7 Card Stud Tips

Playing the Upcards in Seven Card Stud

Part of the danger of poker is that it is a very exciting game. Many players get so involved in the heat of a decision that they forget to evaluate their hands relative to their opponent’s potential holdings. This is a mistake, as a key component of playing winning poker is being able to play your own hand according to your what your opponent holds.

In Seven Card Stud more than almost any poker game, paying attention to your opponents is critical. One of the key ways to gain information about opponents is to keep track of their visible cards, or upcards. Memorizing the cards that have already been dealt in the hand can help you make decisions that are more informed and profitable- a recipe for profit.

Keeping track of the odds when you draw

Often in Stud, you will find yourself with a drawing hand. That is, one that is not particularly strong, but has the potential to be, come the right cards. For instance, a four-card flush could become a monster if the card of the proper rank falls. Same idea with a four-card flush. Seven Card Stud offers a unique opportunity not common to other variants of poker- the opportunity to keep track of many cards as they are dealt.

The chances of a draw hand hitting lessen significantly once you can determine that a card you are looking for has already been dealt. Say you hold a four-flush, and notice seven other cards of your suit in your opponent’s hands. You can deduce from this information that only two remaining cards left in the deck can make your hand. The chances of making your monster are not favorable- you can slow down, if not fold your hand very easily.

Matching an opponent’s betting with his upcards

Third and fourth streets are often very telling points in a round of Stud. Players with very strong hands typically want to play aggressively, so as to maximize their hand’s expected value while it is still positive. On the other hand, not all aggression is indicative of a strong hand. Keeping track of opponent’s upcards at all times and matching those cards with player’s betting patterns can help you gauge the actual strength of an opponent’s hand, allowing you to play accordingly.

Say a player bets on fourth street, with a king showing. Three other players fold to you, and with a ten showing and three to a flush, you re-raise. Two players behind fold, and the original raiser caps the pot with another bet. It is critical here for you to be able to remember the upcards that were folded by the other players at the table. If you know for a fact that there were no kings showing, then there is a fair chance that the original bettor indeed does have the hand he is representing (a pair of kings). If you noticed a showing king folded in another player’s hand however, there is a good chance that the original raiser does not have a pair of kings.

Tips for remembering

It may seem like a daunting task, having to remember all of the cards that have been revealed at a poker table. Indeed, there can be a lot of them, depending on the size of the game. As with any other task of memory though, you can make it easier to recall every single card by breaking them up into categories. Try remembering cards in terms of ranks and suits, rather than individually. It is much easier to remember that there were four hearts, three clubs, two 3’s, one 4, two kings, and so on, than it is to remember each single card.

For example, if you are in a pot with three opponents on fourth street, and see Ah, 2c, 4c, Js, Td, Ad all showing, break them down into ranks and suits; one heart, two clubs, one spade, and two diamonds. Two aces, one 2, one 4, one jack, and one 10. This way, you can access the relevant information in your mind with ease- if you are drawing to a diamond flush, you can simply remember the “two diamonds” you stored in your memory, rather than having to recall eight individual cards and then process their attributes.

Above all, practice, practice, practice. Memory is the key to playing winning Seven Card Stud, and it is a known truth that no winning player survives without sharp and reliable recall. If you have downtime during the morning commute, don’t just sit on the train idle- do a memory puzzle. In the evening, instead of watching television, play a flash card game with your kids, wife, dog- anything helps. Also, the more you play the game of Stud itself, the better you will get at memorization. Keep at it, and you will see an increase in profits over time!