Who Said Stud is Dead?

When I first began visiting Las Vegas back in the mid-1970s, seven-card stud was the game to play. Omaha really hadn't become popular and hold'em was for the pros. Most everyone played stud, and it was the first game we novices dared play. I cut my teeth on stud, as did most everyone who learned to play poker during that era. As time passed, players found new games and stud's allure seemed to change. However, in a recent column I was totally wrong in leading you, my faithful readers, into thinking stud is dead, dying, or not worth learning to play. Just the contrary is true, in fact! That was pointed out to me by some lifelong friends of mine during a recent visit to Los Angeles. My guest writer in that column, Joanie Destino, follows up here on our misrepresentation of this great card game, and I also suggest that anyone who hasn't yet added seven-card stud to his playing arsenal do so when he can. It is a game that is challenging, and not only will keep you mentally sharp, but is simply the best training ground for learning all of the other games. It is the basis of which all of the other games came about. Even hold'em is a variation of seven-card stud, not the other way around! Please read Joanie's wonderful follow-up to the misrepresentations we may have made in our earlier column. Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Joanie!

To paraphrase Shakespeare, I come to praise seven-card stud, not to bury it. Recently I wrote a piece entitled "Where Have All the Seven-Card Stud Players Gone?" For some players, my attempt to discuss and analyze the decline of stud was perceived to be an obituary for the game. The fact that this piece appeared in Jan Fisher's column entitled "Why Stud is a Dying Game" certainly added to that conception.

The elegant and eloquent David Hayden sent me his comments about the popularity of stud, and I quote him: "From where I am sitting this early afternoon, waiting for a seat in one of the three full daily $100-$200 seven-card stud games in the L.A. Commerce Casino, it appears that seven-card stud is robust."

He goes on to say: "From the frame of reference of the middle limits, seven-card stud is thriving from coast to coast. I haven't been East in a few years, so I checked with some players from that land. Is seven-card stud the biggest game played consistently at Foxwoods and in Atlantic City? Yes! Is stud the main game? Yes! In L.A., especially at Commerce Casino, stud is consistently the highest-limit around-the-clock, seven-days-a-week game in town."

OK, stud players, hear me out. My previous essay was written because of my fondness and concern for stud, and was not in any way meant as an indictment of the game. I wrote about stud because I love to play it. And it is certainly worth revisiting the topic to convey and celebrate all that playing stud has to offer, and why learning the game should be a prerequisite for those who want to become winning poker players, no matter which game they play most of the time.

If a poker player has a good basic stud game in his playing repertoire, it can only make him a better hold'em player. The very skills that seem specific to playing stud, like the discipline and concentration needed to remember cards, analyze hands as they develop, and utilize deductive reasoning, can certainly be applied to flop games. When these skills are honed in a stud game, they can give the hold'em or Omaha player an advantage.

Nevertheless, the reality of poker's popularity today cannot be denied. As I noted in that last essay, the Internet, television, and the excellent adventures of Chris Moneymaker have all contributed to the hold'em craze. So, maybe those players who want stud to experience a resurgence should take the initiative. Some of the successful tournament stud players could become ambassadors and lobbyists for seven-card stud. And everyone who enjoys stud, or who plays it for a living, should be an advocate for the game.

So, what else can be said about stud that might catch the fancy of all those fledgling poker players who have recently discovered the excitement of playing poker as it is so sensationally depicted on television?

Quoting David Hayden once again: "From my seat, it seems that seven-card stud is in a healthy young adulthood, maturing gracefully."

And he knows where many of the stud players are, stating: "Some are at the bank making a deposit. Where poker is played regularly for the highest stakes in America, seven-card stud is still the game."

When asked why they prefer stud to hold'em, many stud players refer to the depth and complexity of the game, the layers of play, and the challenge of applying different skills to each new round of cards. In stud, how each hand is played needs to be adjusted and fine-tuned every time another card is dealt out. Comparing hold'em and stud is like comparing checkers and chess, and those who cannot appreciate the distinction probably wouldn't do well at stud anyway.

My hope is that those of us who care will continue to support and promote the game. I have some more ideas on that subject, and I imagine many of you do, too, but that is for another article. So, once again, I ask, "Where have all the seven-card stud players gone?" Obviously, many have not gone far.

Please write to me with your poker-related questions and comments. Also, please come to the Oasis Casino Resort in Mesquite, Nevada, and join us for the Oasis Open, beginning on May 20.