7 Card Stud Poker Strategy

7 Card Stud

For a very long time 7 card stud was THE poker game. It is still a very popular game and one more then worth learning. The primary difference between Stud and Texas Holdem is that there are no community cards, each player makes there hand entirely out of there own individual cards. Also you begin with 3 cards and then each betting round only exposes one additional card. Combined this means a tight player starts with a larger advantage over a loose player then in holdem, and an observant player will have a larger advantage over a less observant one then in other community card games.

Because Stud is a game where each players has there own board (the portion of there hand exposed for all players to see) representing hands becomes a much larger part of the game, this is particularly true in big bet stud.

If you are taking up stud seriously please join us in the stud section of our forum. We can all improve our play by discussing hands and comparing notes. Follow the buttons above for links to other stud sites and resources and our tips on the best places to play stud.

At the moment the only place to play Pot Limit stud is All In Poker. Pot Limit stud is a great game that you should consider trying. Playing big bet stud is exciting and challenging and may give you a new appreciation for the game.


Seven Stud Starting Hands Listed below are the playable starting hands for seven card stud. If your hand does not fall into one of these categories it should not be played. Following these starting hand guidelines will go a very long way to making you a profitable stud player.
Split Pairs A pair will be the most common hand you play in stud. If your pair is better then the highest upcard showing you can assume you have the strongest hand. The quality of you kicker or side card is important as you will probably need to make two pair to win if you are playing more then one opponent. You will catch your second pair 42% of the time and catch trips about 10% of the time. An opponent starting without a pair will only make two pair 17% of the time, and trips only 3% of the time.	ex:
Concealed Pairs Concealed pairs play very similar to split pairs and same percentages apply but with the added advantage being that if you make trips it will be very hard for your opponents to accurately read your hand. For this reason you can proceed a little more liberally with these concealed hands.	ex:
Trips Three of a kind is the strongest possible starting hand in Stud. With this starting hand you will improve to make a full house about 32% of the time and catch your forth card (assuming it is not already out) 8% of the time. This means any set of trips, even three deuces, is a monster hand that can be played against many players and ideally for as much money as possible.	ex:
3-Straight The three straight is hand that should be played with some caution. Be aware of how many of the 16 cards that will complete your straight (In ex 4's, 5's, 9's,10's). You would not want to see more then two of these cards out. If you do not improve this hand you should consider throwing it away on 4th, if you have not improved by fifth this hand should absolutely be folded. Play these hands cheaply in multi-way pots. Only continue when you improve and be very aware of players drawing to flushes as this is a common draw in stud and will beat your made hand.	ex:
3-Flush Starting with 3 cards to a flush you have a 16.5% chance of making your flush, if you catch a flush card on 4th street though, you will now complete the flush 47% of the time. If you miss on forth unless you have paired your hand you should usually fold. If you do catch a flush card on 4th you will still want multi-way action for this hand to be profitable.	ex:
3 Straight Flush This is the other premium starting hand. Primarily because you have so many good cards you can catch on forth and fifth that will make the hand worth continuing or turn it into a legitimate monster. Based on your first three cards you will make a straight or a flush roughly 30% of the time. If you catch a perfect card on 4th (in ex 7clubs, or 3clubs) you will complete your hand with either a straight or flush 89% of the time.	ex:

Betting Structures

Most commonly stud is played with a fixed limit and antes. This encourages multi-way action and allows you to chase small edges. This structure favors two pair and allows you to play your starting pairs aggressively. With a fixed limit drawing hands will require multiple players in the pot to make them profitable.

Some sites also spread Pot Limit games. All In poker is one of them. Pot Limit stud definitely rewards the more skilled player more then a fixed limit. The key skill in a pot limit game is pot control. Two pair is now a far more dangerous hands as players who missed flush and straight draws can now put you to a more difficult decision. On each round a player can bet an amount equal to what is in the pot, this leads to exponential pot growth and the later streets are now far more important. The ability to read hands, keep track of cards, are magnified under these conditions. You are also now able to make it far more expensive for opponents to draw against you. Make sure you have logged many hours of limit stud and have a good understanding of big bet poker.


Stud Tools
Poker Calculator	Free A downloadable Poker Calculator. It allows you to calculate your equity (win/loss/tie%) against a range of hands. Very valuable for studying your game or analyzing if you made the right decision in a given situation. This software has the advantage of supporting many different games while still being fast and very accurate. Supports: Stud, Stud 8/b, Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha 8/b,
Turning River	Free An Alternate Calculator with Nice graphics and easy to use calculators. Results vary due to the limited amount of hands used to generate equity results but that being said a good calculator. Supports: Stud, Stud 8/b, Omaha, Hold'em.
	This is software you MUST HAVE if you play poker even somewhat seriously or regularly. This software can be downloaded free to try and the full version is only $50. Essentially a database program, it allows you to store all of your hand histories and supports most poker rooms. Once the hand histories are imported it provides detailed information about your play and the play of the opponents you have faced. Useful information includes how much you are winning/losing with each starting hand, how much you are winning/losing from each position at tables etc... You must have this tool (or pokeroffice) for us to be able to provide any in depth analysis of your play and relevant personal coaching or advice.

Where to Play Stud Online

Below is a list of the best online poker rooms to play stud. On these rooms you will be able to regularly find stud games and these are known and trusted rooms.

PokerRoom	Games Offered	General Description	Bonus	Link/Banner
PokerStars	Limit 7 stud & 7 stud Hi Lo Horse and Hose Games offered.	Best all around tournament site. High level of competition & very skilled aggressive players. Second largest room online poker room. The only room currently offering mixed games. Stud games available at all limits all hours of the day or night.	100% up to 50$
FullTilt Poker	Limit 7 stud & 7 stud Hi Lo & Horse	FullTilt Poker offers an extensive lineup of tournaments and cash games. The second largest poker room by peak hour traffic they offer far more deposit bonuses then pokerstars.	100% up to 600$
PartyPoker	Limit 7 Card Stud & 7 Card 8/b	PartyPoker was the largest online poker room before leaving the US market. For non-US players it is still a great place to play. Their aggressive marketing campaigns ensure a steady stream of new and inexperienced players.	120% up to 200$
UltimateBet	Limit 7 Card Stud & 7 Card 8/b	Ultimate Bet offers frequent reload bonus good clear rates, A fold and show button and have been running a cash back promotion on there loyalty points that combined with a bonus leads to an excellent value! Very fast, clean software.	100% up to $650