Pot Limit Stud HI strategy

[gavrik]

I am new to 2+2, so first of all, greeting to everyone!

I have played stud HI at Stars and Party for a few years (2/4 to 5/10 limits) and read most of the relevant books [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img], so I think I know most of the basic concepts and basic strategy of limit Stud HI reasonably well.

There is a small Stud HI live tourney coming up where I'd like to participate. The only problem is that the format is going to be pot limit with rebuys and I've never played pot limit stud in my life. I wonder if anyone here has actually played pot limit stud and what would be the basic things I should change in my strategy compared to limit?

[RandomUser]

I've not played a lot of pot limit stud, but one of the key changes is that the value of draws decreases greatly and the value of big pairs goes up.

In limit stud, seeing 4th and 5th street is relatively cheap, letting you play more drawing hands. In pot limit, you simply don't have the pot odds to draw to straights and flushes if villains pot and repot it on 3rd and 4th with big pairs.

It also allows more stealing and aggressively play.

[Brad1970]

IMO, pot limit stud is a ridiculous idea. The game was created with a limit format & that's the way it should be.

[gavrik]

I agree, it is a ridiculous idea. However, there are not too many stud tournaments around here, so I am going to play there anyway. I'm just curious if someone here has played pot limit stud and knows how it differs from limit game.

[Bicycles_Biatch]

bluff equity with an Ace showing goes WAAAYYY up

[Andy B]

Stud was not created as a limit game. It's been played pot-limit, no-limit, fixed-limit, spread-limit, and probably other ways over the years. We've settled on limit because it works a lot better than other structures. Poker structures are not created--they evolve. Hold'em had been played with various structures--no-limit, pot-limit, limit with a single blind, etc., until double-blind limit emerged as the most popular format. And apart from tournaments, almost all hold'em games were limit during the 1980s and 1990s, up until about 2003....

I've never played pot-limit stud. Flush draws are some of my favorite hands to play in limit. I wouldn't want to have to call a pot-sized bet with one on fourth, another pot-sized bet on fifth, etc. Unless the money is very deep, people will be all-in sooner rather than later, much like the later stages of NLHE tournaments.

[Edenfield99]

Here in the UK we play most games pot or no-limit. We play pot limit stud and it's not stupid!!!! You just need to make similar adjustments as you would from limit to pot limit hold'em....i.e. draws go down in value, bluffs can be more effective with more money behind them etc etc. It can be an all-in fest if the stacks are short but deep stacked it's great fun.
If you want a book to read try pot limit and no limit poker by Reuben and Ciaffone which has a stud section.

[Wahoo73]

If you want to get some practice playing pot limit stud before playing in your tournament, I recommend you go to the Gaming Club poker web site (or whatever other Prima Poker Network room you have available to play at your location). Although they have limit, pot limit and no-limit stud games available there, about the only ones that are regularly being played since the UIGEA legislation are the pot limit ones. Also, I haven't checked lately but Gaming Club used to hold a nightly pot limit stud tourney with a small buy-in, so you might want to try that as well.


I used to play there regularly, but haven't played much at Gaming Club in the past year. However, what others in this thread have already told you about adjustments on playing draws and keeping the pressure on with big pairs is accurate. Obviously, the variance in these games is higher than in limit stud and I would strongly recommend that you buy-in for at least 40 times the big bet.


And welcome to the stud forum.

[betgo]

In the US/Canada and Germany/Austria limit and spread limit stud is played. Elsewhere is Europe it is generally played pot limit, as most games are.

In <u>Cinncinnatti Kid</u>, the heads up match is pot limit 5 card stud. There is an story in a book <u>My Best Hand</u> or something like that about a pot limit stud high/low home game in California. I am pretty sure pot limit stud used to be played to a reasonable extent in the US when stud was the main game played.

[registrar]

Pot limit stud is by far my most profitable cash game. (This is no great boast from an MTTer.)

Anyway, IMO, it is a substantially different game to limit stud. You're looking to make pot bets 3rd and 4th so that you can commit stacks on fifth, by which time you should have a fair idea of your equity. You're looking to play position and you're looking to play heads up, rather than for value in multiway pots (which makes you far too vulnerable to being bluffed off the pot on fifth). It's also key to get reads on your opponents. Who's going to stack off with a concealed pair unimproved etc.