Remembering cards you've seen

[7stud]

> I believe most players cannot easily remember all the cards in
> seven-stud. Period. Whether or not most of them can eventually be
> trained to is arguable. None of this is the point, as far as I'm
> concerned.
>
> If you remembered everything, it would be the same as if I laid out
> all the exposed cards in front of you. Surely, this would help, and
> sometimes it would help a great deal, even occasionally proving that
> you had the nuts when you MIGHT not otherwise have recognized it.
>
> But what is memorizing all the cards really worth when weighed against
> just trying to track key cards? If you're playing every hand like
> tournament chess, where you can take a long time to decide, then there
> may be a significant advantage to remembering all the cards. But in a
> fast-paced game like real-life seven-stud, it may actually be a
> disadvantage!
>
> Huh? Yep, I meant what I said, and that's what I've always taught. The
> reason is that beyond the basic VERY important elements of observing
> cards, stretching this discipline will usually waste mental energy in
> pursuit of small gains -- energy that could much better be used on
> more profitable aspects of poker, such as looking for tells and subtly
> manipulating your opponents.
>
> I believe hold 'em is a game of HIGH cards, but seven-stud is a game
> of LIVE cards. So you need to always try to see how exposed cards
> affect your hand and your opponents' hands at the moment. Beyond that,
> memorizing cards may come in handy later in the hand or may not, but
> the value is marginal and can, for most players, become a burdensome,
> counterproductive exercise.
>
> But then, I might be wrong about this. Of course, there might not have
> been a lunar eclipse tonight, either.
>
> Straight Flushes,
> Mike Caro