AMATEUR
GAMBLERS: 7 CARD STUD POKER
Seven
Card Stud is the most popular of the stud games, both
for the high stakes nature of the game and the impact
that careful thought can have on your odds. Seven
Card Stud has five rounds of betting, with the maximum
bet doubling on either the second or third round of
betting. Because so many of the cards are exposed
on the table, you can make good choices about how
likely it is that a winning hand is going to appear
for you.
-
Ante
- An amount determined by the card rooms that each
player puts in the pot before receiving cards. The
amount of the ante varies with the game stakes.
There is no ante in £0.50/£1.00 games.
- Street
- A name for the various stages of betting, as you
receive your cards. Because the game begins with the
player receiving three cards, betting begins on third
street, and continues to seventh street.
- Door
Card - Another name for "third street",
that is, a player's first up card.
- River
Card - Another name for "seventh street".
The last card dealt.
-
Bring-in
- A small beginning bet required from the player
with the lowest exposed card by suit.
Betting
Structure
(Example for £10/£20 game)
| Ante |
Bring-in |
3rd
Street |
4th
Street |
5th
Street |
6th
Street |
7th
Street |
| £1 |
£5 |
£10 |
£10/
£20* |
£20 |
£20 |
£20 |
*Higher
bet option if pair showing
Starting
a Game
To
begin playing Seven Card Stud, you place an ante on
the table. This is usually a fraction of a bet, set
by the card room, and varies according to the stakes
of the game. There is no ante in £0.50/£1.00 games.
Players
are then dealt three cards, two face down and one face
up.
The
player with the lowest card showing (ace is high) is
then required to make the bring-in bet which is equal
to half the lower-limit bet. If two people have the
lowest card it is determined by suit: clubs (lowest),
diamonds, hearts and spades - alphabetically. A round
of betting begins, with the options for the other players
being fold (quit the hand), call (put in an equal amount
to what has been placed in the pot) or raise to a full
bet.
Example:
In a £20/£40 game, the ante is usually £3 and the bring-in
bet is £10. The full bet at third street is £20.
Fourth
Street
For
this betting round, each active player is dealt another
card face up, exposed to the table.
The
player with the highest card values (counting all exposed
cards, such as high card, pair, etc.) then begins the
next betting round by checking or betting. If two hands
are of equal value the betting is started by the player
closest to the dealer's left.
The
lower level bet applies to Fourth Street but, if the
highest hand showing is a pair, any player has an option
to bet either the lower or the higher betting limit
(£20 or £40 in our example), and the other players must
follow that amount in calling or raising.
Fifth
and Sixth Street
The
mechanics are the same as for fourth street, but the
betting amounts are at the higher limit (£40 in the
example above).
The
first player is determined by the highest ranking exposed
hand on the table.
Seventh
Street
This
is the last card, and is called seventh street or the
river. It is dealt face down, and the person who played
first on sixth street plays first again.
A
final round of betting ensues, ending in the showdown.
Players
have four exposed and three hidden cards by this point.
They then create the best five-card hand from their
total of seven cards.
This
is the best game in the house for a gambler and it has
to do with allowing each individual to pick the opponents
he will come up against and the amount of the betting
he wishes to engage in. And, if you have knowledge of
Poker, then you are on the right track!
The
reason
that this is the best game for the Player, is because
you can choose who you wish to engage in combat with.
In Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, etc, the house has that
built in edge, called Vigorish, working for them. The
Vigorish is the difference in what the house pays and
what they should pay. Naturally they are entitled to
it because they pay the rent, dealers, electric etc.
But the bottom line is that we (the players), fight
this high Vig every time we go to a table game or machine.
But
in Poker, there is no built in edge, except for the
rake (percentage the house pulls from the winning hand).
Some charge 5% while others are a lot less and the individual
players who lose a pot are not subjected to this hidden
rake. In private games, you will find there is no such
thing.
Plus,
you can go to a table and play against people who are
worse than you are. A BAD poker player gets the label
of FISH or MARK. That's because he/she is a lousy (for
want of a better word) player and subject to getting
whacked by stronger players. You can also leave a table
if you find you are the dubious owner of the terms FISH
and MARK.
In
other words, if you are playing against good strong
players, you can keep table jumping until you find your
own MARK. Believe me; it takes only a couple of hands
to sort out the strong players and the bad ones. You
can bet the ranch that I wouldn't stay at a table where
the other players were far superior to me.
If
you are just starting out and think you know the game
because you wipe out your family at the Friday night
penny-ante kitchen table games, then you better read
the following, regarding a few things you should be
aware of but keep in mind that it is still the best
game for you to play:
7
Card Stud Tips:
 "
A starting pair over 10 is usually worth betting on,
unless an opponent seems to be betting aggressively
and may have a higher pair.
"
Fifth street is a make-or-break point. With the bet
doubling, it can get expensive if you are still trying
to "make" a hand at this point. Be sure
that the cards you need are still "live",
that is, have not been exposed in other players' hands.
"
It's best to fold if an opponent's exposed cards beat
your entire hand
"
If you are trying to complete a hand like a straight
or a flush, check to see if other players have already
exposed the cards you need, and adjust your strategy.
You
have to know how to READ your cards.
You have to know the chances of you improving your
hand, based on the cards you can see on the table.
You have to be aware of the TELLS by your opponents.
You have to be sure NOT to have TELLS of your own,
whereby another player can get a read on your mannerisms,
which give away your style of play.
You have to know when to apply discipline.
You MUST have MONEY MANAGEMENT.
You must learn NOT to chase.
You must learn to have the DISCIPLINE necessary to
know when you are beat.
The things listed here are not hard to understand
and a fairly decent Poker player will know exactly
what I am talking about. Don't think that the list
cancels out the fact that I believe you should play
this game. Play Poker, but at the same time, NOT BEFORE
you are aware of what you need to compete with other
players.
Being
new to Poker, you may not have heard the term: A ROCK!
A
Rock is a player who waits for a sure fire powerful
hand, before getting involved in a pot. He/she won't
call or bet until the situation warrants that his/her
hand can withstand anyone else's cards. Other players
will pick up on these actions
and the Rocks soon find that nobody stays around when
they finally do bet, making their powerful hands practically
worthless. That is where you must have a balanced
way of playing, in such a way that you give out absolutely
no information to your opponents as to your strengths
or weaknesses.
You
should know that the term BLUFFING is over rated.
You can bluff once, maybe twice a night, but a good
player will pick up on these moves and negate them
with moves of their own.
Go
back over that list I laid out and see how it applies
to your playing. I am not trying to discourage your
playing this game but rather want to encourage you
to do so, when you're a solid player.
|
Straight Flush
Flush
2 Pairs
