One of the most important things that a player can learn when first learning how to play 7-card Stud Poker is how to play 3rd street. 3rd street in Stud is where a player is first dealt their cards, 2 face down and the 'door card' dealt faced up.
The decisions that a player makes on this street will be determined on several factors including, but not limited to, their 3 cards and their opponent's up cards. It is the decisions that are made here that will set the tone for plays made on later streets.
3rd Street - Your Hole Cards
Some of the most common mistakes that newer players make when first learning how to play Stud is playing too many starting hands. This holds true for any poker game, but the difference in Stud is that all players are dealt three cards as opposed to two in Hold'em or four in Omaha. In Omaha, players are dealt more cards but only two of the four can be used in the making of their five-card hand.
So what many newer players tend to do in Stud is make up hands that they can somehow magically draw too. This, of course, accomplishes a couple things. The first thing that is accomplished is a player depleting their bankroll by paying to see fourth street or even fifth street with mediocre hands with most hands being folded on fifth or sixth street. The second accomplishment comes from this player catching their needed outs but ends up with the 2nd best hand on 7th street. In either situation, money is lost which is money that could have been used to build a pot when a better hand was played.
It is important to keep in mind when choosing a starting hand that you are only starting with 3 cards. 3 cards do not equal a winning 5-card poker hand. However, if you start with 3 solid cards then it is definitely possible to draw to a great 5-card hand.
Players should always keep in the back of their mind, "what do I hope to accomplish by starting with these 3 cards?" For example, what do you hope to accomplish with a 7-9-[J] off suit? Well, an 8 or a 10 to get started but even then you have only a gut-shot straight draw at best. Compare that to 9-10-[J] suited. Do you see the difference? With this hand, a player can catch a Q or an 8 and still have an open-ended straight draw leaving them with plenty of options to better their hand. Obviously 8 outs are better than 4 not to mention that if the Q or 8 were of diamonds, you would then also have a fairly strong flush draw.
When a player chooses 3 solid cards to start with, they are making any decisions they need to make that much easier. Not only that, but they are putting money in the pot with a hand that if completed, will more than likely be best at showdown.
Other than our example above, players should choose starting hands that leave them with plenty of options. Of course, the best hand to start with would be a 3 of a kind of Aces, but players should also consider starting with high pairs with high kickers, 3 cards to a flush or 3 cards to a straight. Preferably, the cards to a straight or flush would be the nut flush, straight, or as close as possible to prevent being beaten with a stronger straight or flush. All cards should be suited or connected with the exception being 3 face cards; it is reasonable to start with 3 gapped face cards such as A-K-J or A-Q-10. The point is simply to start with the best 3 cards possible which will make all decisions easier to make and money will not be wasted on being second best.
Now, just because you have 3 great starting cards, does that still mean you have a strong hand?
Door Cards
Another common mistake that is easily correctable on 3rd street is simply not paying enough attention to all of the 'door cards.' This is free information. Why would you not want to use it?
Door cards will not give you enough insight as to what your opponents have, but it will give plenty of insight to the overall strength of your hand. For example, if you have Ad-Kd-[Qd], you have a solid straight, flush, straight flush draw and maybe even a draw to a pair or two.
So, all in all, a pretty strong hand. But, if you notice that all of your opponents have a card with a diamond on it in their doors, then you would only be left with 3 outs to a flush that you know of (7 opponents with a diamond and your 3). Of course, this hand is still worth playing, but the value of your hand has significantly diminished because now drawing to a flush is near impossible.
Another good example would be the same hand but unsuited say, Ad-Kc-[Qs]. Now you notice that two of your opponents have Aces in their doors, two other opponents have Kings, and one opponent has a Queen. Now all of a sudden you are shorted all but one Ace, King, and 2 Queens leaving you with only 4 outs. This of course can change on fourth street, but as far as you are concerned the hand that you have now is not worth nearly as much as it would have been if all of your outs were not all 'dead' ("dead" cards refer to the cards you need but cannot have because they are not available and "live" cards would be available outs).
Each situation will be different, but there may be times when you fold a hand that would be considered a decent starting hand if you have little to no outs to draw to. If you have no outs, we go back to our original question above. "What do I hope to accomplish with this hand?"
Playing Stud Poker - 3rd Street
Although there may be a few other factors to consider when playing 3rd street such as stealing antes, these factors should be less of a concern until you have a solid concept of starting with 3 solid cards and determining the strength of your hand. And above all, being able to determine the strength of your hand on 3rd street will only be able to help you further as this is needed on all streets in 7-card Stud.
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