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The Extreme Guide to Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo
For people who want to learn the game of poker, this guide gives you inside information into the principles of Seven Card High Lo Stud Poker and it also gives you a few of the basic strategies used to play the game. Playing the game in a casino or tournament level requires at the very least a basic knowledge of the game, however to win in competitions you will need to investigate an intermediate or expert level poker education with advanced tactics and plenty of hands on practice.
The Rules of 7 Card Stud High Low Poker
In 7 card stud the object of the game is having either the highest hand or the lowest hand, in order to win the pot. In this game the highest hand will spit the winnings with the lowest hand. In order for a hand to be a qualified hand in a competition, that hand must contain 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 or less and the Ace can be played on both sides of the board, it can be both high and low. There are three betting rounds for each hand in play.
How the cards are distributed and how betting is conducted
In the example for the $2/$4 game, the card distribution and betting rules are simple. First all of the players will ante up, which means that all players will put up the $.50. Each player will then be dealt the first 2 cards down and one card up. After this the person with the lowest card facing up will be forced to make the bet of half of the $2 dollar bet up to the full bet to begin the game. Each of the players (going clockwise) will then either call the amount of the opening bet or they can raise the bet, and if they feel they don't have a chance they can then "fold" the hand.
After the initial opening plays the betting rounds will start with the fourth card played face up, and then there is a round of bets at $2. After this round, the player who has the highest cards facing up will be the one to check and bet first. The next card is the fifth, once this card is dealt facing up; the bet goes up to the high end or $4. Next, the sixth card will also be dealt facing up, and then the players will again bet $4. After these rounds the seventh and final card will be dealt face down, and then once again there will be the last $4 betting round. The dealer will then determine whose hand is the highest and the lowest and will then award the pot to the winners. The ideal hand is the one that wins the pot with a low straight or a flush, where no one will qualify for the low hand, thus allowing the highest hand to win the whole pot.
It is also important to note that when determining the lower card dealt face up to "bring in" the rounds of betting, the dealer will use the suits to decide the order when there is a tie between the low cards. In descending order the lowest card will be chosen, with Spades being the highest, then Hearts, then Diamonds, and the lowest being the Clubs.
The Strategy to Qualify
In 7 Card Stud Hi Lo, the winner with the highest hand must split the winnings with the person with the lowest qualifying hand. Every hand produces a high hand winner; however this is not always true for the low hand. In order for the hand to qualify as a low hand winner, it must include five different dominations that are no higher than a value of eight. Any five of the seven cards can be played as a high hand and any 5 can qualify as a low hand. In this game Aces can be played as both high and low cards. If you have a straight or a flush it will not disqualify you for the low hand, so if you should have the 5, 4, 3, 2, A hand you would have the lowest low hand imaginable, and you will also have a 5 high straight in the high hand as well.
It is very important to remember that when you are playing in the split pot games that the biggest profit difference happens between winning half of the pot and gaining all of the pot. Many beginning card players figure that if they win two split pots, it is the same as winning a full pot. However, this is not so when talking about profit. When you grab a whole pot you end up with a great addition to your chip stack, if you get half you just gain a little more than you had when you started the hand. Winners usually will settle for the half that they win, and they may lose both the high and the low, but you should always remember to only play the hands that you have a good chance of winning. The second and possibly the most important thing are to get out of the hand early if you know that you are not going to win. As soon as it is noticeable that you have good possibilities you will want to stick in the game but if you know there is no way to win, you will want to get out of it quickly. Only stay in a hand where it is sure that you will win for the high hand and if you have a hand where all of your cards are lower than the number 8.
Important 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Definitions:
- Checking and Folding: This is where you check if that is what is called for, and folding if you don't really have a hand and someone bets. That way you can see the cards and build a hand without making any additional bets.
- Concealed Pair: the starting pair that you have in the hole and your card facing up is your kicker.
- Dead Card: These are cards that are no longer in your deck, and they have been revealed to the players.
- Door Card: In the starting hand this if the first up card.
- Fast Play: In this play you are trying to get as many people out as quickly as possible by betting, raising and re-raising.
- High Cards: From 9 to the Ace
- Low cards: Ace up to the 8
- Slow Play: In this type of play, you are just checking or calling in order to keep the others in the game and increasing the odds of the pot.
- Split Pair: When you have one pair face down and you have one face up.
- Wheel (5, 4, 3, 2, A): This hand can be played as your low hand or your high hand.
Playable Hands (starting hands):
Triples: This is when you are playing three cards that are the same. Fast play is called for when playing queens and kings (QQQ) and (KKK). You will want to slow play with Aces (AAA).
Straight flush from 3 low (3d, 5d, 7d); you will want to play this hand the same as a flush which will be discussed below.
Straight from 3 Low (2c, 4s, 6h), you will want to play this hand the same as a flush which will be discussed below.
Flush from 3 Low (8c, 6c, 3c), you play this hand and the two listed above in the same way. You will want to check/fold if you have a pair and you are not able to improve your high cards, especially if you are facing 2 or more draws toward a low card hand.
3 Low with Ace (7,4, A) Check and fold by fifth street, if you don't get at least a triple or another Ace and you are facing one or more low draws.
The Low pair with Ace (55A) you will want to check or fold, if you don't have triples or aces by the fifth street.
High pairs with face cards: (KK, QQ, JJ) you will want to play these fast, to split them or have them concealed. You will want also drive out all lower hands so that you have a chance of winning before they get a good draw. Fold if you don't see a good hand by your fifth street cards.
Pair of Aces: You will want to slow play this hand unless you have a low kicker, then in which case you will want to try to reduce the amount of players to give yourself a chance to win the pot. You will want to fold if you don't have a better hand by the fifth street.
Pair of nines or tens with Ace: In this hand you wan to slow play, keeping in mind that you will want to check/fold if you don't get a triple or more aces.
High Straight flush with 3 cards: You will need to slow play this hand and check/fold if you have not got one of the cards you need by the fifth street.
Hands that are Not Playable
High flushes and High Straights are usually not playable because you may not get anything else to back it up.
Low cards that are not connected are usually not good, especially without an ace or if it has no possibility of becoming a flush.
Unpaired combinations for the high/low.
Strategic Tips to winning
The beginning four cards are the most important part to winning the seven card stud game. If your starting hands are developed, you have the chance to grab the pot. If they are not, you need to get out and save yourself some money. The three cards that start the hand need to be good in order for you to have any chance; the fourth should cause your already good hand to dominate the board. You should play very carefully when you have a good starting hand ensuring that you are the winner.
Stay away from a paired door card hand. If your opponent is playing on a pair in his hand and his door card then you can be sure that the door card is a part of the pair. A pair door card give the holder a strong possibility of having triples, you don't want to play if your opponent has one.
Only bet on the hands that are playable. You will want to bet more than checking. And bet on a hand that you would call anyway. Many times your competitors will stay in the hand until someone bets getting the chance to get a lucky draw and win the hand.
High Pairs are great when there are only two competitors that give you a chance to win the game if you stay in.
Watch the board for cards that will hurt your chance to make a great hand. Don't play if you only have a marginal starting hand like low pairs. Play the lower straights very cautiously.
Keep an eye on the fours and the fives as they are both key cards in the low hand straights.
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