Some
7-stud/8 Tips
If you decide to play past Third Street, your next key decision
point occurs on the very next betting round. If you're going
for low but catch a high card on Fourth Street, you've hit
a pothole. But if you catch a fourth low card, you stand
a good chance of succeeding at your draw.
If you have a low draw and catch
well on Fourth Street while an opponent - who also has a
low draw - stumbles by catching a high card. you can raise
if someone bets. That will make it tough for the other low
draw to call, since he's now dragging the heavy anchor of
a high card attached to three babies. If you' re able to
raise and drive out all other low draws, it no longer matters
how good your low is, because now if you make any low at
all, you'll be rewarded with at least half the pot.
If you find yourself
on Third Street up against opponents who have deuces, treys,
fours, fives, or sixes showing, you can assume they're drawing
for low. But an opponent with a doorcard ace could be going
high or low, or even have a two-way hand like A-2/A. Whenever
you make a two-way hand that already has a lock on half
the pot, you should jam the pot by raising or re-raising
at every opportunity. You'll scoop the pot if you get lucky,
but whenever there are multiple opponents, each additional
bet generates profit, even when the pot is split.
If you're dealt a big pair early,
your hand already has some intrinsic value; but if you start
with three low cards, all you have is a drawing hand. As
good as it looks, there's always a chance it won't get there.
But if you make the only low hand by Fifth or Sixth Street,
along with a chance to improve to a high hand as well, you
have half the pot already won against opponents who hold
high-only hands. You can now bet or raise with complete
safety.
If you make a straight or any
other good high hand to complement your low, you may scoop
the pot. But even if your high hand is still just a wannabe,
as long as you hold the best possible low hand, there's
no cost or risk in drawing for the high hand. Put simply,
you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Poker players
call this "free rolling." Although it doesn't
happen often, it's a wonderful feeling when it does!
If you have a high hand, you
should bet and raise early and often: You need to make it
as expensive as possible for anyone drawing to a low hand.
After all, you want to avoid splitting the pot, and you'd
also like to avoid the indignity of an opponent's low draw
backing into a better high hand than yours, thus scooping
the entire pot right out from under your nose. (This happens
more often than you might think, so beware.)
If it's your opponent - not
you - who makes a low hand, you have a problem. Once you
suspect you're up against a made low, it's time to stop
driving and apply the brakes. At best, you're now the player
aiming at half the pot. At worst, you'll get scooped if
your high doesn't hold up. Since that's the case, what earthly
reason could you have for betting into this pot?
