7 Card Stud Strategy

PA Poker News7 Card Stud~Buying a Free Card

You may have heard about players buying a free card in 7 card stud. I know that I didn’t understand what this meant for quite a while. But it is not an advanced move, and it’s used almost routinely in many games. Here’s how it works.

Let’s say that on Fourth Street you have an exposed 2-Flush (8c-Jc)7cKc. Your opponent with (x-x)As9d bets $10 in this $10/20 game. Naturally, with a little less than a 50% chance of hitting your flush and almost surely winning the hand, you’re going to the River with it unless your opponent catches something extremely scary. So you might normally call.

Instead, you can sometimes raise with that 4-Flush. You’ve given yourself a few new ways to win, enlarging a pot for yourself if you do catch the Flush, and also won yourself a free card on Fifth Street if you don’t hit your suited card.

What’s likely to happen is that your opponent will call your raise on Fourth – although if he was betting with only the Ace high then he might fold to your raise. But, in any event, unless he hits another Ace or makes trips or something strong he’s likely to check to you on Fifth Street. This allows you to either continue to push your hand or, more likely, to check behind him if you haven’t caught your third suited up card for the Flush. Since the bets double on Fifth Street you are actually buying a free Fifth Street card for the half price of a raise on Fourth Street.

Now, lest you go crazy with this move, realize that some players are sophisticated enough to recognize what you’re doing. And they will re-raise you on Fourth to make your draw more expensive by two small bets rather than one. They will also lead out with a bet on Fifth if you don’t hit another suited card – figuring that you were on a flush draw. This denies you the advantage of a free card, defeating the entire reason for the move in the first place. So be selective. Done sporadically or against unsophisticated opponents it is an excellent move that you should add to your 7 card stud arsenal.

Free cards, as they’re called, can be “bought” on any street but the River – though they are most common on Fourth and Fifth Street. Just keep in mind that you can sometimes raise with the intention of freezing your opponents normal inclination to lead bet on the next round. Keep in mind that this only works if he is likely to have the highest board on the next round of betting. Your move doesn’t succeed if you are first to go on the next round – as your checking will show weakness and invite your opponent to bet.

There is some additional collateral advantage to using this move from time to time – and it comes at the expense of your best opponents. If you actually do hit a monster on Fourth – perhaps when you started with a hidden pair and hit trips with your second up card – they will remember that you make this move to buy a free card on Fifth when you have a Flush draw. And they won’t give you credit for really having a hand. You’ll be able to raise with (QhQd)KsQs for example and get your knowledgeable opponent to call or even re-raise you, thinking that you’re just pushing your drawing hand with a raise. This can pay enormous dividends – especially if you get another pair and he still assumes you’re on a drawing hand.

Compliments of Ashley Adams

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7 Card Stud Strategy

PA Poker NewsFifth Street Defense~7 Card Stud

Most poker players want to learn how to be aggressive. It’s important in this game of 7 card stud. Passive play is usually the losing play. We don’t want to be “calling stations” that call and check and rarely initiate action.A basic lesson begins with the first three cards – “Third Street”. We learn to raise with what we presume to be the highest pair. As we progress we also learn about throwing in the occasion semi-bluff when we have the highest card but not the highest pair – with a hand like (3h-3d)Ah for example.

These are important tools to be sure. You do need to know how to be aggressive at the table during all phases of a stud hand. But defense is also important. While it feels better to bet and raise, it’s crucial for the winning player to also know when to fold, call and check. This is especially true in limit stud, as the eventual size of the bet compared with the pot becomes relatively small.

This diminishing bet to pot ratio leads many players to adopt a fatalistic attitude about their hand as it progresses from Third Street to the River. If they call on Third they tend to stay in all the way. Clearly this is an oversimplification. But it does generally characterize a profound problem for many players. They often can’t get away from their hands.

For you to play profitably, however, you must learn to get away from hands that started out in the lead but that are likely to have fallen behind. A good time to make that second assessment of where your hand is at comes on Fifth Street.

This is a problem even for better players. They know the aggressive tricks of the trade and have used them to knock players out of hands on later streets. And so, when they see other players being aggressive, they often incorrectly presume that their opponent is being similarly tricky – and so they call. Here’s an example.

It’s Fifth Street. Three players are left in the hand. You have the third hand.

