Limit 7 Card Stud Cash Games Guide

Limit Seven-Card Stud requires employment of a lot of strategy, a lot of skill and discipline, and the ability balance different concepts simultaneously.Analysis is difficult because of the additional round of betting.

As in all forms of poker are great, but there are exceptions to the rules and the concepts that must be clearly grasped in order to be a successful, winning player.You must know when to make exceptions and use judgement to make the best decision possible in any given situation.Not every play scenario fits into clear guidelines.

Key Player Skills Required For Successful Seven-Card Stud

• Patience and discipline in hand selection
• Correct table selection
• Discipline, waiting for the right cards and avoiding second-best hand
• Reading other players
• Courage to bet/raise/call down
• Ability to avoid tilting
• Ability to remember other players' upcards

Seven-Card Stud vs.Texas Hold'em

Here are the major differences between Seven-Card Stud and Texas Hold'em:

1.Seven-card Stud has no community cards.

2.Seven-card Stud has an ante and bring-in bet instead of blinds.

3.Seven-card Stud have five betting rounds rather than four in Hold'em.

4.When playing Seven-Card Stud, the player holding the best cards showing begin the wagering round except in the first round when the lowest card showing begins betting.

5.In Seven-Card Stud the player who has the best s starts the action on every betting round, except for the first round of betting when the lowest upcard begins.

6.In Seven-Card Stud you must remember the folded upcards.

7.In Seven-Card Stud the number of players is limited to eight.

8.In Seven-Card Stud there is no position edge before the cards are dealt.The cards determine who acts first and last each round.

9.In Seven-Card Stud luck is an important  short-term factor.The standard deviation is greater and the game requires a larger bankroll.

Structure and Antes

1.All players are dealt two cards face-down, the hole cards, and one card dealt face-up, the upcard.The cards are dealt one at a time.

2.The player with the lowest upcard makes a bring-in bet.

3.Betting continues clockwise with the player to the left of the bring-in wager.

4.A fourth card is dealt face-up.The player holding the best upcards and continues clockwise.

5.A fifth card is dealt face-up.The action begins with the player holding the best upcards acts first and betting continues clockwise.

6.A sixth card is dealt face-up.Again, action begins with the player holding the best upcards and continues clockwise.

7.A seventh card is dealt face-down and betting action starts with the player holding the best upcards and continues clockwise.

8.All players in the hand make out the best possible five-card poker hand.

Limit Seven-Card Stud Top Advice

1. Selective with your starting hands with care: Choosing the right starting hands in any situation is extremely important.

2. Table Choce:  On play where you have an edge.Find a table with at least a couple of weak players.

3. Play the Players: Sssess the opposition; determine who plays poor cards, who folds when agression appears, when bets the draws, who calls with weak cards and long-shots, who bluffs and who falls for bluffs.

4. Pump it or Dump it: Either or bet/raise if the odds are with you.Avoid calling unless you have a good reason such as trapping an opponent.

5. Remember Upcards: Look at the upcards the other players are dealt and remember them.It is very important to know if the hands are "live", which meansnone or few of the key cards are gone, or not.

6. Raise with b Ddraws: When you hit on a good draw, perhaps a four-flush on Fourth Street, consider raising instead of calling.This can cause other players to fold a better hand while you remain on a draw.

Limit Seven-Card Stud Common Mistakes

1.Playing starting hands to frequently; failing to choose with care.

2.Not paying attention to which cards remain out.

3.Failing to fold with modest cards.

4.Failing to raise with premium cards, letting too many drawing hands stay in.

5.Drawing for cards that are likely to give you a second-best hand.This might include: calling an opponent, who raised holding a King, with a hand like (5-5) J or hitting two-pair which could easily make you a second-best hand.

6.Pay attention exclusive to your own game and failing to note that of the other players.How many players usually remain in the pot at Fourth Street? Who raises on Third Street? What players are still in the pot? Consider these questions as you play.

7.Failing to be aggressive enough on Third (take initiative), Fourth, and Fifth Streets (to follow through/protect hand).

8.Calling all the way to the river without the right pot odds.

9.Calling too frequently when you should be raising, especially when you are sure you have the best hand.

10.Poor table choice.

General Third Street Advice

Some of the big decisions in Seven-Card Stud have to be made at Third Street and you must be ready to decide whether you should play or get out.Some hands play better when the pot is multi-way and others are best for short-handed situations.The best multi-way pot hands are drawings hands, such as three-flushes, three-straights and combos of the two.The best hards for short-handed play are the big pairs.

A great skill to develop for Seven-Card Stud is the ability to be really choosey about which hands with which you start.Too many players start too many hands and this builds into more trouble as the betting rounds compound the issue.If you start with nothing, if you stay in, you could end up drawing with a hand that really should have been folded and it will cost you lots of chips in the long haul.

Some issues that should be taken into account when deciding which hands to play are:

1.What cards are still out?

2.How many players are in the pot when it is your turn to act?

3.Is the table tight or loose?

4.How many players are at the table?

5.Has the pot been raised? From what player and position?

6.What is your position in relation to the raiser?

The factors that are most important are which cards still remain out and how many players are in the pot because the combination of these two factors can make it right to toss away a great hand at Third Street.If you are in a multi-way pot and have (J-J) 7, knowing both other Jacks and at least one 7 are still out, you should fold even though no other player has represented having a bigger pair or shows bigger upcards than your Jacks.The chance that you'll have the best hand at the end of play is just too small to make it worthwhile to call or raise.Play this hand only when you are in an ante stele position that is already short-handed or when in a multi-way pot and all your cards are live; other times, fold it.

It is not enough to remember which cards remain out at Third Street.You also have to watch what cards are turned up around the table.

