The Key Battles To Be Won In Seven Card Stud

Seven Card Stud is a classic game and is a marvelous blend of luck and skill. Unfortunately, its popularity is somewhat waning and finding it spread in cash games has become more difficult. It is still widely played on the east coast at Foxwoods and the Borgata, however, both the number of the tables and frequency of games have been slowly diminishing over time.

Foxwoods has long been considered the center of the Stud universe, and a few years ago there might have been two $20-$40 games plus a $75-$150 running on a Wednesday morning. Now that type of action might only go on the weekend. Stud is also still popular at the Borgata, but usually only Friday through Sunday.

It’s safe to say that Stud is struggling as a cash game with the main issue being a quickly decreasing player pool. Another problem is that people walk away from the table more often than they do in variants played with fixed blinds.

In a short-handed Hold’em or Omaha game there’s still the same amount of money in the pot on every deal regardless of the number of players dealt in, however, in Stud there are fewer antes in the middle to fight over.

This can cause the action to slow down, often to the dismay of recreational players who might be giving the game a try. When included within mixed rotations, the issue becomes even more prevalent. Anyone that has to use the restroom, catch a smoke, or grab a bite to eat will often get up and leave once the Stud round starts.

However, if you enjoy Stud it’s not all doom and gloom; but you probably need to place more focus on tournament play.

In tournaments it’s a forced ante regardless of if someone is present at the table or not, and they typically have action-inducing ante structures. Stud only tournaments are still offered at the WSOP, and given that it is a classic skillful game, it’s likely that will always be the case. In addition, HORSE tournaments (and other mixed events) are still very popular at the WSOP and smaller tournament series all over the country.

Now that we got that out of the way, we can pivot to some high-level strategy. In Stud, as in any form of poker, there are certain battles you need to win in order to triumph in the overall war, and two of the most important are:

1. Win the struggle for the antes
2. Start with a bigger pair more often than your opponent(s)

Of course, there’s more to the game than those above, and there are certainly times when it’s appropriate to dial down your aggression and not try and steal as much, or possibly risk bumping up against a bigger pair against someone trying to run the table over. However, if you are losing these two key battles decisively you really have no chance to win over the long haul.

The ante structure plays a large role in dictating which of these two battles are more important to win.

Structures are often categorized by comparing the size of ante to the lower betting limit, and the resulting percentage typically falls within a range of 10-25%. For example, a $10-$20 game with a $1 ante (10% structure) would be considered a low-ante game, while $40-$80 with a $10 ante (25% structure) would generally be classified as a high ante.

In the low-ante $10-$20 game there isn’t going to be as much stealing since there is less money to win, and also because the players inhabiting tend them to be less aggressive. Consistently getting involved with small or medium pairs against higher up-cards will have your chip stack dwindling. Defending against potential ante steals isn’t a big part of the game, patience is, and you have to wait for mostly clear cut situations with big pairs and strong draws where most of your cards live.

Conversely, in the higher ante $40-$80 game, fully taking advantage of all profitable stealing opportunities, and aggressively defending against those trying to do the same thing is a huge component to your overall success.

In these higher-ante games we are often forced to commence hostilities against a likely theft attempt. For example, if we are to the direct right of the bring-in and the last player to act before us completes with the Q up, we have a clear re-raise with marginal paired hands such as (3 6) 6 or any reasonably strong draw. It’s important to take the lead, knock out the bring-in, and give our opponent a chance to fold a relatively weak holding. This is important not just for the current hand, but for future ones as well.

When we are in there frequently three-betting the action, it may deter future steal attempts opening the door for us to attack the antes in ensuing hands. Flat-calling is not as effective as a deterrent since it gives your opponent a better price on his steal while also allowing him to continue with his junk; sometimes permitting him to drag a pot he might not have otherwise won. If someone is in there raising as long as the dealer dealt him the right number of cards, force them to either put in more money or relinquish their equity.

Sometimes we will be up against a pair of queens and be taking the worst of it; however, in a high-ante structure it’s critical to win the battle over the antes. Although this doesn’t necessarily mean we are losing battle no. 2 outlined above, which is starting with the bigger pair more than not. Our skilled opponents will also be in there attacking our potential steals, thus this should more or less equal out.

We can seek to differentiate ourselves by avoiding playing hands that are relatively strong in a vacuum, but possibly not good enough to play against what looks to be a strong opening range. For example, suppose the Q had instead opened from early position when he was looking at a few bigger cards behind him.

In a situation where our opponent has a stronger range, we can win battle no. 2 by folding a hand as good as jacks. That might seem tight, but if your kicker is generally unhelpful it can be a sound long-term play. He’s much more likely to have queens (or maybe even wired aces or kings), and even when he doesn’t you are not smashing other holdings such as live flush draws anyway. Not many players have the discipline to fold hands such as this, even if they suspect that it might be correct.

Seven Card Stud has always been one of my favorite games to play. Similar to most people I started out with Hold’em, but was immediately attracted to the intricacies of Stud and the need to constantly adjust based upon what we see on board and how the hand is being played out. Those players that are able to quickly access and effectively use this additional information will have a great advantage over their opponents. ♠

Kevin Haney is a former actuary but left the corporate job to focus on his passions for poker and fitness. The certified personal trainer owned a gym in New Jersey, but has since moved to Las Vegas. He started playing the game back in 2003, and particularly enjoys taking new players interested in mixed games under his wing and quickly making them proficient in all variants. Learn more or just say hello with an email to [email protected].