value betting 7th street in 8/b

[novus]

I find myself in a common situation. As we approach 7th or on 7th, i find myself heads up with only one other player. It appears that one of us is going low and the other is going high. I usually bet my low so they will call my scoop pots, but what do you do with high? Do you bet if there are three low cards showing, or how about 4? Do you check or bet when there are what look like possible straights or flushes?

I generally will check the scary low boards with three low's showing and three or more consecutive cards or cards of the same suit. I have missed out on some bets though when there were three or four random low cards showing and I assumed he made low. Is it worth the exra bet every time just to get it maybe one out of seven or eight times?

[benwood]

Your method when you hold the low hand has got to be right. With the high hand, I also think you are right to be careful,because(1)When op has made a weak low he will sometimes/often not call you anyway, &(2)When you check, he will sometimes bet a busted low at you, & you can pick him off. I believe these 2 factors offset the possible calls you get by being more aggressive with the high only. I would really like to hear from other players, too.

[benwood]

Guys, this is a good topic. Come on. What do you think?

[Andy B]

When you are heads-up and have a lock low against a high hand, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by betting, so long as the rake is maxed out. If you're potentially costing yourself an extra unit in rake by betting, you have to either have some fold equity or some chance of taking high. If by betting, you cost the other guy an extra quarter or whatever and cost yourself nothing, screw 'im. You're not on his side.

When I have one or two pair and am facing someone with three or four low cards showing, I almost always check. Betting only gains when you make a better hand fold, which doesn't happen much, or when you get called and you scoop, which won't happen very often either. You're usually much more likely to get raised by a hand that scoops you than you are to get called by a hand that you scoop in that instance.

Andy B has it right. You should always bet your good lows against a high-only board or a low board drawing thin (two high cards up, for example) since you are usually freerolling on the end.

However, against a probable low, you should definitely check behind. Matt Matros (a known aggressive value bettor in limit hold 'em) said that when he was learning to play Stud 8/b that he realized the "value bet" on the end with a high hand is useless. He went further to say that without significant improvement (i.e. small two pair or a small straight) against a drawing board, it is usually correct to check/call or even check behind on seventh street due to the axiom "In stud, you are rarely drawing thin."

So bet good lows on the end for value and only bet very strong high hands on the end. A lot of the play goes on during fifth and sixth streets, which will help you to guide your betting strategy.