p-p-p-poker face

An essay I wrote about stud hi/lo about ten years ago. It was geared to beginners, keep in mind that depending on game situations, ante, player skill, table image, etc. these things can be modified accordingly. given those caveats, it's pretty good advice in general. take it for what it's worth.

1: Rolled Up:
always play. typically always play 9-k's with a raise unless a lower high card has raised you (say a queen) and you have kkk... then you may want to just call. But raising with a high door card, most people will only give you credit for a pair, not trips... so you don't lose anything by raising. a-8 you need to play based on the players at the table. slowplaying them is deceptive, but allows you to be drawn out on more easily (especially with 2-6)so, pay attention to your table conditions.

2: 3 low to a straight flush:
these hands are very very good hands. because of their strong potential in both directions, and the fact that they are big drawing hands, they play very very very well in multi-way pots. therefore, you should usually just call with them in early position, but if you are in late position and there are already people in, you should go ahead and raise. this is a very powerful hand

3: AA-baby:
this hand is a very powerful hand as well, but it's value is in pots with a few opponents. It is very very powerful heads up. you should typically raise or reraise with this hand in an effort to get it heads up, or limit the field as much as possible.

4: 3 baby to a straight:
this is a great hand that plays well multi-way. the more live, and the more connected your straight, the better. 345 is much better than 245 with a couple of dead threes.

5: A-baby-baby:
these hands are strong. you have a chance at spiking an ace and winning high (and sometimes even ace high will be good enough to take down the high if you are up against just a person going low). You can also make a low hand. the versatility of this hand makes it strong. a lot of people recommend raising with this hand if your ace is your door card (and I don't disagree). I would raise with this hand a good majority of the time. it will add deception to your game (since people won't know when you have aces or just two babies with an ace. also, it is typically nice to raise because you have a powerful hand, and you don't mind putting money in the pot. again, pay attention to how live your cards are (straight, low, and pair cards)

6: Pair higher than anyone's door card:
hands like split queens and split kings play best heads up or as short-handed as possible. If an ace raises before you, you should probably fold this hand almost every time. also, be careful on later streets because a lot of people will be playing hands with an ace in them. So if somebody catches an ace, proceed with caution (don't fold automatically, but be very aware of the fact that they very well could have hit a pair with the ace they caught.

7: 3 to a straight flush:
this hand is a decent holding. make sure your cards are live both flush and straight. These hands are not as good in low ante games. also, they play best against a lot of opponents. be careful playing these hands. get away from them if you catch bad or if your cards are/become dead.

8: Baby pair + A:
This hand isn't terribly strong, but it is definitely playable. it prefers to be played heads up against a hand that's going high. Also, you must consider how live your cards are. you want your pair and your ace to be very live.

9: Baby pair + low:
this hand isn't too strong, and I think a lot of people play it incorrectly and end up losing money with it. the ideal conditions for this hand are having a straight flush kicker i.e a hand like 5c5h6h and having very live straight cards and three of a kind cards. also, if you catch bad, you want to get away from the hand immediately, and if it appears you are behind in both directions get out. however, that being said, a hand like 7h 7c 6c against a single opponent with a low door card who appears to be going low is very good.

10: 3 to a 7 low:
be very careful playing this hand. if it is a primarily one way hand, you can get yourself in a lot of trouble. i.e 267 is not a very good hand at all. the only time you really would want to play these are against a few opponents that are obviously going high. I would toss these away otherwise. it can be very tempting to stick with them, but you are basically only drawing at the low and you will have a very difficult time backing into some kind of high hand. not only that, but you are drawing at a pretty crappy low in the first place (a 7 low is in no ways a quality low)

11: 3 to an 8 low:
same thing as above, but even worse. you don't want to play 8s all that often. if there are other lows in there, you are certainly behind. I would never play an eight unless I had some other things working for it... i.e three to a straight, 3 to a flush, or at very worst an ace as one of my three low cards. even then, proceed with caution, if there are other lows out there, they are almost certainly drawing better than you. don't get trapped chasing half of the pot with a bad draw.
a hand like 238 is garbage.

12: 3 to a flush (2 babies):
not a bad hand, the bigger the ante and the more opponents in the pot the better typically. your flush cards need to be live. also, the better your babies, the better. having an ace also makes your hand much much stronger... since you can pair it and have a pretty good high hand.

13: 3 to a high straight:
vomit. don't play it

14: Baby pair + big kicker:
if I was last to act and in a tight game on a steal, maybe... but 99% of the time, no

15: 3 to a middle straight:
not bad if you are playing against only high hands. since you can back into a low and salvage half the pot or make a straight and win the high. make sure your straight cards are very live. also, I wouldn't even think of playing this hand if there was any low cards call the bring in or are yet to act. it is not a very strong hand at all. however, if a king calls, a queen calls, a jack calls, and everyone folds to you in last position and you have 789... it's a good spot to call. but other than that, don't play them