• Best Starting Hands In 7 Card Stud Hi Lo
• Stud Hi Lo Rules

Seven-Card Stud and Seven-Card Stud High-Low Eight or Better (Stud-Eight) Poker The following terminology is useful for discussing starting hands in Seven-Card Stud High-Low poker. The table below defines 12 types of starting hands along with a description and an example of each. The best starting hands for 7-Card Stud Hi/Low are usually hands that have a chance at the low and the high. Don't completely ignore the high hands, but don't over emphasize the high hands. The best starting hands are trips (A-A-A down to 2-2-2). To start playing Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo all games need to have a dealer assigned, to deal the cards virtually. The dealer is decided by dealing each player a card face up and the highest card wins the dealer button in the first round. He will then deal the cards to the players clockwise and after each hand the button moves clockwise as well. In Seven-card Stud, players compare five card hands against each other to determine who wins. A player with a Royal Flush has a better hand than a player with a Full House, for example. Below is a list of standard combinations ranked from best to worst. Rank of Low Hands. Although the starting hands for Seven Card Stud and Stud hi-lo vary quite a bit, the basic truth in both cases is that your first three cards are a good indicator about how your hand will grow up. If you start with 3 suited low cards in a high only stud game you're likely to.

7 Card Stud is often referred to as a game that helped bring about the existence of Texas Hold’em and other popular poker variants, and for good reason too. Prior to Hold’em, Stud was the game of choice not only in the US, but in most regions of the world.

The following few sections will elaborate upon all the rules of this game. First and foremost, it must be mentioned that Stud Hi Lo is played with anywhere from 2 to 8 players. The game itself is broken down into different parts, and all of them will be explained in full below.

The Setup

Before any play can begin, three different financial transactions must occur. First comes the big bet, next comes the small bet, and, finally, whoever is not placing one of the two aforementioned bets will be forced to ante. Most often, the small bet is half the size of the big bet and ante’s are 10% of the big bet’s nominal value.

7 Card Stud Background Information

Before delving further into the actual gameplay of Stud, it is important that we discuss the different rules tied to different variations of the game. Being that there exists Fixed, Spread, and Pot Limit varieties of Stud, each with their own rules, it is imperative that you take this information to heart and really take the time to understand and comprehend it. After all, Stud is often referred to as one of the most demanding casino games with regard to how much skill is required on the part of individual players.

Best Starting Hands In 7 Card Stud Hi Lo

Fixed Limit Stud is a version of the game where the big and small bets are set, fixed amounts (hence the name). If you are playing a $1/$2 Fixed Limit Stud game, the small bet would be $1 while the big bet would be double that amount, or $2. The fixed aspect of this game relates to more than just the initial big and small bets too. During the initial round of betting, the amount a person can wager can never exceed the amount of the small bet. In all subsequent rounds, bets and raises must equal the amount of the initial big bet. The final rule for Fixed Limit Stud is that the amount of times players can raised in a single round is capped, most often at 3.

Spread Limit Stud is a more confusing and infrequently utilized variation of the game. The rules are not set in stone and can vary from casino to casino, so we will only discuss the rules generally and not so matter-of-factly. In most scenarios, the big and small bets are set in much the same way that they are in Fixed Limit Stud. Unlike Fixed Limit Stud, however, there is often no cap on the number of times players can raise during one, single round. Most often, the amount a person can wager must fall between the nominal value of the big and small bets. Finally, antes are not always mandated in Spread Limit Stud games, but when they do exist they are often 25% (or more) of the big bet’s value.

Finally, there exists Pot Limit Stud. For most, the Pot Limit version of this game is reserved for players who are looking to play with a lot of money. With Pot Limit Stud, the size of things like antes is something that is determined by the amount of money which it costs to buy-in to a singular game. The minimum bring (you will learn more about that below) is often the same amount as the ante. Finally, the maximum amount of money a single player can bet is equal to the amount of the current pot as well as any bets that have already been laid down. This last fact is why higher stakes players tend to love Pot Limit Stud.

The Bring

After all initial bets and antes are made, the round’s dealer will hand out 2 face-down cards and 1 face-up card to every player around the table. The game’s action is begun by the person who was dealt the lowest-valued face-up card. The ranking of low cards is in order from 2 to Ace in ascending order. If two players are dealt 2s, for example, the low card will be determined by the two cards’ suits. In ascending order, the ranking of suits is clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades.

After the person with the lowest card has been sorted, that player can decide whether their hand is worth the small bet amount. If it is, they will match that bet and the first round of betting will ensue.

When betting commences, it is begun with the player seated to the bring’s left. As it is in most other card games, players individually have the option to either fold, call, or raise when it is their turn to wager. By calling, all a player is doing is matching the bring. So if the bring simply matched the ante, that is what the first bettor will have to do. If the bring matched the small bet, however, the first person calling will have to match that, larger amount. A raise can occur during the first round of betting, but only so long as the bring matched the small bet and did not merely match the ante.

After the first round of betting every player is dealt yet another face-up card. Now that there are 2 face-up cards in front of every active player, the first person to act will be the player with the best 2 face-up cards. The value of the hands is as it is in any other poker form, with Aces and Kings being the best cards while 2s and 3s are the worst or weakest.

After the person who is to act has been established, that player can either check or make a wager equivalent to the value of the small bet. Any raises that happen after an initial bet is made (if an initial bet is made) can only be in terms of the small bet.

