Two pair in Seven Card Stud

Poker Variants / Marcus Bateman / 16 June 2010 / Leave a Comment

If you are new to Stud try not to let Hold'em influence your play too much – it is a very different game.

If you are used to Hold'em and you start playing Seven Card Stud regularly, it can seem obvious that any time you have an under pair to your opponent's board, you should fold. However, unlike in Hold'em, where if you have a low pair you tend to either have five outs or two (not a great situation to be putting money in), in Stud you frequently have many more, aided by the fact that the whole of your hand is live, unlike in Hold'em where your hand is limited to simply two cards.

While the betting is small, you nearly always want to hold onto low pairs in stud, simply because if you make two pair or three of a kind your hand will often be good, and you will often win a few big bets from someone unable to lay down an over pair. Equally, you also have to be able to lay down both big pairs and weak two pairs if the action gets heavy - although these are strong hands in Stud, to be played profitably you need to be able to squeeze out bets when ahead and save a few when behind.

As this is a major leak in most low limit stud player's games - either over or underplaying low pairs early in the hand, and under/overplaying weak two pairs late in the hand, you need to be able to quickly identify the players at the table capable of making which plays, and adapt accordingly.

A player who never seems to call with low pairs early in the hand is only really going to have a big pair, rolled up trips, or a great connector if they stick around with something like a four or a five showing, and this makes their range much easier to play later on in the hand. Conversely, the range of a player who habitually calls any pair early in the hand is much wider, with obvious consequences on value betting frequency.

Seven Card Stud is one of the most dynamic and interesting games in poker. It has subtle nuances which no other form of poker has, and being able to spot these and take advantage is fundamental to success. If you are new to Stud try not to let Hold'em influence your play too much - it is a very different game, and one that has to be played in a fundamentally different way to the games you may be used to.

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