I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now: Stud

Seven card stud is the predecessor to limit Hold’em. It used to be the most common game played, but eventually the faster pace and increased action of hold’em made it the game of choice. Stud is a descendant of five card stud, which came from five card draw. Stud plays a lot like its progeny, limit hold’em, rewarding the aggressive player with uncontested pots. Stud games are not nearly as common as its relatives. They are most prolific on the East Coast, spotty in Los Angeles, and there’s one $20-$40 game that goes regularly at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Otherwise, stud will mostly be found online or as a part the rotation in mixed games.

Stud is generally played limit, however, it can easily be played pot-limit or no-limit also, yet those games are rarely spread. All modern stud games have five rounds of betting. Two of those rounds (or streets) are for small bets, and the last three rounds are big bets. Half a big bet of extra money goes into a standard hand (raise initially, bet every street) of stud compared to hold’em, and most of the money goes in late in stud. Hold’em gets 1.5 big bets into the pot before the turn, and then two more big bets go into the pot later, for a total of 3.5 big bets. In stud, after the first two betting rounds (third and fourth streets), only one big bet will usually have been put in the pot, with three more big bets coming later on fifth, sixth and seventh streets for a total of four big bets.

When considering optimal strategy for any stud based game, the first thing to be aware of is the size of the antes and bring-in versus the limits. When the ante is higher, players should play more hands. A bigger ante puts more money into the pot initially, tempting players with nefariousness to a higher degree, creating more action. For example, in the $300-$600 mixed game in Las Vegas, stud games are played with a $100 ante and a $100 bring in. At an eight-handed table, that means there is $900 in the pot after the bring in. Since the completion is $300, the pot only needs to be won uncontested on third street more than one time in four to be profitable.

When playing $400-$800, the antes and bring-in are still $100, but the completion is now $400. Therefore, since a completion is risking another $100 to win the same $900 in the pot, it needs to be successful more than 30.8 percent of the time to be profitable as compared to the 25 percent of the time at $300-$600. Thus, with bigger antes, players should be actively trying to win the antes more often, and with smaller antes there is less pressure and incentive to get out of line and play extra hands.

Stud plays a lot like limit hold’em in the sense that aggression is hugely valuable and plays a very similar role in both games. You should never limp on third street, you should always complete when first to voluntarily enter a pot. If a player has completed the bet in front of you, it is usually bad to just flat on third street.

If your hand is better than your opponent’s, then you should be putting more money into the pot. If your hand is worse, then your cards should be put into the muck. If you have a flush draw and want to play it, then you should be opening or reraising with it. Playing draws and unmade hands aggressively gives you an extra chance to win the pot by simply having your opponents fold, and it balances your range with pair plus hands very well, making you difficult to play against.

When considering pots to enter on third street, the board and your hand should both greatly influence your decision. Often when action folds to you and you have the highest card on the board, it is correct to complete the bet, regardless of what you have in the hole. Dead cards are important. If you are drawing to a flush, for every dead card in your suit, you are approximately 4 percent less likely to make your flush. Having your door card live is helpful, both because it will make your opponents more likely to believe that you have the pair you’re representing, and because it makes you more likely to pair your door card, greatly improving your fold equity.

Fifth street is the inflection point in stud games much like the turn is in flop games. It’s the point where bets start getting expensive and players should be giving up on the hand or heading toward showdown. Fifth street is where hands generally begin to show their true colors. If you are the aggressor, regardless of your holding, you should often be betting fourth and fifth streets. If your opponent(s) continue to sixth street, it means they’re serious about their hand, and by fifth street you should have a pretty fair idea what your opponent is holding, and then you should proceed accordingly.

If opponents pair their door card, you should usually be folding unless your hand is very strong, as the likelihood of them having trips is significant. When players start with a pair, two-thirds of the time the pair is split, with one card being in the hole and the other card being their door card. One third of starting pairs are wired and concealed in the hole. Obviously player tendencies need to be considered at all times.

When you pair your door card, you should usually be betting to represent the trips since that is a quite plausible scenario. If you pair your door card on fourth street, you should bet the minimum instead of the optional double bet in most cases, except when the pot is abnormally bloated or when opponents’ boards are showing likely draws, usually two to a suit and sometimes when they’re showing two connected cards. Generally, when they’re showing these type boards and they call a double bet, they have the draw that you can see, and you should proceed accordingly.

Stud is a very fun game, and due to the extra information available, the skill gap is greater in stud games than in flop games. Hope this helps you, I hope you enjoy some hands of something different! ♠

Bryan Devonshire has been a professional poker player for nearly a decade. With over $2m in tournament earnings, he also plays high-stakes mixed games against the best players in the world. Follow him on Twitter @devopoker.