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There are many
variations of this game, the feature common to all being that each
player ends with four cards face down and four cards face up. Two
cards may be dealt face down and four face up, then two more face
down, with a betting interval after each of the face-up cards and
after each of the last two face-down cards; or three cards may be
dealt face down and one face up, followed by the first betting interval
with three more face-up cards and one more face-down card and a
betting interval after each; or the first four face down, a betting
interval, and then four face up with a betting interval after each.
In any case, each player in the showdown selects five of his eight
cards.
How to play: When each player has eight cards, straights and flushes
really come into their own; but so, of course, do full houses. Thus,
it is still doubtful strategy to back a possible straight or flush.
The average winning hand (in a seven-handed game) is three kings.
In this form of seven-card stud (usually restricted to social games),
the lowest-ranking of a player's three hole cards, and every other
card of like rank in that player's hand, is wild. This, with the
exception of seven-card high-low stud (page 149), is probably the
most popular form of seven-card stud. The appeal of the game lies
partly in its uncertainty: having paired the lower of his first
two hole cards, a player has a winning hand subject only to the
danger that he will be dealt a still lower card for his seventh
card (and third hole card), nullifying the value of the low cards
previously dealt him.
How to play: It is the opinion of most poker analysts that except
for the most obvious situations, this game defies analysis. I am
constrained to agree. However, one hint: Be ultraconservative!
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