th card.

of course dont draw if the cards u need are on the table
say u get 33A and one opponent shows 3, i'd say fold it

this is a pretty starting hands guide
and its from a book Education of Poker player

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

You can't become a great 7 Card Stud player over night. Starting hand guidelines are good, but Stud is so situational it would take a whole book (or more) to discuss it fully.

Other tips I might suggest:

1. Slowplay small rolled up trips until 5th street, or possibly 6th street if you've already made a full house. Opponents will usually think you made two small pair or have a draw until you raise.
2. Fastplay big rolled up trips. Your opponents will usually put you a on a big pair and may give you action if they have much of a holding.
3. If you are last to act with a draw on 4th street, and you will likely act last on 5th street, try to raise to buy a free card.
4. Don't draw to a flush or straight when an opponent has 2 exposed pair or 3 of a kind. Seems self-evident, but you wouldn't believe some of the morons I see do this.
5. Don't draw to a flush without other outs on 3rd street if more than 2 of your suit are dead.
6. Take a 5th card about 60% of the time on 4th street if you have a 3-flush, especially if you pair your highest card on 4th street.
7. Only play small pairs if your trips cards are live and you have a kicker higher than any card on board.
8. Often fold a pair if there are two or more overcards to act behind you on 4th street. Or, if the players are weak, raise for information.
9. Two pair is rarely good if your opponent has an exposed pair biggest than your highest pair. This may save you money if you make 2 pair on the river.


I'll try and put down any other tips I can think of.

[Phil14312]

Its all about big cards. Sure, 3 to a straight is good. But there is a huge difference between KQJ and 345. Bigger cards make bigger pairs, and sometimes that is all that you need to win at showdown, this is also important for 3-flushes. Pay attention to the other player's boards.

Raise and isolate with your big pairs on 3rd street. The less player's against your big pair the more they hold up. Conversely, don't raise with your drawing hands unless you are on a steal.

Stealing is more important when the ante is bigger. This aspect changes with the size of the ante in comparison with the structure. A low ante structure might not make stealing worth attempting, a high ante structure makes it necessary.

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

Also, overcards have a lot more value in Stud than in Hold'em, because, as Phil said, you can always make big pairs with high cards. The biggest 2 pair is often a good hand. The reason overcards really have more value, however, is that there are more rounds of betting, and cards come one at a time, unlike in Hold'em, where they come in strings of 3, then 1, then 1.

The most important decision you make will be on third street, and just because you have AK (a great Hold'em hand), don't think you should play it automatically without a good third card.

[fanpoker8]

thank you!

[JohnnyCache]

There is a TON of information in the face up cards in 7 stud. If you used outs and the like in holdem, you'll have to keep track of more face up cards to do so in 7 stud. You can also find yourself in situations where you have some complicated draws . . . two pair with a straight draw, for example. . . that you don't see in holdem. A single pair isn't NEARLY the hand in stud that it is in holdem.