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If you are a mathematical expert, you may have an advantage in a game like Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo, but even if you are not, you can still learn the basic strategies and find some success in the game. This game is a tricky game that is usually played by players who seek out a challenge, and they will certainly find it with Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo.
There are two basic tactics that, if you learn and implement only these, you should do better than most new Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo players. First, don’t chase low hands. Second, don’t slow play.
In any Hi-Lo game the best hand takes the pot, but if a player makes a “Lo” or low hand, they can chop it with the winner. This adds all manner of twists and turns to a game, where you not only have to calculate if your opponent is chasing a hand that can beat you, but if they are chasing a hand that will take half your money even if you have the “best” hand.
Many new players to a game like Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo will become enthralled with the concept of making that low hand and chopping the pot. They have low cards in play and money in the pot, and so rather than throw away what they’ve invested so far when put to the test with a big raise, they keep chasing, hoping to hit a low and make some money. The problem is these players are overvaluing these hands if that is all they are chasing, and will often be wasting their money.
With so many variances of play in Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo, with hidden cards and not knowing if a player is chasing low or high or both, slow playing is a big risk. Slow playing only works most of the time with the nut hand; otherwise you are just giving your opponent a chance to outdraw you. This is true in any form of poker, but in Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo there are many, many more chances of this happening.