stud high one on one

[lane mcbride]

long time reader. first time poster

recently I have been playing the one on one 2-4 or 4-8 stud at paradise poker. I have been lucky enough to win, but my strategy is inconsistent and uninformed. I understand that appropriate strategy is dependent on the opponent you are facing, but I would appreciate any advice of how to generally approach these games.

for example:
1. how often should I raise the bring in? with what types of hands (relatively speaking)

2. what kinds of hands should I call against a raised bring in?

3. how should I alter my play for an overly aggressive player?

4. should I ever not bring it in for the minimum? if not... which hands deserve the full bet?

5. how should I react to a minimum bring in vs. the full amount from my opponent?

6. any players that I should watch out for... or watch for for that matter:)

7 any other advice that may be helpful.

thank you in advance for any and all insights:)

p.s. I understand that aggression is important. and that is my general approach thus far. but unfortunately it may be ill-informed aggression at times

[six_4off]

Hello!

I outta let you know that I am a new stud player so maybe dont read into this too hard. But I have been playing stud games at absolute poker, limits anywhere from .50/1 to 2/4, and have been showing profit. I will answer your questions as best as I can.

1.) I raise the bring in if I have a 3 flush str8 or pair. understand that this is not all of the time. e.g. A player showing an 8 raises the pot and you have 77 6. I like a fold there. if the 6 were above an 8 i might call in hopes of catching 2 pair or trips. Also I am speaking soley from a ring game point of view, if it was heads up its an easy call if not raise since the eight could be anything really.

2.) I make my estimations as when to call a raise on my read. Ill call my opponents ace, if I have 4,5,6 and take the two cheap cards and take it from there. Im calling that bet w/ a drawing hand. if i have a pair of eights against a aces raise, it becomes an easy fold. David Sklansky's The theory of poker gives vital percentages and if you dont have it GET IT! It gives the odds of making aces up a str8 or flush after three cards are dealt and adjusts them for every out that you see burnt up in opponents hands. This thing is seriously a textbook as to how play your first three cards. Real Good Stuff.

3.) As my hero David Byrne says, fight fire with fire. i would imagine that these players get real aggressive in heads up play too. I like being aggressive right back at them. As always I lay low for the firsat few hands that I am at the table for, get a feel for the table and then adjust my play. There are two types of aggression, fish aggresssion and good hard aggreassion. Fish aggression is easy wait for big hands to raise, good hands to call and muck every thing else. Good hard aggression, I find is combatted most effectivly by well timed semi-bluffs. As soon as the third club hits your board, lay in a raise. A good aggressive player always fears a check raise unless they have the goods. One of my favorite plays is calling an aggressive player who I put on a weak hand(maybe jj after 5 cards), until that betting goes up, then lay a check raise. It makes them think that youve had a monster since the cards were dealt. This move usually takes a couple scare on your board but feel it out, youll know when the time is right. But again, if this player is aggressive because he has no clue what he is doing, this move is bankroll suicide. It all comes down to playing the player.

4.) It depends if you got rags, bring in and fold, if you got split 2's bring in and hope to see some cheap cards. However, if I got a,a, 2, I like a bring in, and hope some1 raises, that makes for a real fun re raise. I almost always stay with the min bring in. There is no point putting money in the pot that will just be lost if you have a small hand, and if you have a biggun, wait till it gets more expensive till the raises come into effect.

5.) Again, with a drawing hand you have a simple call, w a pair, you gotta use some judgement. There should be a raise or a fold depending on your interpretation of what your opponent has.

6. Sorry dont play at poker room!

7.) Phil Helmuth's play poker like the pros is a good start. I like it cuz its easy reading and it has introductions to a bunch o games. I really enjoyed his 7 stud section. He'll go more in depth with when to raise and fold your first three cards which is the most important step of the hand. And again keep in mind that I am new to the game as well. I just thought that you might appreciate some advice on the topic.

If there are any ?'s or you need those percentages from the theory of poker drop me a PM.

Good Luck to ya!

6/4

[MRBAA]

1. how often should I raise the bring in? with what types of hands (relatively speaking)

If you are last to act and no one is in, raise with any ace, any two cards J or higher. Adjust based on how often the bring in plays back, how well he plays.

2. what kinds of hands should I call against a raised bring in?

Depends on player. If he raises split baby pairs as well as big pockets, then loosen up. If he only raises big pockets, play accordingly.

3. how should I alter my play for an overly aggressive player?

Raise to isolate with hands you might otherwise fold. For example, some players will raise with ace doorcards alot. If you think you may be able to isolate, go ahead and reraise with 9s or better.

4. should I ever not bring it in for the minimum? if not... which hands deserve the full bet?

I always bring in for the minimum, i think it provides enough playing advantages that it's worth giving up a little pot equity those times I have a strong hand.

Should I react to a minimum bring in vs. the full amount from my opponent?

See above.

6. any players that I should watch out for... or watch for for that matter:)

As I remember from my Paradise days, Kickers was decent.

[Rduke55]

I found at Pokerroom fish aggression works up to 2/4. It's basically pointless to try any semibluffs with scare cards. They are still in. They'll call a raise into 4 of the same suit with 2 pair and sometimes worse.

[Andy B]

The reason I hadn't responded before is that the poster is specifically asking about 1-on-1 (heads-up) games, about which I have no particular expertise. At least two of the responses seem to have missed this point.

[Michael Emery]

I was going to respond to this last night but I dont what the structure is in this 2-4 and 4-8.......

Mike Emery

[Andy B]

$2/4 has a $.25 ante and $1 bring-in. $4/8 has a $.50 ante and $2 bring-in.

Something that should be included in posting guidelines: always include the ante and bring-in. Some sites have very non-standard structures, even for games where there shouldn't be an issue. $15/30 has had a $2 ante and $5 bring-in for a long time, yet there is, or at least was, some site that had a $7.50 ante and $7.50 bring-in. Why is beyond me.