Playing Another Game

BY: Ashley Adams
Contact at: (Asha34@aol.com)
Author of Winning 7-Card Stud

I'm a Stud player. At least I consider that my main money game. But I travel a lot and can't always find a good stud game to play in. Often, the only Stud that's available is a low limit, no ante variation where the house rakes an outrageous percentage. When that's the case, what can I do? What should you do?

I don't recommend that you play Stud in those situations. Why bother?! The idea should be to win money -- not fund the next wing of the casino or card room you're in. If that's the ONLY game they have to offer, my advice is that you don't play at all. Hey, there are lots of good poker books out there. Take the time to sit down and read one.

But, often these days, there are other options. If the stud is lousy, check out the other games. Most casinos these days often spread a few Hold Em games -- perhaps Stud8 or Omaha8. Maybe they even have a No Limit or Pot Limit Hold Em or Omaha game.

You don't want to be so limited that the Stud game is your only option. Especially now, with the advent of the World Poker Tour (that unfortunately never shows Stud tournaments -- just No Limit Hold Em) there seem to be more and more Hold Em games available. You need to be flexible enough to learn and play that game -- and all the other games too. Even if your edge is smaller, if the game conditions are much better than the Stud game it may well be that you'll make more money playing something other than Stud.

A quick anecdote. I was driving to see my brother in Ithaca, New York. I had convinced my family, and almost myself, that Turning Stone Casino was on the way from Boston to Ithaca and a good place, nearly halfway, to stop for the night. Yes I know that this is really not the case. But I really wanted to play poker so I planned my trip accordingly (see my other column on finding poker games on the road).

I arrived at about 9:30 PM on a Wednesday night -- the night before Thanksgiving. Now the last time I was there, about 2 years ago, I played a really hopping $10/20 Stud game. There was even a $15/30 game a few years back. I looked forward to a rewarding Stud filled night of poker.

My dreams were exploded when I arrived in the new room. There were indeed many, many tables going. But there were only two Stud tables -- and none of them were above $1-5 no ante. The house raked $3.00 right out of the pot after Third Street. So I didn't think I could possibly make any money in that game. The pots would be so small most of the time that the house rake would often amount to 20% or more of my winnings -- even as high as 50% of my winnings. So the game was off my list.

What else? There were about 10 very low limit Hold Em games. They seemed to be rocking with many loose players. But there was something about paying $3.00 on every hand that really bothered me. If there was a flop, even if the pot was only $10, the house took $3.00. That's a 30% rake. Too rich for my blood. The $10/20, $15/30 and $20/40 game seemed to have too many good players in them for me the Stud player. So I settled in at $5/10. About 5 people seemed to take most flops. The River was often three way or even more. Were I a graet Hold Em player this game would have been a berry patch. As it was, I thought I could at least hold my own -- even though Hold Em was not my best game.

But I wasn't really a Hold Em player. So I played more conservatively than I would in a $5/10 Stud Game -- where I'd tend to allow myself more leeway -- able to outplay most of my opponents as the hand progressed. In Hold Em, I wasn't so sure of my after-flop play. So I tended to be more selective with my initial cards, limiting my winnings and my losses in the process.

My strategy seemed to pay off. Though my cards were, for the most part, horrible, I managed to win a modest $50 in 3.5 hours of play. That's normally what I do when I find games like this on the road. A modest, less than optimal win. I didn't do anything remarkable in this 5/10 game -- I just played a straightforward, if slightly tighter than recommended, tight/aggressive game -- as recommended by Lou Kreiger and Lee Jones. But I'm learning.

So here's my point. Don't limit yourself to the game you're most comfortable with. If you know the basics of some other game you should allow yourself the freedom to sit down in it if the game seems more winnable than your best game. If your best game is Stud but the only Stud games are rockfests or rakefests then sit in a loose passive Hold Em game. If you're not a great player, but a good one, then play very conservatively until you have a better understanding of the game. Rock around, observe what you can, at least for a while. Similarly, if Hold Em is your game, but the only Hold Em games that are available seem too tight and aggressive to suit you, or are raked to death, or are way too wild or high stakes for your bankroll, and you notice an Omaha8 game that seems fun filled, loose and passive, take a seat in it even if you're still relatively low on the learning curve. You should get your feet wet sometime. There's nothing wrong with tightening up while you gain the playing experience that's necessary to learn and improve.

Oh, and if you're a Hold Em player, and you really don't know the first thing about Stud but want the flexibility to at least sit down in that game, then get my newly published book Winning 7-Card Stud to learn a good winning strategy. And If you hit any bumps in the road, feel free to email me and I'll set you straight!

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