Finishing off my series of blogs on the basics of HORSE, starting hands, etc. Today is a quick run down of Stud/8 or Stud hi-lo. Stud/8 is one of my personal favorites and a game that is fun, but tough to master. Like Omaha h/l, there COULD be both a high and a low hand, but the low hand is considerably more difficult to hit in Stud/8 simply because you have no common cards like you do in Hold’em or Omaha. All you can use is the cards in your hand, 5 of the 7.
Because of the fact that it is a Stud game you REALLY don’t want to get stuck just chasing a low draw. If you are going to chase any type of low draw, then a possible flush or straight should accompany it. Remember, risking too many chips for just 1/2 the pot is a bad idea. That would change somewhat if there are 3-4 people in the hand and your low hand is assured, but those circumstances are rare in Stud h/l. Usually you/your opponents can see that someone almost certainly has the high or the low and fold their hand accordingly, leaving you heads up for 6th or 7th street in many pots. So, if you do have a low hand, you need to build the pot up while you can, with as many players still in it as possible, because you are probably only taking down 1/2 of it.
Like Omaha/8, Stud/8 will many times not have a low hand. That is why high pairs are desirable and flushes, straights will usually win a hand. Many times a set is good enough. When I have a high pair or something similar, I like to bet it strong to put pressure on anyone chasing a low draw. They may end up with 1/2 the pot, but they are going to have to pay to see it if they are up against me.
By contrast, I will do a lot of calling if I know or am pretty sure I will have the low(only the low) in order to keep other players in the hand, building a larger pot for me to split with the winner of the high hand. It is seldom in Stud/8 that you will find 2 or more low hands in the same round. Usually someone doesn’t draw out a low who thinks they will.
Obviously, any low that can lead to a straight or flush is great, because that can sweep a big pot from an unsuspecting player who thinks they have the high won. You need to apply the same rules to Stud/8 as Stud in that you should not be drawing when you can see you are beaten already by your opponents up cards. That is a good way to get into trouble.
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