7 Card Stud 

Memorizing cards is an essential ability to play successful seven card stud. When the starting hand is dealt and all the door cards are showing memorize them as quickly as possible before players start folding their hands. It's important to you know how many of "your cards" or "outs" are showing in other players' hands, as well as how many were in hands which were folded.

• Look at all of the door cards showing around the table.
• Count how many of each suit is out.
• Look at which particular cards are out.

Also bear the following in mind:-

• Remember which player was the first to raise the bring-in bet (if any) and how far away they are in position from the bring-in.
• Remember if the player with the bring-in bet calls any raises.
• Let the table know that you are not afraid to raise and re-raise.
• Let the table know that you can lay down a very good hand, even after re-raising.

Depending on what you have in your own hand, having general knowledge about the other cards on the table will determine whether you should call, raise, or fold. If the cards in your hand combination are live, you will have a higher rate of success in achieving a winning end result.

If cards have been folded around the table and you have missed the opportunity to view those door cards, be inclined to fold unless you have a strong hand and nobody has yet raised the bring-in. You are not only counting the cards for your own hand, you are counting cards and suits to determine what is live for other player's hands for later rounds as well. If your cards are not live, then fold.

If you find on fifth street that you are chasing to make a hand against an aggressive better, it is best that you probably fold. Of course, you may not know this until showdown, when you find you've lost. Use the experience of knowing when you are chasing cards for your hand against a player betting aggressively, consider that they probably already have a made hand. In the late streets they are highly unlikely to fold what they've invested into the pot when they've been betting aggressively.

Determining whether you have a live flush combination

If you have a three-flush starting hand, the other door cards you have viewed will determine the odds of you hitting your flush - you are counting how many of the cards on the table are of the same suit as your flush draw. In later rounds, for anyone else who is showing a flush-draw in their up-cards, you will need to know how live their flush is before continuing to bet or call.

A general rule of thumb to determine the odds of you hitting your flush at a full table is: if there are more than two players (excluding yourself) showing the suit you need to make your flush, consider your flush dead. If the table is short-handed you might call for one bet, especially if you have other outs. If on fourth street cards which you need for your flush appear in other player's hands, you should consider your flush a long-shot. At a short-handed table you may adjust the fourth street rule to suck-out a back-door flush, however the door-card suit-count rule should remain the same; consider the flush dead if there are more than two of the same suit you need in other players' hands.

Determining whether you have a live straight combination

If you have a combination in your starting hand to possibly hit a straight, you will be looking to see that the cards that you need to complete your straight are still live.  In later rounds, for anyone else who is showing a straight draw, you will need to know how live their straight is. If you have a connector combination such as 7-8-9 and you see fives, sixes, tens, or Jacks around the table, consider your straight dead. Also consider that if you see other sevens, eights and nines at the table, the cards that you need to make pairs for this hand should be considered dead to your draw.

Playing Two Pair

If you have a combination in your hand where you can make two pair, you need to know whose cards may be higher than yours. You will also be looking to see if the cards you need for pairs will still be live or if they are already out of play.

The first player to raise the bring-in bet may possibly have a fairly strong combination, for example a pocket pair or split pair. The position from which the raise is made will help you to decide whether players are attempting to steal the pot or if they really have playable hands.

Other notes to remember for low and medium stakes tables

At low-stakes tables, players do not like to fold; they'll bet and call just about anything and getting involved usually means you're going to end up in a heavy multi-way hand where there is a lot of action and the pot can contain a sizeable amount. When nobody likes to fold and you are playing strong combinations, be aggressive. Don't fall into the trap of playing weak combinations just because other players at your table don't know how to fold and play weak hands themselves - use this factor to your advantage and play strong opening combinations with an aggressive betting strategy to take down pots.

Often such players will call your bets all the way to the river; it can, and WILL, happen that they sometimes catch lucky cards, which is both frustrating and costly. Continuing to play a tight and aggressive style at a table like this will eventually pay dividends, however; don't get frustrated with such players, remember that they'll pay you off in the long run!

The longer you sit at a table with the same players, the more you get a feel for their strategy, what they raise and call with, and how easy or difficult it is for them to fold. Use the player notes function in the poker software (left-click on the name-box) to record valuable information about each player and adjust your strategy according to which players are in the hand with you. Bet aggressively to drive out the weakest player(s), wait for a made hand to call bets against another strong or aggressive players.  Check/call or check/fold to players who are known for consistently having real hands and compare yours to theirs.