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The Pain Barrier - Manipulating Your Opponent
Joe Beevers
Feb 9, 2007
Finding the Low Cards in Omaha Hi/Lo
Mike Matusow
Jan 15, 2007
Looking at the Long-Term
Erik Seidel
Jan 6, 2007
Playing Aces in PLO
Andrew Black
Dec 21, 2006
Playing in Australia
Mark Vos
Dec 15, 2006
Playing Mixed Games
Jennifer Harman
Dec 7, 2006
Pot-Size Manipulation
Gavin Smith
Nov 30, 2006
Betting out of Position
Gus Hansen
Nov 20, 2006
How a Pro Thinks Through a Hand
Team Full Tilt
Nov 13, 2006
Cash Equity at the Final Table
Rafe Furst
Nov 6, 2006
Getting Beyond Your Cards
Perry Friedman
Oct 30, 2006
The Mindset of a Winner
Kristy Gazes
Oct 23, 2006
Balancing Poker and Life
Clonie Gowen
Oct 16, 2006
Play More Pots
Erick Lindgren
Oct 9, 2006
Heads-Up vs Multi-Way Hands in Omaha Hi/Lo
Andy Bloch
Oct 3, 2006
Playing Big Slick in Deep Stack Tournaments
Paul Wolfe
Sept 25, 2006
Breaking Out of Your Comfort Zone
Ben Roberts
Sept 18, 2006
Playing Cap Games
Howard Lederer
Sept 11, 2006
From No-Limit to Limit
Richard Brodie
Sept 4, 2006
Check-Raising on Draws
Steve Brecher
August 28, 2006
Betting the River with Marginal Hands
Andy Bloch
August 21, 2006
Learning from Allen Cunningham
Jay Greenspan
August 14, 2006
Acknowledging Mistakes
Team Full Tilt
August 7, 2006
Playing the Main Event
Gus Hansen
July 31, 2006
Managing the Short Stack
Mark Vos
July 24, 2006
Playing Pot-Limit Tournaments
Rafe Furst
July 17, 2006
Red for a Day
Brian Koppelman
July 10, 2006
A Big Stack Mistake at the 2006 WSOP
Phil Gordon
July 3, 2006
Winning Poker - It's About More Than Money
Ben Roberts
June 26, 2006
Seventh Street Decisions in Seven-Stud
Keith Sexton
June 19, 2006
Big Blind Play in Limit Hold 'em
Jennifer Harman
June 12, 2006
Firing the Second Bullet
Greg "FBT" Mueller
June 5, 2006
Fourth Street Decisions in Seven Stud
Keith Sexton
May 29, 2006
Finding Your Inner Maniac
Greg "FBT" Mueller
May 22, 2006
Beware the Min Raise
Phil Gordon
May 15, 2006
Playing Bottom Two Pair
Rafe Furst
May 8, 2006
The Other Danger in Slow Playing
Howard Lederer
May 1, 2006
Why I Prefer Cash Games to Tournaments
Huckleberry Seed
April 24, 2006
Early Tournament Play
David Grey
April 17, 2006
Bad Position, Decent Cards
Howard Lederer
April 3, 2006
Inducing a Bluff
Layne Flack
March 27, 2006
Back to Basics
David Grey
March 20, 2006
Representing a Bluff
Huckleberry Seed
March 13, 2006
Viewer Beware
Howard Lederer
March 6, 2006
When Passive Plays
Chris Ferguson
February 27, 2006
Book Smarts vs. Table Smarts
Erik Seidel
February 20, 2006
Playing with John D'Agostino
Jay Greenspan
February 13, 2006
On Cavemen and Poker Players
Ben Roberts
February 6, 2006
Small-Pot Poker
Gavin Smith
January 30, 2006
Tips From Tunica
Andy Bloch
January 23, 2006
How Big a Bankroll?
Team Full Tilt
January 16, 2006
Thoughts on Omaha-8
Jennifer Harman
January 09, 2006
In Defense of the Call
Gavin Smith
January 02, 2006
Stepping Up, Stepping Down
Kristy Gazes
December 26, 2005
Playing a Big Draw in Limit Hold 'em
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson
December 19, 2005
Know Your (Table) Limits
Paul Wolfe
December 12, 2005
Getting Started in Stud-8
Jennifer Harman
December 05, 2005
What's Your Starting Hand Really Worth?
Steve Brecher
November 28, 2005
Big Slick: A Slippery Hand
Rafe Furst
November 21, 2005
Bad Cards or Bad Plays?
Team Full Tilt
November 14, 2005
Strategies for Short-Handed Limit Hold 'em
John D'Agostino
November 7, 2005
Taking on a Short-Handed No-Limit Game
John D'Agostino
October 31, 2005
What I learned at the WSOP
Jay Greenspan
October 24, 2005
Back to the Drawing Board
Perry Friedman
October 17, 2005
It's Not Easy Being Green. Or Is It?
