January, 2021 - As you master things like starting hand strategy, card memorization and betting tactics, you can begin to employ various advanced 7 Card Stud strategies to help improve your game even more. This article will look at some of the more subtle advanced tactics that can be a big help in taking your game play to the next level. Covered in this article will be topics like getting free cards, drawing and reading opponents. If you are looking for more information on Seven Card stud, be sure to check out our other 7 Card Stud strategy articles below. We offer the largest selection of Stud poker strategy articles found anywhere on the web. The authors of these articles are well known Stud players that earn a living play stud at the major poker rooms. Here are some other winning Stud strategy articles as well as guides on where to play Stud in 2021.
Looking at the cards on the table and then being able to make a logical deduction as to what your opponents might hold is a critical skill in Seven Card stud. There are a few things you can look for right away that might help you figure out what an opponent holds:
Watch out for players who have paired their door card (first up card). There are a couple of situations likely when this happens. Either they have completed to three of a kind or might very well be holding two pair. Your knowledge of other cards out on the board or ones that have been folded will help you figure it out.
Players who have an ace as a door card can cause trouble. Many times they will have nothing more than this ace, but it is very common for players to simply always bet or raise with an ace in the initial rounds. Be certain to take notes on players, which will help you deduce what might be going on when someone has an ace as their door card. Try a stop raise to slow down an overly aggressive player with an ace.
When playing Seven Card stud online, you won’t be able to watch a player’s reaction to their own cards or to your cards, instead you will have to judge their reaction based on how long it takes them to make their decision. The old auspice holds true here in that players acting weak are usually strong and players acting strong are usually weak, or at least semi bluffing.
Generally speaking drawing hands are speculative in Seven Card stud and they should only be played in a few situations:
If you find yourself in one of these situations then it is fine to play a drawing hand but you need to make sure that your cards are live, meaning still available. If some of your cards are already in play, the chances of you hitting your draw are significantly reduced. Also remember that if you are on a draw from your starting three card hand and you don’t improve by fourth street, the profitable play is usually to fold. Keep in mind though that improving does include pairing up a high ranking card too.
Getting a free card is one of the best tactics to use in Seven Card stud. What you are basically doing is betting or raising on one street in order to get the next card for free. It goes something like this: You hold TT9J on fourth street and your sole opponent is showing AK. Your opponent bets into you. Rather than just calling, you decide to raise, which is basically saying to your opponent “I can beat your aces or kings or whatever else you might have”. Your opponent will most likely only call unless they have a very powerful hand. Now what most likely will happen is your opponent will check on fifth street in which case if you haven’t improved you can go ahead and check too and all of the sudden you get a free card on sixth street. It’s a great way to buy yourself some time to improve your hand.
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