Stud Tip 1: Play aggressive when starting with a big pair – You want to try to eliminate as many players as possible when you are starting with a big pair, because there will be a lot of different players drawing to different hands and a high pair is unlikely to hold up come showdown. For this reason you want to eliminate as many players from the hand early on in 7 card stud.

Stud Tip 2: Slow play good starting draw hands – Good 7 card stud starting hands include three to a high flush or three to a high straight. By keeping the pot small early, you aren’t risking as many chips with a non-made hand and by allowing more players to stay in the hand it builds your drawing hands pot odds. Then if you do manage to hit your draw there will be more players in the pot and you are likely to win a larger pot than you would have if you lost some customers by raising the pot early.

Stud Tip 3: Watch your opponents up cards – Your opponents up cards will give you a lot of information about your opponent’s hands, and also give you information about the likelihood of making your own hand. For example, if you need a club to complete your flush and your opponents are showing a few clubs each then you need to take this into account when calculating the odds of making your flush. Your opponents up cards are also called ‘dead cards’ and if a lot of the cards you need to complete your draw are dead it drastically decreases your chances of making your hand. Also, if you see other players with strong up card hands you should be able to tell their relative strength and this should help you make decisions in the hand.

Stud Tip 4: Don’t play three to a low straight or flush – The chances of you making your hand are slim and even if you do make your low straight or flush there is a chance that it will not be the best hand at the table in situations where your opponents have possible straights or flushes as well. Your (2,3,4,5,6) can easily be beaten by an opponent’s (5,6,7,8,9) or your 8-high flush will often lose to another players Ace-high flush. Don’t waste your chips drawing to hands that could lose anyway.

Stud Tip 5: The first four cards often determine the hand – After you receive your first four cards you should have a pretty good idea of your chances to win the hand. At this point you should likely make a decision to either fold now and cut your losses or invest in the pot and try to win the hand. This is a critical point in the hand and your decisions on 4th street will often determine whether or not you will be a winning seven card stud player.