Trying not to make a fool out of myself...

[Yo Adrians!]

And I have no time for books. I'm a NL HE cash and tournament player ftmp, but a friend of mine is having a dealer's choice game next weekend, and I'm sure more than half of it will be 7 Stud.

And words of wisdom outside of don't play a hand without a pair, three to a straight or three to a flush; and if you can't beat what's on the board, fold?

Thanks in advance from a stud newb.

[Jeffage]

From this forum's FAQ....

Q. I have a free-roll that starts in three minutes and I've never played stud in my life.

Play live cards. (Thank you Mike Caro.)

Rolled-up trips are very strong and should be played strongly. If the game is loose, raise early and often. In a tighter game, you may want to slow-play, but it's easy to get burned this way.

Three-flushes are usually good hands, but you usually don't want more than two of your suit gone. You don't want to play a small three-flush heads-up against a big pair, but they do well in most multi-way pots. If you don't pick up a fourth flush card on fourth street, you should usually fold unless you have paired or your hand has other possibilities or the pot is large.

Three-card straights are trouble. Most players lose money on straight draws, and I don't make much. If you've never played stud before, you would probably be best off folding anything lower than QJT or so. If you are going to play smaller three-straights, be sure that your needed cards are live.

Most of your playable hands are going to be pairs. Not all pairs are playable, though. Obviously, the bigger the better and the more live the better. A quality kicker helps as well. (A9)9 and (T9)9 are much better than (94)9. Aces through Queens should usually raise. Jacks through Nines should sometimes raise and sometimes call. Eights and lower should sometimes limp and often fold, especially the smallest pairs, although you may want to raise with these hands if there is a good chance to steal the antes. If someone with a door card higher than your pair raises, you should at least consider folding unless you think he is on a steal. Exactly how you play your pair will depend on the cards that are out, the action, your kicker, and other factors. 7CS4AP spends many pages on this subject.

Stealing becomes more important as you get to the later stages of the tournament, but it isn't as important as it is in, say, limit hold'em. The ante is the same whether there are two players or eight. With two players, however, you will be the bring-in much more often. In hold'em, you will have the blinds much more often in a short-handed situation, so you have to play looser and more aggressive than you do at a full table. In stud, your overhead per hand will only go up a little, so you don't need to loosen up nearly as much.

Jeff

[Yo Adrians!]

Good stuff.

[BladeRnr]

Another point that is pretty intuitive but come up a lot: if you suspect that your opponent has a higher pair than yours, consider whether your kicker is larger than their [probable] pair. If so, be more inclined to call, especially with few (1-2) other players and a pot that's not small.

Also, keep in mind what your opponents read from your board. You may have crap in the hole, but timid opponents will sometimes fold if your board is scary. Again, you really want to do this with 1 or 2 other players at most.

[thelyingthief]

It's hard not to, isn't it?

[Fierce Lion7]

You're the man Jeffage.

The tournaments probably over but I would add that there is more variance in Stud and people love to chase. It can be a friggin' roller coaster ride.

Fierce Lion7