7 Card Stud High ($0.50/$1), Ante $0.10, Bring-In $0.15 (converter)

3rd Street

seat 0: xx xx K :diamond :___folds
seat 1: xx xx 8 ___calls
seat 2: xx xx 2 ___brings in___folds
seat 3: xx xx J ___folds
seat 4: xx xx A ___folds
seat 5: xx xx 7 ___folds
seat 6: xx xx 3 ___folds
Hero: 4 4 A ___raises

4th Street

seat 1: xx xx 8 Q ___calls
Hero: 4 4 A Q ___bets

5th Street

seat 1: xx xx 8 Q 3 ___calls
Hero: 4 4 A Q Q ___bets

6th Street

seat 1: xx xx 8 Q 3 5 ___calls
Hero: 4 4: heart: A Q Q 6 ___bets

River

seat 1: xx xx 8 Q 3 5 xx
Hero: 4 4 A Q Q 6 8

This is something I struggle with a lot. Should I bet 7th for value, or is this a bet that's only going to be called if villan has hit his hand and is now beating me?

Of course I'll take feedback on the whole hand - obv I was semi-stealing on 3rd.

PS - I vaguely remember a discussion of how to modify the converted hand text to show the suit symbols. If someone can tell me how I'll fix this.

i like the way it was played all the way through

the situation you are facing on the river is one of the main decisions which makes stud a lot harder than it looks...you really have no clue what you are against here, he is just calling down the whole way...this spot is close but i think i go ahead and bet it and hope he made two small pair and is willing to pay off...if he raises you can probably fold, since he has to assume you have at least queens up since you bet the whole way

I go with a check call here. With your open Q's unless you are against a major donk you're not getting called by much that you can beat here. But with a check/call you can induce a bluff.

this is usually a bet on 7th.

two most probably options are
1. pair of 8's that won't let go
2. club draw

if this player started with 8's and went this far, he's definitely calling with any 2 pair, and you almost always have him beat on that. as passively as he played it, he's probably flat calling if he rivered trips. you'll even get the occasional call with just a pair of 8's for information/because he literally doesn't know what he's doing.

if he's on a flush draw and totally bricks out, it won't matter much. but, if he backed into 2 pair (or again maybe even a pair if he's functionally retarded), you're getting another bet out of him. even if he makes his flush, he may only just call your bet just from being in passive mode the whole way.

if he backed into a straight or something stupid, so be it. he likely made enough bad calls along the way for me to not get bent out of shape over a bet on the end.

this line also has the advantage of allowing you to get an extra bet in when you end up with a full house and the other guy fills his flush and goes for a raise. again, you'll even get the occasional tard to cap it with his low flush in this spot.

for the formatting thing, you need spaces outside the colons, but not between colon and suite, on the suit icons. it should look like

Hero: 4 4 A ___raises

Agreed, these are most likely. But in case 1, even if he hits a second pair, I've been betting/raising every chance. Do you really think he calls against my A doorcard and open QQ?
If case two, then I definitely have to check/call. He's not calling my bet with a draw.

Now that I'm finished disagreeing with your advice, I can say I did bet out on 7th, and he folded. In hindsight I think it was wrong though.


Thanks for the formatting tip!

point 1. at this level and by his action, i'd say probably. a player who understands the dynamic of this hand is likely fighting for it somewhere along the way. this guy just seems to be happy to put his money in. the queens on board might make him hesitate, but i still think you get called often here by a low 2 pair.

point 2. after reviewing the hand again, you might be right. but we're not expecting him to call his busted draw; he's going to pay us when he backs into a small 2 pair. if you're hand is better disguised, probably even with a pair. again this is based on his passive play and unwillingness to take a position in the hand. with the cards he has, he probably hit it or whiffed altogether, so your line is probably better here.

i guess this is my general strategy. with this particular hand, the small adjustments probably move us to be more cautious. however, if our hand is disguised better or he picks up some live cards, i'm for leading out on 7th.