Poker Strategy - Common Traps In Seven Card Stud Hi/lo

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Common Traps In Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo

If your goal is to become a better poker player, a great game to learn is seven-card stud hi/lo. This game is also called hi/lo split or eight or better. It is a split game, meaning the best poker hand splits the pot with the "worst" or low hand. Straights and flushes do not count against the low and the ace is both high and low, so the lowest possible hand is A 2 3 4 5, or "the wheel."

The game is called eight or better because you need an eight low to get the low half, meaning your highest card must be no higher than an eight, with no pair. This is a good game for skilled players because there are many nuances that amateurs may not understand. Furthermore, this game appears frequently in mixed games such as H.O.R.S.E., where multiple poker games are played.

If you want to play in one of these poker games, then you will have to learn stud hi/lo. If you want to be a winning stud hi/lo poker player, you will also have to learn to avoid the most common traps.

Trap #1: Playing For Half The Pot
This is the number one trap in seven card hi/lo poker and a trap unique to split games. Since most hands have either some high possibilities or low possibilities, nearly every player has some kind of chance to catch a card or two to win one half or the other. This is why split pots get so big, because many more players are staying in to hit some kind of either high or low hand.

When you play this way, you often find yourself in a situation where you will either lose a big pot, or win half a pot, which is not a recipe for winning poker. In high low games, you should play to scoop, meaning win the whole pot. This way you may either win the whole thing or have a backup if someone has a great hand on one side or the other.

Trap #2: Starting Out Playing For High

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While you want to play hands to the end that can win both, it's hard to know what your hand will look like after the first three cards. That's why you should start out playing low cards. The reason for this is that a low hand can become a high hand, but a high hand can never become a low hand. For example, if you start out with 9 K K, you have a hand that can never win low, and probably won't win high if it does not improve. On the other hand, if you start out with 2 3 5, any two low cards make a good low, plus you can catch A 4 or 4 6 for a straight, pair any of your cards, or hit some flush cards for high possibilities.

Trap #3: Playing Middle Cards
You should routinely throw away hands with 8s and 9s. These cards are relatively useless for either high or low and usually just help you make the second best hand.

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