Starting Hands

You have to know whether you hand is live or not.Look around; most weak pairs, straight draws, fush draws and other added value situations are playable if your cards are completely live.If you start with (#Tc-#9s) #8d, the hand is ber if the 7's are all live.It is much weaker if you know that two 7's are out already.If all the 7's and one Jack are dead, your hand is just about dead too! Of course, if you hold a pair of A's or K's, with no Ace showing, you can usually play them even if the hand is almost dead.

This list of the best starting hands should help you decide when to start and when to fold:

1.Three of a kind (trips).Starting with (A-A) A and on down.

2.The big pairs AA-JJ.It is ber if the pair is hidden, making the hand much more deceptive for the other players.Your kicker is also important, a (J-J) A is ber than a (J-J) 2.

3.Big suited connectors, such as (#As-#Ks) #Qs, (#Ks-#Qs) #Js or (#Js-#Ts) #Qs.

4.Medium pairs TT-88 and medium suited connectors, such as (#Js-#Ts) #9s, (#Ts-#9s) #8s and (#9s-#8s) #7s.

5.Big suited semi connectors, such as (#As-#Qs) #Js, (#Ks-#Js) #Ts or (#As-#Ks) #Ts.

Stealing Antes

One way to add to your profits is to steal antes.In a regular game, you frequently get enough pot odds to show a profit if you only steal about 40% of the time.You chances do not even have to be that great because sometimes  you will still win the pot even if someone plays against you.Catching a "scare card", such as an Ace or King showing) occurs around 12% of the time on Fourth Street, allowing you to grab the pot by betting and representing a pair.Frequently, the other players will fold a small pair on Fourth Street if you play aggressively and have higher upcards.

Stealing antes add some deception to your game, preventing you from becoming predictable.If you usually only raise legitimate raising hands, you may never get any action on this and won't win much overall.When you want to steal, consider the other player's upcards.Consider stealing the antes when you have the highest or second highest card showing.If you have the second highest upcard and the highest card showing has not acted yet, you can probably steal.The other players will think you have a legitimate, b hand because you raised into a better card.When doing this, consider the style of the player who has that high upcard.Use care if the player is a really great, aggressive player.If you tink another player is trying to steal the ante, go for the re-steal! Do this when you hold a bigger upcard than the opponent and you hand has some added values such as a potential flush.You'll call no matter what, so you might want to re-raise if you think the other player is trying to steal.

When in a tight game, steal when sitting up front and showing an Ace or King.This doesn't work in a loose game because the chance of a steal is greatly reduced.You shouldn't try to steal when your card showing is a duplicate of another player's upcard.The other player will know what you are trying to do and you will get called.

Playing "Rolled-up Trips"

Rolled-up trips (three of a kind) are dealth about once in every 425 deals.This is the very best hand you can begin with even though it doesn't guarantee taking the pot.In a loose game with lots of players giving action with a broad spectrum of hands, slow play is usually a mistake.Slow playing trips is when you don't want to tell your hand.If a King raises and an Ace re-raises, if you should re-raise with something like rolled-up deuces, every player can guess your cards.Instead, wait for later betting rounds to show that you have b holdings.The exception would be when you have recently been making advertising plays with lots of re-raises on hands like three-flushes.Then, you hand can be played from Third Street forward.When slow playing trips, wait until Fifth or Sixth Street for your initial raise.Of course, base your decision on what the other players show and represent, how many players are in and how large the pot happens to be at the time.

Playing Big Pairs

AA through JJ are the big pairs and you should play these hands.Only fold them when you are sure someone has a bigger pair or when you know you are holding dead cards.A JJ can be folded when the kicker is a rag and lots of big cards will act after you.Muck your pair if the pot has been raised and re-raised by bigger upcards.If you have a pair of Jacks and a Queen raises but if re-raised by a King before you act, it is best to get out because they probably hold bigger pairs than you.Before folding big pairs, think about the action and other players.If another player pairs their door card and you do not have a four-flush or four-straight, fold.

Playing Small and Medium Pairs

These are the factors to consider when deciding whether to play medium or small pairs:

1.If you are not in a steal position be certain all your cards are live before you decide to play.

2.Do you have a b kicker?

3.What are the other upcards?

4.Is the game tight or loose?

5.Your hand is ber when your pair is concealed.

6.Holding a two-flush and/or two-straight gives your pair additional value.

In most situations, fold medium pairs in raised pots, unless you have a bigger kicker than the pair the raiser is representing.

If you have a medium pair and there are no upcards higher than your pair on the board, you should almost always raise.A b kicker adds certain advantages.It lets you to represent a higher pair than you have and increases your chances of getting the best two-pair.In a raised pot, when you have a b kicker, call.If the pot has been raised and re-raised, generally fold no matter what additional value you hold.

Playing Three-Flushes

The correct method for playing three-flushes depends on these four factors:

1.How high are your cards?

2.How many of your cards are live?

3.What is your upcard?

4.What is your position?

These factors will impact how you play the hand.Some three-flushes play well heads-up and some are best for multi-way pots.If your flush cards remain live but none of your pair cards are live, the hand is best for a multi-way because you need to hit the flush to win.This won't happen as frequently as winning through pairs, so you need to be sure the pot is big enough to pay for the times you haven't hit.If the flush cards are all live, the hand is almost always very good to play.Raise when first-in when you have high upcards.Stealing the ante works well and mixes up your play.

Playing Three-Straights

Three-straights are not as b as three-flushes, nonetheless, but can still earn profit.Consider these factors when determining whether or not to play the three-straights:

1.How high are your cards?

2.How many of your cards are live?

3.What is your upcard?

4.Do you also have a two-flush?

5.What are the other cards on the board?

6.Who and how many players are already involved in the pot?

7.How much will it cost you to play?

8.How well do your opponents play?