Team Full Tilt
October 10, 2005
Texture Isn't Just For Fabric
Phil Gordon
October 3, 2005
Know Your Opponent; Own Your Opponent
Paul Wolfe
September 26, 2005
How Bad are the Beats?
Steve Brecher
September 19, 2005
Third Street in Seven Stud
Perry Friedman
September 12, 2005
Flopping a Monster
Richard Brodie
September 6, 2005
Our Favorite Poker Books
Team Full Tilt
August 30, 2005
Holding On To Your Winnings
Aaron "GambleAB" Bartley
August 22, 2005
No-limit by the Numbers
Andy Bloch
August 15, 2005
Chip Sandwich
Phil Gordon
August 8, 2005
Sizing Up Your Opening Bet
Chris Ferguson
August 1, 2005
So You Wanna Go Pro
Rafe Furst
July 25, 2005
Dealer, Leave the Bets in Front of the Players.
Greg Mascio
July 18, 2005
Not Playing By The Book
Phil Gordon
July 11, 2005
Playing Two or More Tables at Once
Erick Lindgren
July 4, 2005
How To Win At Tournament Poker, Part 2
Chris Ferguson
June 27, 2005
How To Win At Tournament Poker, Part 1
Chris Ferguson
June 20, 2005
Specialize At Your Peril
Howard Lederer
June 13, 2005
Common Mistakes
Phil Gordon
June 6, 2005
Don't Play a Big Pot Unless You Have a Big Hand
John Juanda
May 30, 2005
Ask And Ye Shall Receive Part II
Erick Lindgren
May 23, 2005
Ask And Ye Shall Receive Part 1
Erick Lindgren
May 16, 2005
Should I Stay Or Should I Go
Jennifer Harman
May 9, 2005
Keep Your Toolbox Well Stocked
Chris Ferguson
May 2, 2005
Why I Leave My Sunglasses And iPod At Home
Howard Lederer
April 25, 2005
In Pot Limit...
Clonie Gowen
April 11, 2005
The Script
Phil Gordon
April 4, 2005
Just A Few Things When Playing Razz
Jennifer Harman
March 28, 2005
A Way To Approximate The Odds
Clonie Gowen
March 21, 2005
Sit N Goes Made Easy
Howard Lederer
March 14, 2005
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Perry Friedman
Dec 29, 2006
Small and medium pairs are among the trickiest hands you'll encounter in Seven-Card Stud. Frequently you'll get into situations where it seems that a modest pair might be the best starting hand, but you don't really know. Even if that pair is ahead on third street, it's not a big favorite over much of anything. So you need to be cautious with your smaller pairs in Seven-Card Stud, both on third street and on later betting rounds.
There are a few factors you should think about before putting your money in the pot on third street with a small or medium pair. The primary consideration is the previous action. If you're sitting with a pair of 7s and there's a completion and a re-raise before the action gets to you, you shouldn't even consider playing them. You're almost certainly up against a bigger pair and there's no good reason for you to draw. Similarly, if a very tight players completes with a Queen showing while sitting to the immediate left of the bring-in, you may want to give him credit for a big pair. Get rid of your small pair and wait for a better opportunity.
You should be more willing to play a small or medium pair if there's only a completion before the action gets to you. But even then, you need to look at a few factors before deciding whether or not you should continue with your hand. First, determine if your cards are live. If you've got split 7s with a King kicker, you can muck the hand if both a 7 and King are out. You'd like every card that would improve your hand to be live.
Another factor to consider is the size of your kicker. When starting with something like a pair of 6s, you'd like your kicker to be higher than the door card of the person who completed the bet.
If you play a small or medium pair on third street and are against a single opponent, you'll usually call a bet on fourth street as well. Of course, you'd most likely want to fold if your opponent pairs his door card.
The tougher decision is likely to come on fifth street. This is where the bet sizes double. If you call on fifth, you're pretty much committing yourself to calling the rest of the way. When deciding whether or not to call on fifth street, you need to look at the cards your opponent has caught on the previous two streets. If he started with a Queen up and caught two cards that are higher than your pair - say a Jack and a 10 - you should fold to a bet. Even if your small pair is best at this point, your hand is very vulnerable; you'll win a showdown only about 50 percent of the time. And if your opponent does hold a higher pair, you're in serious trouble. But if he catches rags and your cards remain live, then you'll want to play the hand to showdown and hope your pair holds.
There's no question that small and medium pairs are among the most challenging hands in Seven-Card Stud. But if you look carefully at your situation on third street and consider the previous action, the size of your kicker and how live your cards are, you're more likely to play the hand well.
Perry Friedman
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