Poker Articles

Two For The Money
By Lou Krieger

The best 7-card stud, eight-or-better, high-low split (7-stud/8) hands are generally low holdings that can back into high hands too. Everyone knows that. But all low cards, of course, are not created equally, and an ace is stronger than any other card you might be dealt. It's the biggest high-card as well as the smallest low one in the deck, and there are more options available to a skillful player whose starting hand contains an ace along with two other low cards.

Consider this: Both 5-4-2 and 5-4-A are excellent starting hands. Three-card wheel draws are about as good as they get. Despite that, there are some obvious differences between them. While either holding at this juncture can grow into a wheel, the hand without the ace is essentially a low-draw — nothing more. It will back into the high hand only if the holder is fortunate enough to catch two perfect cards. On the other hand, it might not make a low at all. Even if the holder catches another low card on fourth street, he can still strike out by catching three high cards, or by catching two bananas (to 7-stud/8 players a banana does not grow on trees; it comes right out of a deck of cards with a rank of nine or higher) and pairing one of his other cards.

Since players with drawing hands usually want to complete them as inexpensively as possible, high hands usually raise early, to make it expensive for low hands to stick around in hopes of winning half the pot. Once any opponent completes a low hand, and thus holds claim to half the pot, the high hands generally slow down, with the exception of humongous hands like a full house or quads, that are sure to capture their end of the pot.

While a hand like 5-4-A is almost surely the best low draw on the first betting round, it's still a draw. After all, a low hand cannot be completed until fifth street, at the earliest. But that lone ace might also be the best high hand. In fact, if no one has a pair, a hand like 5-4-A will probably be the best playable high hand on the first betting round, since hands like K-A-4 are generally not going to enter the fray. After all, someone holding that kind of hand is faced with playing six cards against seven of his opponent's — a prescription for failure.

A hand like 5-4-A is the equivalent of three low cards and a high one, and the holder does not have to play as cautiously as he would if he had a low draw only. He can raise. If he can winnow the field down to one or two opponents, he might wind up with the best hand in each direction. If our hero's opponent realizes this and folds, so much the better.

Pairing his ace on fourth street also puts him in an enviable position. Even without completing his low, he can win by pairing any one of his other cards. After all, aces-up is a strong hand in this game, particularly against two lesser pair.

While even hands this good won't always pan out, that's poker. It doesn't come with any guarantees, and 7-stud/8 is a game replete with situations where a player must draw. When those draws don't materialize it's frustrating, costly, and can put one quickly on tilt. But that's no reason to deviate from playing properly. And one of the keys to proper play is to realize just how powerful a holding a low draw with an ace really is.