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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
|