Stud in Cardrooms

[Sevenfold]

[ QUOTE ]
If most people are like me, they'd be too embarrased to play stud since there is no way I could remember what exposed cards were folded. On-line it's not as bad, but at a live table there's no way. I admit I'm just not intelligent enough to remember the exposed cards. Stud just requires too much more skill than Hold'em, which means it will never be adopted by the masses

[/ QUOTE ]

You really don't need to memorize all the cards.

Playing online at multiple games I first look at my own cards, seeing if it a possible hand to play.

Then I will glance around for my own key cards.

If I play the hand I will remember anything obvious, like there were 5 clubs out or 2 queens were out.

The rest of the boards are in front of you, and you can work from there.

But if I get to 6th street and a guy breaks into open 8s on 5th and 6th, will I remeber specifically if an 8 was folded on third, making it that less likely the person can/has filled? No way.

Don't try and memorize everything, just the key components to the hand.

[SCSTWG]

$1-5 at a pace of 30 hands an hour just doesn't interest me. In most casino's these days, the game is hard to keep going and is just full of rock's.

As far as card memorization, the more you play, the easier it becomes until it is quite effortless. Assuming you go the distance, there usually is no more than 10 cards you need to remember. I typically don't recall each suit other than knowing if there were a lot of a particular suit already out. However, I always know the rank of cards that have been folded as it is critical to the hand (both your's and your opponents). I have a system and there are several links in the forum to other systems that are quite easy with some practice.

[cmurl904]

The only places where stud is still widely played is in AC
(Taj Mahal, Tropicana, Borgata), Foxwoods in CT, & the CA cardrooms (Commerce, Bicycle, Hollywood Park, Hawaiian Gardens).

I think the only two stud games left in Vegas is the $1/5 at Mirage, and $20/40 at Bellagio.
Hard to believe NOT ONE 2/10, 3/6, 4/8, 5/10, or 10/20 game in Vegas.

1/5 IS NOT a decent game. As soon as I could move up in limits (2/10 briefly, mainly 5/10, occasionally 10/20) I did, and didn't look back.
Unfortunately 1/5 is a social club for the VFW/AARP/Senior crowd. No ante/$1 bring in makes the game too tight and boring. With that being said, I played many a 1/5 game in the 90's at the Taj/Trop on Fri./Sat. nights from 9PM-4AM.
These games were filled with loose drunks who had no clue, and DID NOT want to play tight/fold. Unfortunately, all of these people play low limit hold 'em now.

[Andy B]

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Stud was probably the most popular till what...02 or 03?

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I believe it was some time in the 1980s, probably not too long after the double-blind structure became standard. Hold'em was definitely the game of choice long before the boom, but it was limit.

[dsaxton]

When I went to Las Vegas, I only found one Stud table, and it was the $20/$40 game at the Bellagio. The people in this game told me it would be the only Stud game I would be able to find in all of Nevada. In a very real sense, the term poker has become synonymous with holdem.

[afish]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Stud was probably the most popular till what...02 or 03?

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I believe it was some time in the 1980s, probably not too long after the double-blind structure became standard. Hold'em was definitely the game of choice long before the boom, but it was limit.

[/ QUOTE ]

There was more stud than hold'em in AC until around 2000. In fact, the old Caesars room was all stud. In Vegas, there was very little stud when I started playing in the late 1990s.

[electrical]

So, if there's one stud game in Vegas, the $20-$40 at the Bellagio, how tough is that game?

[Jeffage]

An easy way to "memorize" the upcards is to scan the table before looking at your hole cards. Remember the cards in ascending order and note dead suits or cards. So I do something like this in my mind: "7,9,10,A, aces and spades are dead." Then I look at my hand. You'll find that you'll be much more aware of what's going on in a stud hand if you do it this way (and this also applies to hands you don't participate in - you will get a better read on players). This works for me - your mileage may vary.

Jeff

[Jeffage]

I've only played in it a few times, but it was pretty soft every time I've sat in it. Loose, passive (or tight/weak passive) play seems to be the norm, with few if any people that should present problems. I did play 50-100 there once (during WSOP time) and it was significantly tougher (though not too bad - there were certainly weak spots). Overall, the 20 is like a home game and I'm sure someone like you would have a nice edge.

Jeff

[iamastud]

And are you sure it is so easy to win in a typical loose passive game with some occasional loose aggresive play, where most hands go 3-5 handed after 3rd? I think you are gonna experience some good frustration in such a game when multiple players who are loose, will chase you down till river? I think, even an excellent player like yourself will have a tough time in this loose type of game, when each hand goes 3-5 handed.