In between EPT trips and other things another notch was added to my belt this week as I finally donned my pith helmet and went digging into the world of Stud poker. Of course, this is all part of the PokerStars.net experience; a trip around the different variations of the game on offer. So far some things have gone well, others not so much, but the bottom line remains – if you’re going to play poker, why not try it in all its forms rather than just the highly competitive branch of hold’em?

Stud is no easy replacement. For a start you’ll notice in the PokerStars lobby that there are three forms of the game – 7 Car Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo and Razz, the latter sounding more a cocktail with a dash of lemonade. All three thought are built on the same principles - fixed limit stakes in the Stud form. So what is that exactly?

Each player pays an ante before the cards are dealt and then receives three cards, two face down, one face up. Yes, other players can see your hand develop with the exception of the face down cards. They provide the tricky bit which sooner or later appears in all forms of poker.

During the course of the hand each player receives seven cards (provided they don’t fold) using them to make the best five card hand. Following the first three cards there is betting, as there is after fourth, fifth and sixth street (the fourth, fifth and sixth cards). The seventh and final card is dealt face down, just like the first two. A round of betting follows and the remaining players show their cards. The player with the highest five card poker hand wins.

Unlike other games Stud is not played with a button. Instead the exposed cards determine who acts first. After the first three cards are dealt the player with the lowest exposed card makes a forced wager of either half of the small bet or the full amount (for instance 5 or 10 in a 10/20 game). The action then continues in a clockwise direction before the next street is dealt (for a full account of the intricacies of Stud see here).

I started with 1,800 from my bankroll at table Strenua and quickly, and almost without realising it, lost a few hundred. Stud requires all of your attention with lessons learned almost as soon as you sit down. You may have seven cards to make the best five card hand but four of them can be seen by your opponents. Of course, that means you can see their cards too - more than once I played looking for a flush, only to see the odds of my hitting it diminish as the cards I needed were dealt face up elsewhere. The same goes for all hands you might be drawing to. If you see an opponent with your cards it can save you a lot of chips if you notice, or cost you a lot of chips if you don’t.

Of course this relies on a quick memory, especially as players with cards face up may fold. It’s up to you to remember the cards they discarded. So a great memory can be a useful aid - my memory is not so great, hence losing a few hundred quite fast. But at least you can see for yourself how the game develops on every street and gives you an early get out when you can see your once strong hand become second to an opponent’s.

So where was I? Down to 1,500 and looking to get stuck in. Three hearts and I call. I can see a heart showing elsewhere which makes a flush draw slightly tougher. Erring on the caution side I fold. This starts off a few hands with similar results –with so much information to hand it can grow harder to dip your toe in. But all poker is like this, whether you can see cards or not, so I played a few hands regardless.


Enjoying three nines whilst they lasted...

Then, three nines! I call. This seems good. I’m drawing to either the fourth nine or, if I can find a pair from my next four cards, a full house. But by fifth street the player next to me had three aces exposed, easily trumping my nines. Like everyone else I fold. More chips lost and eyeing the clock I took what I had left to the next table - Stud Hi/Lo this time, where things get a little more complicated.

7 Card Stud Hi/Lo (also known as Eight-or-better as eight marks the line between high and low)

Introducing a low element makes the game almost doubly complicated, so it was with some surprise that I managed the ‘almost-nuts’ for both the high and the low on a hand early on that rescued me from my earlier incompetence.

Dealt King-Five-Deuce, I decided to chase at least the low. A six on fourth street kept me on pace and the four on fifth street opened my eyes a little wider. The three on sixth street and ace on the last face down card made me a straight that took a pot worth over 1,200. Luckily my opponents either didn’t notice the gathering storm or chose to ignore it, restoring my stack to somewhere a few hundred above where I’d started. I also begun to wonder if I’d made this game sound too complicated – the beginner can quickly get used to the nuances of the game and worry about mastering it later – that seemed like a better lesson.

Razz

I soon turned to Razz, an oft forgotten game albeit not by Team PokerStars Pro Katja Thater.



Katja won over $132,000 and a gold bracelet in one of those events that many players have never even tried at the World Series of Poker last year.

Razz is basically stud low, only unlike Stud Hi/Lo the 8 or better rule does not apply. So if you think you’ve got some talent when it comes to finding the worst hand – this game is for you! The nuts stand as A-2-3-4-5. But it’s not as easy as it looks. There are only so many low cards in the deck and with everyone chasing them, and cards on show to see where you are, it’s no simple task.

Just when I thought I was close to perfect with seven low, someone popped up with six low – down a bit. Another hand, betting all the way with eight low only to be beaten with seven low – down a bit more. It seemed nothing short of the nuts would win a hand, until I grudgingly called with nine low, only to see everyone else mucking pairs and face cards.

I ended with 1,907, a hundred over what I’d started with. Not bad. Stud is complex but fascinating string to your poker bow, and once you have a taste for that Hi/Lo and Razz are only a few clicks away in the PokerStars lobby.

So what with Omaha, Stud, Razz and the rest all tried and done it leaves just H.O.R.S.E. No, I’m not heading out on the range; instead it’s a game that includes everything – Hold’em, Omaha, Razz (Stud low), Stud, Eight or better (Stud High-Low).

Profit, break even or bust?