[PoorLawyer]

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Wow, this thread is great for a Stud newbie like me. I have a problem regarding structure and antes that I hope you guys can shed some light on.

In the 3 casinos near me, there is only 1 Stud TABLE. They game is almost always $1-$5 spread limit with a $1 ante.

I have no idea how to adjust for that.

First, the antes seem ridiculously high, so common wisdom says you can play more hands since you have more $$ in the pot.

But, with the antes being high, even you bet out on 3rd and 4th with a good but not great made hand (say Kings) that wants to play heads up, the pot is going to be so big and the limits don’t double on the later streets so villains are going to be correct calling you down all the way and most likely your Kings are going to have problems.

So, do you toss good but not great starting hands that wont play well in multi-way pots? In particular do you toss big pairs and now only play rolled up, 3 straights, and 3 flushes? Tightening up doesn’t seem right with the antes so high. And paying since we are paying $9 for every 8 hands we get dealt, we are going to watch our stack dwindle while we patently wait for a hand we can play.

What am I missing? Thanks in advance for your help!

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I've played in a similar game at Seneca Niagara. I dont think you can tighten up as you said. The ante is ridiculous and widdles away at your stack quickly and it is tough to keep your head above water in this game. That being said, unlike a normal 1-5 game, I dont think you want to be trapping, you want to take down pots. Of course, that is harder since everyone else needs to play more hands to stay afloat and they are often getting correct odds even when you raise. The ideal situation here is to make people face as large a bet as possible and just take down the pot. Whereas in a normal no ante 1-5 you may just make it $3 or something to get a couple customers, here there is 9 bucks in the pot to start so you want to play your hands fast. Best case, if someone bets in front of you, just jack it up...most people will actually fold if they are facing an 8-10 dollar bet that might play for 5. If you have a modest hand like a hidden pair or mid split pair, you have to get in there and try to hit your trips. You want to do this cheaply if possible...if you can get them by 5th you will usually have a lot of action the rest of the way. Hands like 3 flushes in this game are probably better than a pair of tens because you almost always have the odds to draw and will win a huge pot when you hit...conversely, your tens are going to get run down a majority of the time.