7 Card Stud Introduction
Bob Ciaffone

Seven-card stud is one of the oldest poker forms. It is more popular on the East Coast of the United States than in most other localities. Players new to poker are often put off by the amount of concentration it requires, since observing the opponent's upcards and remembering what cards have been folded is an important part of the game. Even so, stud is a legitimate poker form that requires a lot of skill to play it optimally.

The starting hand is two downcards followed by an upcard. The action on the first betting round is started by the lowest card being required to bet. All but the smallest stakes stud games use an ante to make the pot worth fighting over. Assume in our discussion that an ante is being used. (Also, assume that there is a full table of players, meaning an eight-handed game.)

The ratio of the ante to the forced bet varies with the stakes. The bigger games use an ante that is higher in proportion to the betting limit than do the lowstakes games. For example, $10-20 limit uses a $1 ante, but $30-60 limit uses a $5 ante. The larger the ante, the more emphasis is put on trying to win it by betting or raising with a hand that would much prefer to not be called. So the bigger games have a lot more bluffing than the smaller ones, and emphasize a different set of poker skills. The smaller games put their emphasis on patience, the larger ones on aggression. In a high-stakes game, to play only good hands and abstain from fighting over the antes would be an inferior strategy.

An important stud concept is the fact that a player is twice as likely to have a pair that uses his upcard than have a concealed pocket pair. Naturally, the betting has to be taken into account. For example, a player who bets strongly on the first betting round and has a small card showing is more likely to have a concealed pair than only a pair using his upcard. However, if on the betting a player could reasonably have his upcard paired, it is about 2-to-1 that he has a pair using that card as opposed to a concealed pair. The logical use of this mathematical concept in the play is to show a player respect that pairs his first upcard. For example, if you have concealed aces, and the opponent has started with a nine up and caught a queen on fourth street, his pairing the nine on the next card would be far more ominous than his pairing the queen. Against a probable two pair you are justified to continue in the pot hoping to improve, whereas against probable trips you should fold. Only two cards in the deck will let you draw out.

The forced bet is usually between a quarter to a third of a fullsize bet for that round. Bringing the forced bet up to a fullsize bet is called "completing the bet," and does not count as a raise toward the maximum number of raises allowed on that round. (The legal number of raises on a stud betting round is three in most of the world, but four in some of the bigger Nevada cardrooms.) If the forced bet has been "raised," by a completion, you need to see how your hand measures up against the opponent's most probable pair, which is his upcard being matched by a downcard. If you have a bigger pair, go ahead and reraise if the board of the remaining players does not look threatening. If you have a smaller pair, it is likely right to fold. The exception would be if the raise came from an aggressive player who might be trying to steal the antes on the leverage exerted by a high upcard. If you decide to make a stand against a possible robber, whether your odd card is higher in rank than the opponent's upcard is an important factor in the viability of your trying to run him down with what may be a smaller pair.

A starting hand does not always have to feature a pair. A three-flush is often a playable hand. But not all threeflushes are alike. The number of cards in your suit that show around the table is important. One is normal, two a burden, and three very bad. Also important is whether you have any upcards that are high in rank. Having an ace means your hoped-for flush will be ace-high if you hit. The ace also gives you three cards that pair it and make you a good hand. Naturally, having two big cards in your three-flush is even better than only one.

Going for a straight is considerably weaker than going for a flush. For one thing, straights lose to flushes. Most three-straights should be folded. Generally, play a three-straight only when the cards are high enough in rank that you would have a strong contender if you hit a pair.

If you start with a three-straight or three-flush and make an open-end straight-draw or a flush-draw on the next card, you will be about even money to complete your draw. Such a hand often will bet on the come (though doing so is far from mandatory). Against one opponent, he may fold. Against two or more opponents, the good pot odds make betting attractive.

To let you in on a little secret, if on fourth street you have a pair, and your two upcards are of the same suit, it often pays to be aggressive. Hitting a third card on suit is going to frighten your opponents, since pushing a four-flush in the first four cards is a common stud ploy. This play is stronger when one of your downcards is of the same suit as your twoflush. That way, when you hit a three-flush on board, you at least have a four-flush working in case the opponent(s) decide to be brave and stick around.

When the lowcard forced bet has not been called, and there are only one or two players behind you, it could easily be right to make a play for the antes by raising (completing the bet). If they have low cards showing, so much the better. In such a spot, it is better to have something to fall back on in case you get called. Having three big cards would qualify in this department. Also, having an ace up is an intimidating factor that could easily win the pot for you. Don't be afraid to make a play for the antes if you have a little bit of a hand to fall back on in case the play does not work initially.

After the first betting round, the high hand on the board acts first. Since the remainder of the cards are dealt face-up (except for the last card), you can keep track of how likely it was that a card helped the opponent. If you see the opponent has been helped by pairing, it is quite likely that you are behind. Most of the time, this means you should fold. However, if you are pretty sure a player has two pair that are both smaller than your pair, you will improve to two pair or better often enough to continue in the pot.

Probably the hardest stud hand to play well is two pair. Aces up, or two pair where the higher pair outranks the other upcards, is of course a good hand, but two pair that are middle-sized or small are a problem. You have only four cards that fill you, making the odds strongly against your improving even if there are three more cards to come. On the other hand, if someone else makes two pair, they will likely beat your hand. If you have more than one opponent, you could easily be in trouble. Against only one opponent who does not look like he has helped, it is usually right to bet until his board or his betting says you are behind.

Sometimes it pays to be an optimist. Suppose you start out with split kings (meaning one up and one down) and are able to reraise on the first three cards, thus more or less telling the opponents what you have. Your only opponent is a reluctant caller who had a queen showing at the start. Unfortunately, you are unable to hit that desirable second pair. At what point do you take your foot off the gas pedal and check, assuming you are high on board throughout? The answer is you keep betting for the whole hand, assuming a reasonably astute opponent! The reasoning is that as soon as you check, you are saying, "I failed to hit the ups." The opponent will bet two pair for value if you check. He also may bluff, so you will no doubt have to lose a bet on the end anyway if you check. But if you bet out, he will put you on kings up, and not raise unless he can beat that hand. The reason you bet is the possibility that he has not improved, and still has a pair of queens. He will likely give you a crying call just to make sure you have the kings you advertised. So you gain a bet often enough to make betting at the river an attractive play.

In our discussion, we are assuming that you know very little about your opponent, as is likely in an Internet game. Naturally, if you know something important about him such as he seldom bluffs, or does not understand how to bet for value, the best course of action may not be what has been suggested.

Stud poker gives an aggressive player the opportunity to make plays based on a pretty face (his upcards). It also gives the player who is good at card-reading more information than is available in a poker form like hold'em. If you are willing to learn the game and do not mind the heavy amount of concentration required, it is a worthwhile poker game to play.