STUD....Part 1

STUD POKER

Stud poker, one of the earlier forms of poker.

Its all about looking at what others have got and deducing if the cards are left to make your hand.

I am not and will not go into the rules of any game of poker, you should have a basic understanding of the game before reading any further, so of you go and study then come back…

In no other poker game are the antes more important than in stud poker. They will dictate how you are to play, Low ante play tight, High ante loosen up..If you don’t then in later rounds if you are still waiting for “group1” hands you will be paying large antes just to give it away, and any good player on the table will have noticed this and be raising you with just about anything……It’s the same as blind stealing in hold em.

A short bit this but essentially the most important of any stud game (stud, razz, loball etc) you have to watch all the time. Did someone muck a 7d earlier and you missed it and you are drawing to diamonds or a 7 then you are in trouble. How many players have I seen holding pair kings with the other 2 kings out and still raising a pair of aces before them….Dont fall into the trap of drawing dead. Be aware at all times in stud..

What street?

Below is a simple diagram to explain how we refer to cards in stud (there is no turn or river) We have 3^rd – 7^th street. With 4 of your cards face up for everyone to see..(on occasions you will have 5 cards face up but more on that in a minute)

This means that everyone gets 7 cards dealt from a standard 52 card deck, Which leads to everyones favourite question

“what happens if 8 players stay in till the end?”

Although uncommon it does happen and that means we need 56 cards as we don’t have wild cards, someone goes without…WRONG..

7^th street is dealt face up in the middle of the table, 1 card that is now a community card, suddenly you have 5 cards face up, not 4 (if you cant work out now if you are ahead go play tiddlywinks)

Like all poker games you should be selective about what hands to start with and what to pass, but unlike other poker games the best hand on 3^rd street is usually the best hand after 7^th street.

There is a number of basic hands to look for when deciding to play or not, please remember that once people decide to play in limit games they generally see it right through to showdown even knowing they are an underdog as pot odds are greatly in there favour

PREMIUM PAIRS

AA, KK, JJ, QQ, 10,10

ROLLED UP (trips)

Don’t get excited a pair is odds 300-1, rolled up is 450-1

SPLIT PAIRS

i.e. K, 7, K

CONCEALED PAIRS

i.e. K, K, 7

DRAWING HANDS

3 to the flush (you should have the A), or 3 running cards (9 or better) are worth playing a couple of streets to see if they improve

Okay you have your 3 cards you have decided to play or fold now we will look at how to play each street as they come, after the first 3 cards all further cards are dealt 1 by 1 with the person to lead out dependant on house rules (sometimes best hand leads, sometimes worse leads) Always check house rules before sitting at a table