The next betting round is exactly the same as the one previous to it. The only difference is that now bets and raises must be made in terms of the initial big bet. The fourth betting round mirrors the third and the final betting round does too.

The Showdown

Once all betting has been finished, players must take their 7 cards and assemble the best possible 5-card hand. The winning hand in a game of 7 Card Stud is determined in the same exact way as it is with Hold’em in that the strongest hand will take away the pot.

With 7 Card Stud Hi Lo, a crucial difference occurs at the showdown. Because this is technically a split-pot game, there are two winners determined when all is said and done. The high hand, naturally, is the best combination of 5 cards a player has.

The low hand, however, must meet certain qualifications and, in many ways, is entirely different from a high hand. The main rules for determining the low hand are as follows:

• The low hand has nothing to do with a player’s 5-card high hand. In determining a low hand, a player can select any 5 of the 7 cards that they were dealt.
• Low hands are qualifying if they consist of 5 unpaired cards with values no higher than 8
• Aces are considered low for low hands
• Things like straights and flushes do not impact the determination of a low hand
• A low hand is only as good as its highest card
  • For example, a hand consisting of A, 3, 4, 5, 8 would lose to a hand consisting of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

When I was starting out in 1992, seven-card stud eight-or-better — a.k.a. stud hi-low — was being touted as the game of the future, and it was spread in many poker rooms. No longer. It’s still spread occasionally in some of the bigger card rooms like the Commerce and the Bike, but it’s relatively rare, usually only turning up as the “E” in mixed games like H.O.R.S.E. or H.O.S.E.

With the 2016 World Series of Poker upon us, however, interest in all sorts of non-hold'em games including eight-or-better tends to pick once more. Here are eight poker tips that will help you gain an edge in seven-card stud hi-low.

1. Play two-way hands

Some poker books claim that eight-or-better is really like playing two games at once — high and low. Some recommend that you can play starting hands that might win either high or low. That’s awful advice. Go for two-way hands. You want to play to scoop the pot, not win just half. Excellent starting cards that can help you scoop hands include three low cards that are suited, three low cards including an ace, and three low straight cards like , , and .

2. Don't chase with only a high hand

In stud high-only, you’ll often find yourself chasing with a lower pair-higher kicker hand or with a flush or straight draw. Don’t do this in eight-or-better. If you believe you’re the second-best pair on third street, fold. Don’t draw to high flushes or high straights. There are exceptions, of course (e.g., if the door cards indicate no one is going for low).

3. Respect a raising ace

Don’t guess that the player with an ace showing is going for the low when you have kings — and call. Similarly, even your smoothest 6- or 7-low may be behind. Unless you have experience with the raiser and know that he’s likely to misrepresent his hand, or you have a monster yourself, fold in these spots and look for a better hand down the road.

4. Avoid heads-up play when you have only a low

Even your best low hands don’t fare well against a premium pair. They also become increasingly tough to play, even if you catch good. For example, even starting with against a pair of kings, you’re a dog, winning only 40% of the time. Then even if you catch good — with an , for example — you’re still only about even money on the pot. The exception is if you have an ace as part of your low hand, which really turns your hand into a possible high hand as well.

5. Raise with your exposed ace, even if you’re going for low

Stud Hi Lo Rules

With a pair of aces, of course you’d raise. But don’t be timid with your exposed ace and two other babes — raise then as well. Scare away the high hands that might be ahead of you, hoping to go up against one or two lows instead. You may scoop by hitting another ace, or even take the high with just one naked ace in the end while winning the low. You also may win half the pot even if your low is beaten.

6. Know where your money will come from if you don’t scoop, and consider your raises accordingly

There will be situations in eight-or-better when there are three of you in the pot. Two of you may each have half the pot locked up by fifth or sixth street, but you’ll have only a one-way hand. Unlike the high-only variation of stud, you might well be better off keeping in the third player rather than raising that player out, since you’ll be dividing up his money on the river.

7. Freerolling is golden

You want to raise mercilessly when you have half the pot locked up and may scoop if you hit, or if your opponent misses. If, for example, you’ve made your low on fifth street, raise your lone opponent if he makes the mistake of betting with only a possible high hand, even if you know he has a monster. Why not? Two perfect cards for you might beat him.

8. If you’re drawing, or unsure where you stand, it often makes sense to fold to aggression on sixth street and the river

High-only players are often in the habit of calling on both sixth street and the river once they have called fifth street, realizing that the size of the pot they might win is huge compared to the size of the bets they must call to see if they can make their draws or to keep their opponents honest. This is often a terrible decision in eight-or-better. With three or more players in, players in the lead often raise and reraise, making it extremely expensive for the odd man out. It’s often not just one more bet to see the next street, but four more bets. Similarly, with a likely split pot, the money you’ll win if you hit is half of what it would be in a high-only game.

This article is meant to give you a few pointers for stud hi-low, not a complete strategy. For that, I recommend two books — Super System 2 (specifically the chapter by Todd Brunson), and Ray Zee’s book on the game, High-Low Split Poker for Advanced Players.

Ashley Adams has been playing poker for 50 years and writing about it since 2000. He is the author of hundreds of articles and two books, Winning 7-Card Stud (Kensington 2003) and Winning No-Limit Hold’em (Lighthouse 2012). He is also the host of poker radio show House of Cards. See www.houseofcardsradio.com for broadcast times, stations, and podcasts.

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  cash game strategytournament strategy2016 WSOP2016 World Series of Pokerseven-card stud hi-lowsplit-pot gamesmixed gamesstarting hand selection