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January, 2021 - While bluffing certainly is an important consideration in nearly every form of poker, Seven Card Stud Hi Lo is probably one of the more difficult games from which to implement a successful bluffing strategy. Hi lo is an action-oriented game, many times the betting and raising is quite aggressive and often times it is hard to convince players to fold. Many pots are highly contested and multi-way. When dealing with multi-way pots, it is hard to convince everyone to fold. Someone will usually stick around to keep you honest. Good players will have a pretty good idea of what hand you could have by the end.
With these things in mind, it would be silly to think that you can’t bluff in Stud Hi Lo; all we are saying is that you have to be a tad more careful than normal and make sure your bluffs are well timed or serve a good purpose. I have added links to our 7 Card Stud HL strategy articles below:
Bluffing in Stud Hi-Lo is actually an excellent technique to use to confuse and throw off your opponents. This is true for Seven Card Stud, Razz and 5 Card Stud poker. Every now and then you should try to bluff and actually expose yourself as doing just that. This is a particularly effective tactic against better players. Good hi lo players are quite analytical and when you bluff for deception it sends mixed messages and makes it that much harder for a player to nail you down.
The best bluffs in Seven Card Stud Hi Lo most likely will come in the early rounds of the game. By sixth street or the river, unless the pot is small, it is going to be hard to convince someone to fold. Take note however that if your sixth street card is particularly threatening when evaluated along with your other board cards, this could be an excellent time to make a well placed bet or raise against an experienced or timid opponent.
One of the better times to bluff in Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo as we mentioned earlier is during the first few rounds of the hand. Most noticeably, on third or fourth street with an ace showing is an excellent time to bluff. There are some important considerations for bluffing here though and you will need to adhere to a certain strategy to make sure you get the most from your bluffing attempts. Since an ace is a very powerful card in hi lo, it is usually a pretty convincing reason for other players to fold. The important part though is how you go about making them fold! Generally speaking, a good strategy is to usually only enter the pot with an ace door card if you plan to raise. If you have nothing other than the ace, then folding is a good strategy. The reason why is because when you do enter with a raise on your ace, your opponents are generally going to be confused. Since you fold your ace from time to time and exclusively raise other times, you put yourself in a better position to take down pots when you really have nothing. You also keep your opponents very confused as to what might be an acceptable starting hand to you that contains an ace.
Just remember that in Seven Card Stud HL, your bluffs have to be timed well and you really need to think them over to make sure they are the most profitable play for the situation. Late in the hand, it’s going to be tough to convince people to fold unless conditions are perfect. Early in the hand you can use aces and scare cards to take down a pot or to chase away players who might otherwise be interested in drawing.
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