(xx) Ks9c2c
(xx) Jh3h2h
(5cAd)As4c2d

You raised on Third Street, when you were surely in the lead with a pair of Aces. You got called by these three players. On Fourth Street you led again and got called. Now it’s Fifth Street. You aren’t worried by the first player. He’s a calling station who most likely started with a pair on the hole or a pair of Kings and didn’t believe your raise meant you had Aces. You see the 3-Flush. You’re concerned that he may have made his flush. But you also know he may have started with a pair and may only be drawing to a flush. You don’t want to give him a free card. So you decide to bet.The first player calls your bet. The second player, however, raises. Now what do you do?

If you’re a thoughtful and aggressive player you might well conclude that the raiser is bluffing – trying to get you to think he has the flush when he really has a flush draw – hoping to buy himself a free card on Sixth Street by inducing you to check on the next round. It is, after all, highly unlikely that he was dealt five suited cards in succession. So you call his raise.

This is generally a mistake. Here’s why.

While it’s true that he may be bluffing or, more likely semi-bluffing at this point – not really having the flush he is representing – even if he doesn’t have the flush he is probably ahead of you at this moment. In other words, his likely 4-Flush with a lower pair is a favorite to your pair of Aces.

You spotted a likely semi-bluff. But you responded incorrectly, wrongly assuming that if you were correct in your observation that you should call him.

Here’s the problem. If you were 100% certain that he had a pair and a 4-Flush you would be correct to call – even as an underdog. I’m not going to give you all of the math now because I’m too lazy, but leave it to say that you are close enough to make chasing correct because of the money in the hand and the third player who is far behind each of you. If he folds or calls, your battle leaves enough money in the pot it to be profitable to chase.

But you can’t be 100% certain that he doesn’t have the flush. And if he does have one you are a prohibitive underdog – with less than a 5% chance of winning. Combine those two possibilities – that you are a small underdog or that you are a huge underdog – and you have a situation where you should surely fold.

A 3-flush on board on Fifth Street is a huge danger sign. When you see it, even if you think your opponent is bluffing, you should nearly always fold if you only have a pair.

Here’s another Fifth Street danger sign – a more obvious one. Three of a kind. Unless you already have it beaten you should surely fold. Even if you hit your hand you could be drawing dead against a full house. Many players draw to flushes and straights or lower trips against exposed bigger trips. This is a huge mistake. You are worse than a 3:1 dog. Recognize the danger sign and get out.Here’s another situation – when you should respect aggression because it probably correctly represents a stronger hand even if it’s not obvious.

You started with a Premium Pair. Your good opponent calls after you raise on Third Street. You bet again on Fourth Street when neither of you seem to improve. He calls again. On Fifth Street he catches an Ace and you pair your Fourth Street card – giving you two pair. You are high on board with your pair and bet. Your opponent raises you. Unless he is a maniac you should fold.

Here’s a diagram of the hand as it progresses.

(K3)K raise to $20
(xx)9 calls $20

(K3)K8 bets $20
(xx)9Q calls $20

(K3)K88 bets $40
(xx)9QA raises to $80

Your opponent is representing one of two things. Either he has been slow playing trips (9s or Queens) or, more likely) he started with a pair and just hit Aces Up. Either way, you are woefully behind (about a 5:1 dog) and should fold now.

It’s tempting to call the raise, believing that you might catch your full house or that your opponent doesn’t have you beat at this point but is only bluffing. But you must resist that temptation as wishful thinking.

It’s unlikely to the extreme that your opponent would actually be hoping to knock you off of your likely Kings up with a bluff in this situation. Players are unlikely to fold after they have initiated the betting on a round. So bluffing players who do this is unlikely to be successful. Similarly, there isn’t a drawing hand that is likely for your opponent in this example – making a semi-bluff unlikely as well. He’s most likely to have what he appears to have – which is a hand with much better expectations than yours.

Here’s a general 7 card stud rule of thumb that you can use on Fifth Street when you’re facing what may well be a superior hand to yours. If the hand that your opponent is representing is better or has a better expectation of winning on the River than your hand and if his draw is better than your draw then you should fold – even if you’re not sure if he has the hand that he is representing and even if the pot is already fairly large.

