The first time you sit down to try Seven Card stud Hi Lo you might be a little overwhelmed. After all you are applying a new concept, the low hand, to an already tough game. With just a little practice and study though, it is possible to really excel in this game. The problem is that most players never truly get the hang of the game and with a little patience and some discipline you can be light years ahead of these players fast and exploit them for a lot of money. This article will cover some beginner level strategies that should help you get off on the right track. We also cover more advanced Seven Card stud Hi Lo strategies in our intermediate and advanced sections.
Play 7 Card Stud At Fulltilt Poker.
Play adaptable hands in 7 card Stud Hi Lo
In Seven Card stud Hi Lo it is important to play starting hands that have a good chance of becoming both a low hand and a hi hand. This usually means hands including low to middle rank cards and aces. The problem with high starting hands in Seven Card stud Hi Lo is that they are generally harder to adapt into a low hand. Low hands however can provide strong high hands in the form of flushes and straights. You need to be conscience of going after both the high and low half of the pot in Hi Lo, if you consistently make it a point to only go for one half of the pot, you will not be a successful player. With these concepts in mind, let’s look at some of the better starting hands for Seven Card stud Hi Lo, but realize this is not a complete list:
AA7
AA8
AA6
A7(small card)
Three small cards
777
888
AAA
345
You’ll notice that all of these hands have good versatility in terms of both low and high hand strength. There are several other factors to consider early in the hand with Seven Card stud Hi Lo, here are some tips:
- If you get a face card or a card over eight on fourth street you should usually fold. The exception would be if you have an amazing three card low hand and your cards are still live.
- Medium pairs like 66 and 77 are much more powerful than a low pair with a medium off card like 227 or 336. The medium paired hands are much better because they offer better high hand strength and good low strength as where the other hand offers very weak high hand strength.
- Slow playing in Hi Lo is generally a bad idea. If you have a strong hand, or one that is best played heads up, make sure you are being aggressive. Raise and re-raise to put yourself in a better position against your opponents.
- Try not to chase both a high and a low hand at the same time in Seven Card stud Hi Lo. You usually will end up costing yourself a lot of money and its also an excellent way to end up with second or third best hands.
The most important basic strategy concept we can stress in Seven Card stud Hi Lo is that of adaptability. You need to play hands that are versatile and simply fold ones that aren’t. You also need to make several considerations in relationship to the number of opponents you will be facing. Some hands play better against multiple opponents (trips, medium pairs, etc) while other hands play best against just a few opponents (AA7, AA6 or other hands containing an ace or two.
