How To Play Poker

The game of 7 card stud is a fairly straight forward stud poker game with the same basic card values as any poker game. Interestingly though, in 7 card stud the addition of an extra card played face up adds some rather unique twists to the game. How to approach each stud strategy, as it relates to what other players in the hand have showing and how they bet, makes the use of particular stud strategies in the hand important. How to use them in 7 card stud is the important element if you are to win consistently.

Use the entire game in 7 card stud

Although you take in the 7 card stud winnings with each hand you win in 7 card stud it is the overall game that you are trying to win outright. In other words, you need to be aware of the current game you are playing but also where you want to be at the end of the night. The stud strategy in this sense is to use all the hands that you win or lose to advantage. If you have drawn to a flush or straight a few times and are working toward another, your 7 card stud opponents are sure to remember that you have drawn to that flush or straight a few times before and they will be wary that you might do it again. When you play stud, if it looks like you just might draw to those types of hands again, even if your whole cards say you likely won’t, you may want to get more money into the pot on a bluff or for some other hand you have that the other 7 card stud players cannot see. Now that’s good stud strategies.

The slow bet when you play stud

When you play stud poker the opportunity to slow bet a good hand can often increase the size of the pot with little notice. Generally, this occurs when your first two down cards, in tandem with the first up card, looks to be very strong. You don’t want to scare off the other 7 card stud players with larger bets at first. You want to bet just as much as possible so as not to tip them off that you have a good hand. This gets the maximum amount of money into the pot as possible. As your cards fill in and the hand continues to look strong you can bet more, until you go big with a strong bet toward the end of the hand. Stud strategies such as this are intended to “bleed” the other players dry.

Calling a bluff in 7 card stud

Some stud strategies take a certain amount of confidence, luck and chutzpa. If at some point you need a hand to boost your position at the table, which has little to do with the pot size, you may need to win a hand in a dynamic fashion. When you play stud you don’t want to do this at any point in the game but rather when the right hand comes along. If you have a hand that looks good but is only fair, and an opposing player has a strong looking hand that may not be, perhaps it’s time to call that 7 card stud player out on his bluff by bluffing yourself. You’ll have to have a strong stomach to do this but it can get you back into a strong table position to reclaim your status at the table when you play stud.

The big player in 7 card stud

If you seem to be lucky that night try playing big when you play stud. Raise and raise again, even if your hands are average. Win several hands betting average amounts to establish a pattern. After you have a pattern when you play stud, start betting big all the time. Other 7 card stud players won’t like it but you may come away with a nice profit.