New Game for Me: 7-Stud

I needed a little variety in my poker life. I started playing Limit Holdem last summer and moved over to NL Holdem this year. But I needed a change.

So I tried some 7-card stud. Well, so far it's been the boost I needed to get out of my 3 straight weeks of breakeven poker. I have played three cash sessions and four SnGs, and only one was a losing session. I doubled my money (well, just short on one) on all three cash sessions and had a first place and two thirds in my four SnGs.

I know...part of this is probably explained by running good...but I also enjoy the game. It is the perfect game for finding chasers who are willing to call anything with a gutshot draw...made some nice change off a few of them. I also enjoy the importance of tracking the up cards and what's been folded. However, I don't even try to play more than one stud table at a time. I did play a NL SnG and a stud game at the same time, but not sure this was any good for my SnG (placed sixth).

NOW A COUPLE QUESTIONS:

Can anyone recommend a good book on 7-card stud? Also, is stud always played as limit poker?

As far as I know, 7 card stud is limit and never no limit. The best I've read on 7 card stud is actually a section in Super System 1 written by Chip Reese who was the best stud player at the time it was written. I recently have been indulging in 7 card stud myself and I love the game overall. It's agreat change of pace. Stud Hi/Lo is more challenging.

When I first started playing poker online I was playing pot-limit 7-card stud and 5-card stud, so it does exist. But I don't think stud is very often played pot-limit or no-limit and none of the major sites offer it.

Pot limit or spread limit could add some interesting challenges to 7-stud. It would be easier to stop some of the chasers who will see any pair with an ace to the river. I kinda like the idea of a spread-limit game.

However, my sense is that NL would make the game a bit of a mess. With 5 betting opportunities and the already complicated task of following the up/folded cards, I think NL might not work so well.

T1riel, maybe I should finally breakdown and buy SS. My wife will scream if she finds another poker book on the bathroom shelf...but I could tell her that this one will complete my library! (Until the next book is published...)

What site do you play the stud sitngo's on? Pokerstars offers them but nobody registers to play them. I had a couple bad sessions the last couple of times when the chasers were catching but overall I turn my $2.00 on each table to $4-5 on each table most times that I have multi-tabled (only 2-tables at a time though, too hard to keep track of upcards)

I was curious if anyone had multitabled 7-card stud games!

I play at Party Poker. On a weekday evening (Pacific Time) it takes about 2-3 minutes to fill a table....not long.

I started playing poker ...as many do with 7-card stud...at party...it's a nice change up from hold'em...

Okay Wsorbust...is your avatar a picture of Hellmuth? And what the hell is he doing (whoever it is)?

Sorry, just need to know!

I believe that's a screen cap of a video of Hellmuth from the WSOP last year? ...they did a whole piece on how he's doing yoga and trying to keep a zen lifestyle to balance himself out. I could be wrong...I'm not exactly sure. They showed him with his shirt off! loooool and everything ... I couldn't find a pic of that...so him slobbering all over himself will have to do for now!

....He's brushing his teeth.

Super System 1 is a good buy. It has great sections written by the pros (at the time it was written anyway). Mike Caro writes an odds oriented 5 card draw section. David Sklansky writes a very complex but well written section on Spilt High/Low. A good buy if you want to improve on other games of poker except Hold em.

Well, I may have to reconsider my love affair with 7-stud. I was on a hot streak last weekend that put me up almost $250. Then one session at 7-stud took care of most of that. I dropped $207 in a 3 hour session. The best hand I had in the first two hours was two pair of Jacks and Fours that lost to a FH. Well, I finished up a tad for the entire week, but that session was my worse ever.

Just goes to show that poker is a game of ups AND downs! Got to be able to handle those downs....but it sucks.