Last time I covered many aspects of play when you start with a pair in the hole. This time I will tackle another three card starting situation that you will encounter from time to time – the three card straight. Like last time, this is a holding you will usually want to get involved in a pot with. But also like last time there are many different situations that can come up. Some questions to take into account are: 1) What are the rank of your cards? 2) Are there any gaps in the cards’ sequence? 3) Are the cards also suited, or are two of them suited? 4) Are any helpful cards for you out already in your opponents’ upcards?

The rank of the cards you hold makes a big difference in the strength of your hand. Rank matters in many ways when looking at three cards to a straight. For instance, it sometimes happens that you miss your straight completely but end up making two pair or trips. Trips, although not a made hand, is still fairly powerful. You rarely see two three of a kind hands turned up at showdown, so rank is not as important here as when you lose you will usually lose to a made hand. But two pair is a very common hand to end up with in stud and the higher your biggest pair is the better. Starting with a TJQ can have you ending with the best two pair where 456 may have you in trouble.

There is also a difference in starting with TJQ as opposed to TJK, or worse yet, 8TJ. Each gap in your sequence weakens your chances of ending up with a straight once all seven cards are dealt. Having two gaps in your sequence gives you even less chance of making that straight. So in this case the ranks of your cards are more important. This is why it is better to have a gap at the top end, say with TJK as opposed to the low end with 8TJ. Pairing your king will be a lot more helpful to you than pairing your 8. I try to avoid playing hands with one gap less than 9TQ or higher and I don’t play two gap hands that don’t have three broadway cards in them, like TJA.

If all three of your cards are suited and you have three to a straight flush to start there is no denying that your cards at least look pretty. And there is certainly some added value in suited cards. The most obviously helpful thing is that you almost double the number of cards that can help your hand. As great as this is, there is a danger here too. Where most good stud player will usually give up a hand that does not improve by fifth street, those pretty straight flush cards can lead a player to continue chasing on the more expensive streets. And when you only have two out of three starters suited this chasing problem can get out of hand. Continuing past fifth street with only backdoor straight and backdoor flush possibilities is a very statistically low percentage play and can cost you dearly. Stud is a limit game and lost big bets in a limit game are extremely hard to make up.

The last thing to look at before deciding how to proceed with your three straight are your opponents’ upcards. Remember that when you had a pair in the hole and even one of the two remaining cards of that same rank are out it makes your hand so much worse it is sometimes unplayable. For the situation now with a three straight, it is not so extreme. If you have a TJQ and there is one king out, it does lessen your odds of making a straight a bit, but it certainly does not kill your hand. If there are two useful cards out already, you may still want to play but your odds go down enough to make it a close decision. With three cards out you should definitely strongly consider folding as the odds of improving your hand go down significantly. For a look at the odds and how they change with the upcards, I recommend you use one of the fine seven card stud odds calculators available free online.

As you continue with your hand there is a good rule of thumb to follow. If you haven’t improved your hand to a four straight, four flush, two pair, or trips by fifth street you should not take the last two cards. You should also continue to note all your opponents’ upcards and be very careful if more of the cards you need fall to your opponents. TJQK is a good drawing hand unless all the aces and nines are already out.

You should also still take advantage of how your own board looks as we discussed last time. If you pair your door card, especially if it is a high card, a bet or raise may make your opponent think you made trips and give up. If you catch a few suited cards on your board you may be able to make the same play and fool your opponent into thinking you have a made flush. Otherwise I tend to play my drawing hands slowly and raise only when I complete my hand. Keep in mind that you will miss your draw more often than you will hit it and losing less chips means more in your stack.