7 Card Stud Hand Selection Strategies
This article is to clarify starting hands for 7 Card Stud. When a hand is shown like (QJ) 9, it means that the QJ are the cards hidden in your hand and the 9 is your first card up or referred to as the "door card".
Pair of Aces
Aces are obviously a great starting hand. Here is the list of starting hands in order of rank.
(AA) K
(AA) Q
(AA) J
(AA) X (X means any other card lower than a Jack)
(AK) A
(AQ) A
(AJ) A
So you can see that having the aces hidden in your hole cards is your best advantage. That is because your opponents cannot see them and will think your hand is weaker than it is. Also, if there is an ace suited with the third card then that also gives you a flush draw but the advantage is only slight so not considered in the ranking.
Rolled Up Hands
Rolled up hands are where you have three of a kind to start and because the two holes cards cannot be seen by your opponents it is called “rolled up”. Obviously (AA) A is the best hand to start with all the way down to (22) 2. Because they are so well hidden, you need not slow play them. It is better to bet them all the way and hope not to be outdrawn than to give free cards. However, if the table is extremely tight and you have noticed that they tend to fold to a bet, it might be wise to give one free card to entice them to play.
Suite Connectors and Three Card Straights
Both of these yield opportunities for open ended straight draws. Having at least two of the connectors suited also allows for back door flushes.
Medium Pairs
Eights and above are considered good starting hands.
Ace in the Door
Don’t play unless you raise. If your hand is weak with the ace then fold, it will give you credibility later.
These are some of the best hands to start with. In general when you are dealt your three cards (at low stakes), if the lowest card in your hand is higher than the cards showing, you have the best chance to catch the highest pair or two pair. However, you cannot discard that someone has a hidden pair.
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