PLAYING THE PLAYER

In short-handed play, the cards don’t matter as much; it’s all about the person – what’s their tendency, what’s their comfort zone. And you adjust your play to that. The cards don’t matter as much short handed; you’re really just trying to get into your opponents heads.

LOOSEN THAT BUTTON

Position is very important in heads-up and short-handed play. The blinds are antes come around more often, and you can’t give up your button very often, because that’s often the position that you’re going to steal from. If it’s folded around you, you only have to get past the blinds now, so you’re going to try to steal.

THE OPPOSITE OF SHORT-HANDED

When you’re at a full table, you’re probably going to see a lot more automatic stuff, a lot more fairly A-B-C stuff. That’s typically how tournaments start off. I have no problem folding K-Q in first position at a full table at the outset of a tournament. Plus, there’s nothing to be had in the middle in terms of blinds and antes. You’re looking to trap, not steal. Later on stealing is far more rewarding than trapping. But in the beginning of a tournament, trapping is far more rewarding than stealing.

Check out the latest poker tips from professional players

You can’t call yourself a great poker player if you can only play one game – like Texas Hold’em – so have a look at Stud 8 to mix it up a bit and broaden your poker skills.

WHY PLAY SEVEN-CARD STUD 8?

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

There are a lot of split pots, but in the long run your prospects are very healthy, particularly as bad players will tend to hang around for longer. If you master hand selection and knowing when to fold, along with a few other tricks, you’ll have a nice edge in most games.

SKILL OVER LUCK

Unlike stud high, the variance in stud 8 is greatly reduced by the amount of split posts. But while bad players often get half through good luck, the experts can consistently put themselves in positions of potential high reward without having to risk much. This, after all, is precisely what most poker players want!

So, you already rate your skills at Seven Card Stud 8? See how your answers to these 3 quick player scenarios compares to ours!

SO WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Think you’ve mastered stud 8-or-better? What would you do in these situations then? (Scroll down for our recommended approach and why…)

1. The game is full ring $10/$20 stud 8 with a $1 ante and a $3 bring-in. You are first to act with 7s-2c-(8h) and the several low cards out include a 2 a 4 and a 5.
Do you a) fold b) call or c) raise?

2. You have Kh-10c-(Ks) in late position, a new unknown player raises in early position showing As, all fold around.
Do you a) fold b)call or c) re-raise?

3. You have Ad-8s-(Ac)-(Ah)-(Kh)-(Ks) on sixth street and your opponent shows 3h-4h5h-7s. He bets $20 into you.
Do you a) fold b) call or c) raise?

……scroll down for answers…..

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1. FOLD. This is the kind of hand that will get you into a multitude of trouble however you play it. It might appear to have some appeal but will likely struggle to win either high or low – and cost you a fair amount to discover this. Get out early – even a $3 call could cost you further down the line.

2. FOLD. Generally speaking, unless you know the raiser to be extremely loose and aggressive here you are only asking for trouble in playing an obvious pair of kings, and even then you may come to grief down the line. Even if the raiser doesn’t have the bullets he will likely have some kind of low draw, which makes you about even money with him. Plus, the fact that your hand is obvious gives him a huge advantage throughout and tips the balance well in his favour. This kind of hand is probably the most misplayed in stud 8 – proceed with extreme caution!

3. CALL. Though this is an extreme example, it illustrates the perils of raising when you have nothing to gain. Your opponent certainly has the low locked up here, so by raising all you do is allow him to three bet when he has or is drawing to a straight flush that would allow him to scoop you. You almost certainly have the high locked up, but remember in this game that’s only half of the story!

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We liked a couple of Annie Duke’s tips to players participating in major tournaments so we got permission to republish them. Here you go:

Decide what you’re going to play – tournaments or side games, and exactly which events within the schedule. Don’t go from tournaments to side games – it divides your focus and energy so you can’t do justice to either. If you bust out of a tournament, go to a movie or to dinner. Relax and prepare for the next event.

Play the hell out of satellites. They’re so valuable for new players – they’re equity in themselves. You’re getting into tourneys quicker and saving money. Also, the more you know about other players, the better you’re going to do against them. The first three years I players the World Series of Poker, I played satellites all day – no cash games. I learned so much about players and short-handed play, and I made money doing it.

When you sit down and see Phil Ivey, don’t panic! There are still eight other people at the table with you. It’s not like you have to play every hand against Phil Ivey – just stay out of his way!

A lot of people treat big name pros like they have a bounty of their heads. They want a cool story. They want to tangle with the name just to have something to talk about later. But your job at a tournament is to make money, and you should play the ultimate strategy no matter what it is. At the table, big names are not celebrities – they’re opponents. Is one story about Phil Ivey knocking you out worth losing hundreds of thousands of dollars?

It’s not about cashing. It’s about winning. The biggest mistake I see new players make is when they get close to the money, they’ll regularly tighten up. It’s only if you have a very short stack that it’s correct to do that. But, in general, the objective is to get first place, not just to get your money back. You should not be playing to get 50^th place – play to win!

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