ENGLISH STUD

This game is similar to seven-card stud. ‘English stud’ is variably used for different stud games like seven card stud or London lowball (played with six tiles).

You will need…

To play this game, you will need a standard deck having 52 cards. English stud can be played by 5 to 7 players at a time. The betting here starts from $2 - $4 for beginners while a regular player will choose to play a higher game which starts from $8-$16 or a still higher game can be $10 -$20.

How to deal?

As usual the game begins with the dealers left. Dealer distributes each player 2 tiles faced down and 1 tile faced up. The dealer then commands to the player who has the lowest door card, to start betting. In case of a tie, suits solve the situation. The suits have their order as follows: spade, heart, diamond and club.

How to play?

Played like seven studs the only difference is that six cards are distributed instead of seven. The dealer distributes two cards facing down and one card face up. A round of betting takes place. Another card face up is distributed followed by a betting round. The draw takes place after one more card face up is distributed. Here players can exchange one card from their hand. If a player gives a face down card then he will receive a card face down but if the player wishes to exchange a face up card then he will receive a face up card. A round of betting follows this. The sixth card is dealt face up. The player gets another chance to play draw. If the players are playing English stud with six cards, then game ends with one more betting round and then showdown. But if the hand is of seven cards then one more tile face down is distributed followed by draw and then betting. The game ends with showdown.

And the winner is…

The dealer declares the player with the best hand during showdown as winner.

Tactics of winning…

It is far more important to understand the strategy and tactics of this game than any other poker game. You should not pounce on bigger games of $100-$200, though they may appear to be more lucrative than other smaller games. This is one thing that every player should keep in mind while choosing a game. While playing stud one skill that a player must have is memorizing and analyzing cards that have been distributed. You can relax a little if you have three of a kind and as always the higher the rank, the better it is. In 7-card stud it is better to perform a slow play. You are a wise man if you maintain more players till the end. If you have a higher door card then you are expected to raise the bet. If you do not do that other players might find it fishy. If you have high sequences to bet on, there are few things you should keep in mind:

• You should make a strong betting at Third and Fourth Street. This will eliminate more players. It is also cheaper to eliminate player during these streets.
• If there are higher cards on the table like king and ace and the card you have is queen then it is advisable to leave the bet at a single raise. You should not panic when while betting if two aces or kings are on table, this only means that the pair is broken and now there is nothing to worry about.
• If you have a higher card in hand like King and Queen or Ace, and you door card is ten or jack then you are in an ideal situation. It will apparently appear as though you are betting and rising on 10. Here you can pull other players deeper and easily claim your victory at the end.
• In Sixth and Seventh Street, you have chances of getting beaten by open cards. If not so then, you can rise, but in reverse case you should fold. You should always check before folding if there is anything that appears to be threatening or which can take the deal away from your hand.

Bluff master…

• While playing stud it is important to know your opponents well. You should not bluff to a professional or a beginner.
• Don’t bluff until you have some cards to give a threat to other players.