In five-card Stud Poker, a first card is dealt face down to each player in rotation, and a second card face up. High card showing opens the betting. Three more cards are dealt face up, with betting after each round.
A rule of thumb in a conservative game is not to stay unless you can beat what’s showing. If one player has an Ace up and you have nothing as good, get out. Only if you have another Ace up or a pair do you stay. A pair of deuces on the first two cards, incidentally, will win more pots than it will lose, depending in some measure, of course, on how many people are in the game. On the first two cards, however, any pair is considered worth staying on. A high pair is always a betting hand.
As the hands progress, you must observe all the up-cards. If one player has an Ace up, and so do two others, the chance of any one of them having an Ace in the hole is lessened.
When an up-pair shows in an opponent’s hand and has you beaten, you are playing a losing game to stay for another card or cards in the hope of beating his hand.
How to bet your hands in five-card Stud depends in large part on the characteristics of the game. If all the players are playing cautiously, it pretty much makes you to play the same way. If everybody is staying, let them, but you get out if you don’t have the cards.
Once in a blue moon, you’ll find a really smart poker player who’ll fool you on this, but not often. When a player keeps looking at his hole card, the chances are 99 to 1 that it’s a big, fat nothing. If it’s any good, he’ll remember it after one glance.
There’s times in Stud when you know for sure that you’ve got the best hand. There’s no guesswork. You’ve got a high pair, with one of them face down, let’s say a pair of Aces. Nobody else has anything higher than a King up, and there’s no possible flushes or straights. You’ve got a sure winner, but your object should be to win as much as you can. If you start betting big, you’ll scare everybody out. Wait ’til the last round to raise, and then kick the pot as high as it’ll go.