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7 Card Stud Intermediate Strategy

April 21, 2009

We have put together a 3-party 7 Card Stud Strategy Guide to help novice players become seasoned, and eventually highly skilled, players of the game. We encourage all 7 Card Stud players to work their way through the different levels of this strategy guide on step at a time.

There is a lot involved in a strong, winning 7 Card Stud strategy. Applying the three levels one at a time allows for the practice and memorization of each levels without it being to overwhelming to the player.

In the last 7 Card Stud Beginner Strategy, we covered the topics of patience and discipline, the importance of starting hand selection and the value of door cards. If you missed this article, we highly recommend backing up to the beginner level strategy before proceeding to this 7 card Stud Intermediate Strategy. You may do so now by following the link below:

7 Card Stud Beginner Strategy

In this second installment, the 7 Card Stud Intermediate Strategy, we’ll going more in-depth into topics such as knowing when to increase the stakes, using all open cards to your advantage, and proper street betting techniques.

7 Card Stud Intermediate Strategy – Increasing Stakes

A player should never increase the stakes he or she is playing until the time is right. Doing so will result in a sudden and substantial loss of chips at least 98% of the time. So how do you know when to up the stakes?

You’ll know the time is right when you are seeing consistently profitable success at the poker tables in your current stake level. If you’re barely above breaking even, you’re not ready. It is also very important to increase to the very next level, rather than jumping several levels at once. If you’re playing $.50/$1, up it to $1/$2, not $5/$10. Every level comes with stiffer competition. You’ll want to hit one level at a time to make sure you can withstand the tighter action.

If you increase the stakes by one level and find yourself losing too many chips, don’t be afraid to drop back to the previous level. Keep practicing at this stage and rebuild your bankroll before trying the higher level again.

7 Card Stud Intermediate Strategy – Reading Open Cards

Open Card are all of the face-up cards on the board; your own and everyone else’s. By paying close attention to these cards, you can determine exactly how many Outs you have, how many Outs others have, and essentially the odds of improving your hand. You can save a lot of chips by realizing early on that you’re not likely to improve your hand enough to beat the next guy.

Folded hands are important as well. If a player folds after the 4th Street, there’s two open cards there you should have memorized. This isn’t the easiest thing to do when you first start practicing, but it becomes much easier over time.

7 Card Stud Intermediate Strategy – Street Betting

Knowing when to call, bet, raise or fold will decrease your losses and maximize your profits exponentially. We can’t tell you with exact accuracy what to do in every situation, but we can provide with the knowledge and mental tools to figure it out for yourself.

By reading the board, counting your Outs, and determining the likelihood of betting your hand, you can make an educated decision on whether to invest, and if so, how much.

Let’s say you have a Flush and Outside Straight Draw that need either a Heart for the Flush, or a 6 or J for the Straight. Without observing the board, we can say that you have 9 outs for the Flush and 8 Outs for the Straight, for a total of 17 Outs. Now, observe the board. Are there any Hearts, 6s or Jacks showing? Were there any folded prior to this point? If two Hearts were folded, two Hearts are showing, one 6 is showing and two Jacks showing, your Outs drop to 10. Now, if you don’t get any of those Outs, how strong will your hand be? If it is weaker than another open hand, fold. If it is stronger than any open hand, check or call a low bet.

No matter what street you are on, your hand should be better than the open hands showing, with reasonable potential to improve beyond the best possible hand around you. By this, we mean not just the open cards, but the best cards they could have hidden.

If you determine you have the Nuts, either bet low to keep drawing chips into the pot, or bet high if you think you’ll get at least one caller.

If you have a marginal hand, either place a bet you are sure will steal the pot, stick to low bets on a Draw, or simply fold and conserve your chips for a better opportunity.

Upgrading Strategies

Once you have successfully incorporated these 7 Card Stud strategies, it is time to move on to the advanced tactics. The following strategies are recommended for players who have already applied the 7 card Stud Beginner and Intermediate Strategies.

7 Card Stud Advanced Strategy

Written by Rob · Filed Under HORSE Poker Strategy 

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