Give Me Aces, Not Faces

In my last column, "High Pairs, Low Value," I discussed all the reasons to fold high pairs in seven-card stud eight-or-better (stud/8). High pairs include nines through kings, but aces are the notable exception. I've folded kings many times on third street, but I cannot ever remember folding aces on the first betting round, under any circumstances.

You're probably thinking, "Gee, thanks, Matt. I really need you to tell me not to fold aces on third street! What would we do without you?" OK, obviously I haven't told you anything you don't know. But the purpose of this column is to point out why aces are playable in situations in which kings are not. Too many players play both hands as if they're comparable in strength, but in actuality, the gap between aces and kings in stud/8 is huge. It's bigger than the gap between any two adjacent pairs in any of the major games.

There are some obvious reasons why aces are much better than kings – reasons that would be true in any form of poker. For instance, we all know that if one pair wins the hand, you'll have the best pair. If you make two pair or trips, it will be the best two pair or trips, and so on. Your opponents will need to make a higher-level hand than yours in order to win. There are also a couple of reasons that would be true in either stud/8 or regular seven-card stud. For example, you're not as vulnerable against someone who has a pair with an ace kicker, or someone with a three-card flush containing an ace. Either one of those hands would be only slight underdogs against kings, but against aces, they are facing a much tougher uphill battle.

Now, let's look specifically at stud/8, a game in which aces are like gold. There are many reasons why aces are far superior to kings; I'll touch on three of the more important ones here:

Reason No. 1: If an opponent catches an ace, you're still in decent shape. Let's say you have kings and an opponent who appears to be going low catches an ace. Now, you're in a tough spot. One way or another, the ace has to have helped him, and you don't know whether he made a pair of aces or merely improved his low. Neither situation would thrill you, but you'd certainly rather have an idea about how your opponent was helped. If he catches his ace early (fourth or fifth street), oftentimes the right play is to fold the kings, just because you'd be on the defensive for the rest of the hand.

On the other hand, if he catches an ace while you're holding aces, you can be fairly confident he didn't pair up. Again, you're not happy that he caught the ace, but at least you have a better idea of where you stand. You can remain on the offensive if he gets "bricked" (that is, catches a 9, 10, or facecard), and make him pay to complete his low. Even if it appears that he might have completed a low, you stand an excellent chance of getting the high, and should probably remain in the hand. The same could not be said if you had a pair other than aces, in which case you'd oftentimes be better off folding if your opponent had an ace and two other low cards showing.

Reason No. 2: You have two premium low cards tied up. Whether you're going high or low, aces are by far the most coveted cards in stud/8. And having two of them is not just good for you, it's bad for your opponents who can't get them. Their chances of making a quality hand decrease significantly.

Let's say an opponent started with three low cards. He obviously wants to avoid getting bricked. If you have two aces as opposed to two kings, the chances your opponent will get bricked on fourth street go up by more than 4 percent. That might not sound like much, but consider that it is compounded, so to speak. In other words, your opponent is also 4 percent more likely to get bricked on each consecutive card; 4 percent seems a little bit stronger now, doesn't it? Believe me, if you play enough hands of stud/8, you will feel that 4 percent at work.

Reason No. 3: With split aces, your hand has tremendous deceptive value. I believe this is the biggest advantage to having aces rather than kings. If you have a king showing on third street, your opponents have little doubt that you're going high. With an ace showing, you could be going either way, and the tendency of loose players is to put you on what they hope you have. If they have a small pair, they will call, hoping you are going low. If they have a marginal low draw, they'll stay in and pray you're going strictly high. Either way, they would probably be better off folding, since they're reduced to hoping and praying, but the biggest weakness of typical stud/8 players is stubbornness.

I said in my last column that a good stud/8 player knows when to fold high pairs. By the same token, you will make a good portion of your stud/8 profit from players who are incapable of releasing those pairs. And the best time to nail them is when you start with split aces. If you have an ace and at least one other low card showing, ridiculously weak high hands will call you. You could have aces up and be called by a pair of sixes. Needless to say, betting aces or aces up on the river for value is a must. Conversely, you will not get such loose calls when you start with split kings, because even the most delusional players could not put you on a low hand when you started with a king on third street. If you're in a game in which someone is making that call, please tell me, so I can run and join you.

How many stud/8 players do we have out there? I've seen a column about stud/8 only once in a blue moon. I hope enough people play it to make writing about it worthwhile. Please feel free to send me an e-mail to let me know if it's your cup of tea. Personally, I think stud/8 is one of the most enjoyable games out there, and it constantly surprises me that it hasn't attracted a larger following. If you haven't played it yet, give it a try. You might like it.