7 Card Stud Hi/Lo
In Stud Hi/Lo, half the pot is awarded to the best Hi hand and half
the pot is awarded to the best Lo hand. To qualify for a low hand, one
must have five unpaired cards Eight or Better (eight or lower). The
dream hand in Stud Hi/Lo is A2345. This is known as the "wheel". You
have the nut low meaning you'll definitely win half the pot and you
also have a straight for a high hand which gives you a good chance of
scooping the entire pot.
Beginners should note that low
hands are counted from high card down. Many players with A2348 (eight
low) think they have a very strong low when in reality they would lose
to someone holding A4567 (seven low).
Starting hand selection is very important in this game.
Generally speaking, the worst cards to be dealt in this game are
Nines, Tens and to a bit of a lesser extent, Jacks. These cards are
caught in "no man's land". They don't qualify for a low and they
aren't very strong for a high hand. Even if you pair a Nine, it's
entirely likely someone will make a higher pair to win the high half
of the pot. Aces are the best cards to be dealt in this game since
they qualify as a low card and can also make top pair. A very good
starting hand is
A
5![d](../i/16/suits/2d.gif)
![]]](../b.gif)
down and
3![c](../i/16/suits/2c.gif)
![]]](../b.gif)
up. You have a concealed Ace, three to a wheel, three to a strong low,
and even two to an Ace-high flush which is worth a little something as
well.
Suppose you're dealt three to a low. Many novice players fall into the
trap of
always playing this hand, but there are some
circumstances where you should fold three to a low. Ask yourself these
three questions to determine if you should play your three to a
low:
•How low is my low?
•How many players remain in
the pot?
•How many of my "outs" are gone?
Let's say
you're dealt
8
6![c](../i/16/suits/2c.gif)
![]]](../b.gif)
down and
4![s](../i/16/suits/2s.gif)
![]]](../b.gif)
up. This is a pretty weak three to a low. First of all, you're drawing
to an eight low which is the worst qualifying low hand. If anyone else
successfully makes a low hand, theirs is probably going to be better
than yours. If you are one of the first players to act and hold this
hand, I would fold unless everyone else at the table (or almost
everyone) is showing a high card face-up (Nine or higher). If that is
the case, you can assume you're probably the only player drawing to a
low and might even be compelled to raise or re-raise in light of this
to help lure more money into the pot between a few players who are all
competing for the high side. However, if a few of the remaining
players are showing low cards, especially other low cards than the
ones you have (such as an Ace, Two, Three, or Five), you should
probably just fold. This is because a.) they might be drawing to a
better low than you and b.) some of your outs to completing a low hand
are already gone.
Made low hands are very powerful in Stud
Hi/Lo, especially when you know you're the only player who will have a
qualifying low at the showdown. For example, suppose you have
A
7![h](../i/16/suits/2h.gif)
![]]](../b.gif)
down and
5
6
3
9![d](../i/16/suits/2d.gif)
![]]](../b.gif)
face-up. Even though all you have is Ace-high for a high-hand, you
appear very threatening. It could be very easy for a player to believe
that you have a flush or straight to go with your low. Even though you
and I know all you've got is Ace-high, you should still bet and raise
with total confidence when holding this hand. You already know that in
a worse case scenario you're going to get half the pot, so you might
as well bet really aggressively and hope you're able to scare an
opponent with a bare high hand (like, say, a pair of Kings) into
folding under pressure thereby awarding you the entire pot.
When you have a made low hand and are in a pot against two
other players who are clearly battling for the high side of the pot,
raise, raise, and raise some more. Make them each put in as much as
you can since you know half of everything they put in is yours.
Conversely, avoid getting caught in situations where you're one of
these other two players who is being punished dearly by an aggressive
player with a made low unless you're very certain that you'll be the
one winning the high pot.
Read our
7 Card Stud
article to get a bit of a better idea on how to battle for high side
of the pot. A pair of Aces is a great hand to be dealt as you've got a
very strong high hand that could potentially backdoor its way into
scooping if you're lucky enough to run out a bunch of low cards.
Anytime you're dealt an Ace face-up, you become a force to be reckoned
with. Opponents will be unsure which side of the pot you're playing
for, high or low. Hopefully you'll make a wheel and show them that the
answer was "both".
As a general rule, it's nice to be the
only player drawing to the high half of the pot. A situation where you
have a strong high hand in a pot where two or three other players are
all trying to make a low hand is very nice. Anytime you're the lone
contestant for half the pot and two (or more) others are contesting
for the other half, try to jam as much money into the pot as possible
since you're likely to get half of everything they put in.
What you do
not want to do in Stud Hi/Lo is make
thin calls hoping to make a hand that
might win the high side
of the pot. Suppose you're dealt
K
J![c](../i/16/suits/2c.gif)
![]]](../b.gif)
down and
Q![s](../i/16/suits/2s.gif)
![]]](../b.gif)
up. You call after someone completes. That's usually fine. But on
fourth street you're dealt the
5![d](../i/16/suits/2d.gif)
![]]](../b.gif)
and someone bets. You should not call while thinking, "well, maybe if
I catch a King, Queen or Jack I'll win the high pot." That type of
thinking is a recipe for losing money hand over fist. All you're doing
is drawing to a high hand that you're not even sure will be the best
high hand. Doesn't sound very wise, does it?
This should
help you get off on the right foot in Stud Hi/Lo, but do be sure to
read our
7 Card Stud strategy
since I covered some topics like tracking outs, position and bluffing
that are very important to understand in Stud Hi/Lo as well.
Next Article:
2-7 Triple Draw