Compliments of Ashley Adams

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Parx Casino to Host PA’s first World Poker Tour Event

Pa Poker NewsPA’s first World Poker Tour Regional Event

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For more information on this event, contact Parx Casino at: 1-888-588-PARX

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7 Card Stud Strategy

PA Poker NewsDrafting and 7 Card Stud

There’s a concept applicable to 7 card stud poker that comes from bicycle racing. It’s useful against moderately good opponents who know the importance of aggression. I call it “poker drafting”.

In the bike racing it works like this. One bicyclist deliberately gets right behind another – not because he can’t pass his opponent but to conserve his own energy. The lead cyclist cuts through the air, expending energy in so doing, while the follower rides in his wake – taking advantage of the slip stream that his leading opponent creates.

The idea is to draft behind an opponent until a moment when, energy saved, one can then burst into high gear, passing the opponent right at the end of the race. The sudden burst of speed surprises the lead cyclist when he is most tired from having lead the race up until that point. The lead cyclist is passed in a burst of energy at just the time when he is beginning to tire from having lead the whole race.

The same can be done in poker – though again I don’t recommend this for beginning players against other inexperienced or otherwise bad players.

When you have a hand that you are nearly certain is well in the lead, but your opponent has taken the lead in betting or raising, don’t challenge him for the lead by raising immediately. Rather, follow behind him as he continues to lead bet through the following rounds of betting – only coming out to overtake him with your aggression when he is unaware and, you hope, unable to concede the hand to you.

Similarly, if your opponent tends to try to steal the antes with the highest card on the board, but you have him beat, don’t’ dispel him or discourage him from his aggression. Induce him to continue to do so by passively calling along rather than by raising. Lull him into a false sense of security with your inaction.

Here’s an example of this ploy. Suppose you have pocket Aces. Your opponent, in front of you, has a King showing and raises the bring in. It is surely tempting to swat him away with a re-raise. That’s the most direct move – and probably the one you want to follow most of the time. Aces aren’t a sure winner after all. And it’s usually a good idea to force an opponent with a weaker hand to pay for the privilege of chasing your hand. You’re usually not strong enough with just a pair of Aces to withstand the improvement of other players. And so the typical play is the reraise – driving out all other opponents and happy to win the pot right there from the raising King.

But this is a deceptive play. It’s meant as an occasional change of pace from your typical play. Rather than reraise just call. You want to do this when you are reasonably certain that the hand will be played heads up. So if you’re in a tight game it may be appropriate. Similarly, you need to know your opponent. He needs to be someone who tends to push the betting whether or not he’s on a bluff or semi-bluff on Third Street. Ideally, you want an opponent who might continue to bet as a bluff as the hand progresses – hoping that you’ll fold on Fourth or Fifth when he continues to bet.

So let him remain unchallenged by you with your wired pair. Same on Fourth Street. If he’s high – as he is likely to be – and if he bets, just follow behind – letting him cut through the air so to speak as you follow in his wake. This is, in a sense, a slow play, but it is a special kind of slow play designed to take advantage of an opponent who might just continue to bet his high hand until he faces resistance. You don’t want to offer him that resistance too soon.

If both of your hands continue to be unimproved and if he continues to lead bet (as oppose to check) you will continue to call him until Sixth Street, at which time you will raise him. You’re happy to take the pot right there with just your Aces. But if he continues to call you, you’re not disappointed either as you expect to be in the lead and will be likely to win an extra large bet this way.

The idea is to take advantage of the natural inclination of an opponent who is aggressive in the face of passivity. I’ve often found that players will continue to bluff at me as well when I assume this pose of weakness. But as soon as I show any strength by returning fire, they concede their bluff. By delaying my aggression I am inducing them to make the wrong play of bluffing.

Again, you have to be careful with this move. It doesn’t work with more than one opponent, as there are just too many ways for multiple opponents to bypass you as you are holding back on your aggression. Better to limit the field with a re-raise most of the time if you’re not pretty sure, either because of your position or because of the type of player you’re against combined with their up cards, that they will leave you in a heads up battle.

I’ve found that adding this poker drafting to my repertoire of poker moves leaves my more observant opponents uncertain about my passivity when they see it. Sometimes when I check or just call, I have a drawing hand and just want a free card. By unexpectedly drafting from time to time and raising doubts about whether I’m just trying to seduce him into lead betting his second best hand I am also causing him to occasionally check to me when I want him to check – when I am on a draw. In so doing he is making a mistake – a mistake that eventually adds to my bottom line.
Compliments of Ashley Adams
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