Was This Spread-Limit Game Typical?

[PokrLikeItsProse]

I recently posted a trip report in the Brick and Mortar forum about playing 1-5 spread limit stud with no ante. I can definitely see how Sklansky/Malmuth/Zee writing that you can play a lot of speculative hands and build your roll easily against a loose table.

Most of the things I have seen people write about playing spread limit stud referred to cardrooms where higher stud games are available and there is a clear stud audience. At Potawatomi in Milwaukee, the stud game, the only non-hold em game spread there, essentially served as a feeder game to the smaller holdem games, both limit and no-limit. As it was the only stud game, it was the only game for which I am bankrolled that had a short waiting list (in my case, immediate seating), I am still inexperienced at playing live, and it was my first time playing in that room, I sat in on that game

At other casinos, is having the stud game consist of transient hold em players passing through plus a couple of regular stud players highly abnormal?

In this particular game, on this particular day, third street was almost always a limped multi-way affair, often five- or six- way. There was very little raising and big pairs were often slowplayed. Based on 7CSFAP, this sounds fairly normal for a small spread-limit game. Am I right?

Except for the mostly $1 bets on third street, 95% of the bets on subsequent streets were $5 max bets and 99% of raises were $5 max raises. I believe it was Roy West's book that described the "milk route" betting pattern with a $2 bet followed by $3 on the next street then $4 and $5. I never saw that or anything near it. The closest I saw was the second-best player in the game having a standard third-street raise size of $3. Is this the norm for other spread limit games? Do betting patterns such as the "milk route" exist in other spread-limit games, or have people become more insistent about betting the max because of the popularity of no-limit hold em?

[Wahoo73]

I have played 1-5 stud in casinos, without an ante in LV and with an ante in Tunica. The games without an ante were "rock gardens," although, just as you describe, when bets/raises were made they were oftentimes $5. The games with an ante were much better and resembled playing 2/4 stud on-line. My approach in these games was also as you described one of the players at your table, i.e., I played it as if it was a 3/5 structured stud game.

As for your other observation about the stud games serving as mostly "holding tanks" for HE players, I have not found this to be the case where I have played stud in casinos. At virtually every full stud table I have played at in a casino, 6-7 of the players were dedicated stud players.

[USC@MICH]

1-5 stud.......

Its a fun game,I think its the only stud game in Tunica.

[Brad1970]

[ QUOTE ]
1-5 stud.......

Its a fun game,I think its the only stud game in Tunica.

[/ QUOTE ]

There's a 2-10 spread game at the Grand Casino.

[USC@MICH]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
1-5 stud.......

Its a fun game,I think its the only stud game in Tunica.

[/ QUOTE ]

There's a 2-10 spread game at the Grand Casino.

[/ QUOTE ]

Never saw it this Jan. I did however see 10-20 STUD 8 GOING LATE AT NIGHT AT THE SHOE.

[Wahoo73]

Yep, the 2-10 stud game at the Grand really does exist...Brad and I played in it for several hours one Saturday night in January and it was pretty lively.

BRAG: Brad ran goot! [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]
BEAT: I ran baaaaad! [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]
VARIANCE: Old toothless LAG sitting in #2 seat sucking-out on me several times, and losing all my money to everyone else at the table. [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[Andy B]

FWIW, in a typical stud game at Canterbury Park, the bulk of the players will be people who came to play that particular game. There are frequently a couple of people who are waiting to play hold'em.

[cmurl904]

Based on my experiences in AC, 1/5 doesn't attract hold 'em players waiting for seats. There is a strong over-55 crowd that plays in these games EVERY single day. It's also still pretty popular (Taj, Trop, Harrah's, Bally's), though not as much as it used to be pre-2002 or so.

The play that you describe is pretty standard for 1/5. I always liked to play it like a 3/5 structure.