Limit Seven-Card Stud - Starting Hands
Strict starting hand standards are absolutely crucial in Seven-Card Stud. One of the most common and expensive mistakes beginning players make is playing too many hands. In this section we will give you advice on which hands to play and how to play a hand with them.
Three of a kind (rolled-up trips)
This is the strongest possible starting hand. What you have to decide is whether you should slow play your hand or not. If thegame is loose there's no need to slow play since you're likely toget a lot of action anyway. This is also true if you have been raising or re-raising with average hands earlier in the game. In these cases your opponents are likely to call, since they're not sure you're holding a strong hand. However, when you have a tight table image and a couple of other players make raises with (seemingly) high pairs it's correct to slow play. Make your move on fifth or sixth street instead. Slow playing should always be done with great care,remember to asses your opponents' holdings at every stage of the game. The size of the pot and the number of players in it are other factors to consider
Big Pairs (AA-JJ)
These are really strong hands that you should play most of the time, but there are some exceptions. If you think you're up against a higher pair you should fold. For example, when you're holding QQ and a player with a King as up-cards raises only to be re-raised by a player with an Ace showing. You should also fold big pairs if your cards are dead. If you're holding JJ and both the remaining Jack are on the table you have no chance of improving and should generally throw your cards away. Though, you might play on if your hand has some additional value, like a two-flush.
Medium Pairs (TT-88)
These hands are tricky - sometimes you should fold them and sometimes you should play. The most important factor is whether your cards are live or not. If they're not and you're not in a position to steal the antes - fold. Your kicker is also vital. If it's higher than all up-cards you should play your middle pair even if someone makes a raise. If it's not, fold in raised pots. If your pair is higher than all up-cards you should make a raise, this is especially true if you have a strong kicker. As always, additional value like a two-flush makes your hand stronger. However, if there has been both a raise and a re-raise middle pairs should always be folded.
Three-Flushes
many factors influence how these hands should be played. Some times they're better heads-up and sometimes they're better in multi-way pots. Much depend on which cards are live and which are dead. If the flush cards are live but the pair cards are dead a multi-way pot is preferable. If you have high cards that are live heads-up play is optimal. Your up-card is another important dynamic. If it's high and you're first to act you should make a raise.
Three-Straights
these hands can be divided into high three-straights and low three-straights. When you have high cards and all the cards are live you can play the hand even if the pot has been raised and re-raised. With high-cards you might also go for are gut-shot straight draw if you have additional value like a two-flush and the gap card is live (for example, if you're holding (Td, Jc) Ks, you would want Queens to be live). If you have low cards you should fold in raised pots unless you have additional value. When it comes to unsuited low three-straights it's more important that the cards you need to make a straight are live than the ones you're actually holding (for example if you're holding (5d, 6c) 7s, you would want the 4:s and 8:s to be live).