Stud Poker |Poker Strategy|

The chances of holding a given hand in five-card stud are the same as in five-card draw. However, it must be remembered that players will drop out of the pot at an early stage if they do not have potentially good hands. Thus, the players who remain in a stud pot have a higher average potential than those who remain in a pot of draw poker.

The following table gives the chance that a particular hole card is the high hole card, depending on the number of opponents. This table is expressed in decimals; thus, .94 means that this event will occur 94 times out of 100.

The following tables give the odds against improving various combinations in seven-card stud high poker. For purposes of strategy, these figures are somewhat deceptive, for a player with only a potential hand may be forced to drop out of the pot before he has seen his final card(s).

In many hands of seven-card high-low stud, you will find yourself trying to make a low hand. The following table gives the approximate odds against completing various low hands under the assumption that a straight does not count as a low hand. (If aces are low cards, the chances are given by those for the next worst hand.)