Seven-Card Stud

Okay, here's my own seven-card stud article. Hope it's helpful.

by Jess Bair - JessieBear15331


Most poker players are intimidated by seven-card stud. This game can be very formidible, mostly because a nut starting hand can easily and spasmodically be vanquished by a better hand. Seven-card stud is a game requiring much skill, concentration, patience and thought. Seven-card stud, as with other poker games, builds on basic skills.
Seven-card stud, as it's name implies, is played with seven cards. To start, every player is required to post an ante (in most games). Then every player is dealt three cards, the first two dealt face down, the third face up. These three cards are referred to as first, second and third street, with the face up card called the door card. The player with the lowest door card (starting with a duece) is required to 'bring-in' the bet, or start the game by betting the smallest bet. If two or more players share the lowest door card, the bring-in is determined by the cards' suit, in alphabetical order (clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades).
The gameplay then moves clockwise, with the player to the left of the bring-in given the options to fold, call the bring-in or bet. If the player decides to bet, the player to his left can fold, call or raise. It is always important to look at your opponent's door card before betting or calling, to determine if your hand is considered dead. For instance, if you are dealt three suited cards, referred to a three suit, and cards of the same suit are scattered around the board, it is advisable to fold your hand. It is harder to make a flush when your suited cards are taken.
After the third street bets have been called, another card, called fourth street, is dealt face up. There is not as much skill required when betting/calling the fourth street as with the third street, but again, consider your opponent's door and fourth street cards. If you hold two Queens, and the other two Queens are held in your oponent's hands, all the Queens are used, and a hope of making a three of a kind, Queens, is a moot point.
Next, the fifth street is dealt, again face up. Betting/calling here is a decision best made with much consideration. The fifth street represents the final opportunity to lucratively fold a hand. If your hand is worth nothing or weak, calling or raising on the fifth street can cause you to lose money in possibly three double-sized bets. Fifth street is where double-sized bets become required. For example, in a $2-$4 game, a move on third street could be to call the bring-in, bet $2 or raise to $4. Fourth street you can check, bet $2 or raise to $4. Fifth street requires you to bet at least $4, and each raise is in $4 increments. This is required EXCEPT when any player makes a pair with their face up cards, or open cards, on the fourth street.
The last card dealt face up is called sixth street, and if you have made it this far with checks/calls/raises, it is usually beneficial to stay in until the end. If you have an absolutely garbage hand, and there is now no way to make anything with it, obviously fold. Also, if an opponent shows a good hand with their open cards, for example a flush, and bets/raises a large amount, folding is an intelligent descision. Lastly, the seventh street or river is dealt face down. This is your last chance to make a strong hand stronger. Again, if you've made it this far, it is usually beneficial to stay in until the showdown.
There are tips to consider when playing seven-card stud. The first being to ALWAYS play a live hand. But always be aware of your oponent's open cards, because a live hand can easily become a dead hand when the cards you are waiting for are taken. As in any game of poker, small and medium pairs are not as good as large pairs. In seven-card stud, small and medium pairs can easily become worse. Because everyone is dealt seven cards, a pair of threes made into a three of a kind can easily be beat by a larger three of a kind.
Cards referred to as scare cards, or cards to improve or help you to later improve your hand, are cards to look for. Look for them in your own hand, but beware them in an oponent's hand. Catching a high card in your hand will add value to your hand, and scare your oponents with weaker hands away. Another tip is to play large hands against a few opponents, but playing hands where a straight or flush can be made, drawing hands, fare better with many opponents. ALWAYS be aware when an opponent pairs his door card. This could mean your opponent already has three of a kind, or may make one befor the showdown. Lastly, if you can afford to call a bluff, call on the seventh street or river even if you have a hand you think won't win. Many people bluff when their open hand shows a pair or three suited cards.
Finally, there are odds associated with seven-card stud, as in all poker. Getting the following starting hands are considered "lucky;" Three of a kind - 424:1, Pair of Aces - 76:1, Pair - 5:1, Three suited cards - 18:1. Have fun learning how-to, or competing in this game!

That doesn't sound quite right on the betting... (someone correct me if I'm wrong, as I don't play 7 Card Stud much):
1. The 'bring-in' player has the option of either playing the bring-in or playing a full bet.
2. When raising the bring-in it is normally just to a full bet, with subsequent bets raising being increments of a full bet.
3. On 4th street, instead of the low card playing first the high up-card hand now acts first, and subsequent streets the order of play starts with the high-hand.
4. The first to act on 4th street can only put in a small bet ($2) unless they have a pair showing, at which point they have the option of a double bet ($4), with all other raises being $2 increments.

Advice in poker 'bibles' like Super System recommend only starting out with a reasonably solid hand (i.e. selecting your starting hands mainly from something like a 3-card straight, 3-card flush or a pair or better), and holds that selecting a reasonable starting hand is one of the key aspects to playing the game well (as with most poker variants).
On 4th street, the betting is still generally relatively inexpensive, but there is a lot of skill in deciding how to play here sometimes, especially if the hand was unraised on 3rd street - if you only put in the bring-in bet in the first place, then the pot is fairly small, and if your up-card missed completely or someone else's hand looks good (e.g. you had a pair of 8's on 3rd, and someone has an open pair of 9's on 4th) then you may still have a 'live' hand, but it may well still be better to get off the hand having lost just the bring-in bet rather than the bring-in and a small bet.

One of the things that is probably important to consider for readers on Cardschat is how to approach 7 Card Stud from the point of view of a HoldEm player. Does anyone have any good advice on that?

My main one would be to count on needing a bigger bankroll... Calling down while trying to make a hand is more expensive with an extra round of betting, so you should count on needing a larger bankroll because missed draws will tend to cost you more, and you will have to play a couple of rounds betting before you have a full hand, and may need to see more rounds of betting before you can be confident whether your hand is liable to hold up or not.
Also, if you don't know how to keep track of the cards dealt to players, then it is an essential skill for playing 7 Card Stud well. As Jessie said, you do need to know when cards that you're wanting are dealt to other players so that you can adjust your outs total. When other players fold, you need to be able to remember which cards they were showing, so it could be necessary to remember a number of folded cards, and practicing counting cards will therefore pay dividends in correctly calculating whether your odds for playing are correct.

You are correct on your corrections, I was trying to convey those points, but they didn't come out quite right. (Blame the insomnia!!) Thanks very much for helping me with this article, I'm glad you made the corrections, I don't want to mislead anyone!

I'm thinking of writing an article on reading hands...

I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10...