7 Card Stud Starting Hands

In Seven Card Stud, more winning hands are determined by the player holding the highest pair or two than by straights, flushes and other big hands.  That’s not to say that they never come up, but they are less likely to hit in 7 Card Stud than Omaha and Texas Hold’em games.

If your starting hand contains three cards to a straight, you should only play if you have at least one card that is higher than anything up on the board; or if you have two high cards or better (and none of the visible cards on the table cards are of the same value).  Flush draws are usually worth paying to see a fourth card at least, but if your opponents are betting aggressively before that, you may opt to apply the above rule to these as well. 

Many weak hands such as lower pairs and straight draws are playable when your cards are completely “live” (the cards needed to complete the hand are not one of the face-up cards on the table).  For example, a hand like (Tc-9s) 8d is a much stronger hand when no Jacks or Sevens showing, because you are more likely to get the cards that are needed for a straight.

The same concept is true when you have three suited cards.  While you probably can’t discount all of the cards of that suit, if there are a lot of them up; your chances of catching 2 more are significantly decreased.
In Seven Card Stud the following are the best starting hands:

1. Any three of a kind.  Play aggressively, and be aware that as more cards are dealt there is a greater chance that another player will make a flush or straight, which will beat your trips if they don’t improve.
2. High valued pairs, AA-JJ.  The hand is better if the pair is completely hidden by making it a more deceptive hand to play against.  The better the kicker, the better the hand, so a (J-J) A is stronger than a (J-J) 2 hand.
3. High value suited connectors, hands like (As-Ks) Qs, (Kh-Qh) Jh and (Jc-Tc) Qc.  While you shouldn’t hold your breath waiting for a straight flush, you have two good outs for one or the other.
4. High valued suited semi-connectors, hands like (Ac-Qc) Jc, (Ks-Js) Ts or (Ah-Kh) Th.

While these above-mentioned hands are all strong starting hands in Seven-Card Stud, you still must check the face-up cards to make sure that the cards you need are not already gone. 
Medium value pairs (TT through to 88) and medium valued suited connectors like (Jc-Tc) 9c, (Ts-9s) 8s and (9h-8h) 7h are decent starting hand provided cards that would improve your hand are all live.
Any pair of cards 9’s and lower should be folded unless they meet some basic conditions.  The most important of these being you have to have a good “kicker”, thus, a air of 9’s with an Ace kicker might be worth playing.  Here you have a shot at two pair, Aces and 9’s, as well as a long shot at 3 of a kind 9’s.  However, in the event that you do decide to play them, carefully watch for either your high card or your trips card showing in an opponent’s hand.  Any time you see one of them turned, its time to dump your hand.  In the example above, as soon as you see another Ace or 9, be prepared to get out of the hand. 

All other starting hands are pretty much all trash.  An exception might be the occasional situation where you have Ace-King-10, or two other high face cards. But even here, only play when you can get in for next to nothing, and dump them at the first sign of trouble.