Seven Card Stud High Low
Starting Hands
When selecting which hands to play in Seven
Card Stud High Low you want to play hands that
will give you the chance to win both the high
and low hands. This is known as scooping the
pot. Scooping the pot is how you will win big
pots and lots of money in Seven Card Stud High
Low.
Too many players fall into the trap of
knowingly playing hands that will only win half
of the pot. This is the biggest mistake that a
player can make. This strategy causes players to
put in money for a chance to win only half of
the pot and they won't always win the high or
low half.
Avoiding this mistake will keep you out of a
lot of trouble and preserve your bankroll for
hands where you can scoop the pot.
Examples of the hand that you want to play
are A-2-3 suited (suited means that all the
cards are of the same suit. For example, Ace of
Diamonds, Two of Diamonds and Three of
Diamonds), 2-3-4 suited and other low cards that
are both suited and connect (3-4-5, 4-5-6) or
nearly connect (2-3-5, A-3-4).
These hands give you the opportunity to hit a
straight flush, a flush or a straight and
oftentimes this will allow you to scoop the pot.
When playing these hands (and all others) you
need to look at what other cards have been dealt
to your opponent. If you see cards that are
important to your hand on the board you will
need to reevaluate how strong your hand is.
Other starting hands that you would choose to
play are A-A-2,A-A-3, A-A-4, A-A-5 especially if
your Ace is suited to the low card.
A-A-6, A-A-7, A-A-8 are also playable hands
especially if you are heads up against another
player.
You may on occasion find yourself starting
out with a hand like A-A-A or some other high
set, while these only give you a chance at the
high end they are playable because they give you
an excellent chance at the high hand and not
merely just a chance at it.
Although I did say earlier to only play hands
that give you a chance at both ends of the pot,
starting hands that are high trips can win you
both ends of the pot because if there is no
qualifying low hand then the best high hand wins
the entire pot. Starting off with a high set can
do just that for you.
Seven Card Stud High Low can be a very
profitable game even for new players because so
many others are bad at it. They are not
selective with their starting hands and if you
follow our advice you can do quite well.
Playing and practicing is the only way to
improve your Seven Card Stud game. Just do it by
selecting good hands, paying attention to the
other cards on the table to see if cards you
need have been dealt to an opponent. Also, study
your opponents. See what hands they play and how
they bet their hands. That is great information
to see how your hand stacks up against theirs
and whether you should play the hand out or not.
