Pairs in seven card stud

Poker Variants / Marcus Bateman / 03 June 2010 / Leave a Comment

All limit games rely on you following relatively stringent starting hand requirements from each position.

Seven card stud is one of the most interesting forms of poker, as a typical hand contains vast amounts of information by the end, allowing a skilled player to really hammer home their advantage. However, due to the limit nature of stud, it requires a solid understanding of hand values early on in the hand, as no matter how good your skills are on the later streets, constantly swimming upstream will bust you over the long run.

One of the best examples of a mistake you constantly see in seven card stud is players ignoring their kicker when they start with small pairs. Imagine the case of a tight player who only ever raises with a pair in the hole opening with a queen showing. From your history, you know that this probably indicates a pair of queens, although they could have aces, kings, or perhaps jacks in the hole. You look down at a pair of fives in the hole. Against this players range and tendencies, whether or not you should play this hand is basically dependent on your kicker.

A hand like (5h)(5c)Ac or (5h)(5c)Kc can be played against a suspected pair of queens profitably in stud, simply because if you hit a third five or pair your kicker, you will have a very strong two pair - one that is much stronger than your opponent's will be if they also make two pair. Always remember that in poker its the higher pair that matters in the hand, not the lower. As a result, small pairs increase in power dramatically if the kicker is higher than your opponent's suspected pair, as hitting it (or a third five) will result in you nearly always having the best hand.

All limit games rely on you following relatively stringent starting hand requirements from each position, simply because the implied odds on offer make it much harder to win massive pots, and as a result a much more mathematical approach to the game must be taken than in no limit and pot limit games, where bravery and guts are much more important for long term success. Most hold'em players immediately look down at a small pair and think of all the big hands they won with them in hold'em and call regardless of the kicker when they see these hands in stud. This is a big leak, and one that will cost you a fortune over time if you do not plug it.

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