If  “tight is right”  all the time,  then you’ll be anted or blinded to death,  and miss a lot of opportunities to pick up pots that will go to hands that got to stay around on the cheap because you failed to make a move.  A good illustration of this is Fifth Street in a stud poker game.

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Most poker players come to realize this is a bad move,  so will raise on Third Street with premium pairs,  and bet on Fourth Street when it appears no one has improved.  Unfortunately, the biggest trap many otherwise solid stud players can fall into is failing to move into the fast lane on Fifth Street when a big pair does not improve.  This is an especially important concept at the lower limits,  where loose players abound who can’t get away from a three-flush on Fifth Street or a lousy pair,  because it’s just one bet and they’ve been watching too much ESPN.

As an illustration,  take this hand.  It will be pretty complicated the first time you read through it,  but to be specific with the numbers all of the cards had to be specified.  (The lower-case letters next to each number indicate the suit of the card:  d=diamonds, c-clubs, s=spades, h=hearts;  the cards in brackets are the player’s hole cards.)  What really matters are ranks of the hands that each player holds (eg.: a pair of queens against a three-flush),  not cards that do not improve the rank of the hand.  The unimproved pair is a common situation that will come up in 7-card stud,  so stay with me,  and feel free to run simulations for yourself if you want to change the cards around at www.twodimes.net.

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You’ve been dealt pocket queens,  and your hand hasn’t improved.  It’s [Qd Qh] 4c 5s As.  The game is loose,  and despite a completion to a full bet on Third Street and bet on Fourth Street,  four other players remain.  One player has paired the board,  and we’ll assume that he now has two pair.  Let’s give him eights-up:  [2c 2d] 7h 8s 8c.  Another player has a three-flush:  [3c 7c] 9c Ts Kh.  Another also has a three-flush [4h Th] Jh 7d 3d.  The fourth player has a three-flush as well,  holding [8d 9s] 6d 5d Ac.

With everyone involved in the hand,  you are not in too bad shape,  as you will win 32% of the time and the two pair will win about 39% of the time.  The diamond flush draw will win 12% of the time;  the player with three to the heart flush will come out on top 8% of the time,  and the player with three to the club flush will come out on top 9% of the time.<p> At first glance,  looking at those numbers,  you might be thinking there is no point in raising with the hand when the eights-up bets.  Your hand isn’t in front,  and the other hands aren’t likely to hit.  However,  in low-stakes stud,  many players can’t get away from the flush draw even when the odds of hitting it are remote.  So what happens?  You let them stay in through passive play,  and one catches two running cards to improve to two pair while you toss your queens in the muck in disgust.

Sure,  you are a favorite even with everyone involved,  but if you don’t step on the gas,  you are missing a big opportunity.  Let’s look at what happens if you raise,  and the drawing hands all fold,  making you heads-up with the two pair.

Now all of a sudden you will win 44% of the time when you are heads-up.  That may not sound like much,  but 12% is a pretty big swing in advantage.  If you really wanted to get paid off,  you would want to have a great shot at hitting a full house,  so when your opponent hits his or her flush draw,  they will pay you off.  Unfortunately for you in this situation with just the queens you started with,  it’s highly unlikely that you will hit a full house or better.  Because of that,  you’ll be paying off your opponent if he gets lucky and hits a runner-runner flush.

Higher Limits,  Higher Advantage.  On Fifth Street the limits rise,  meaning it’s now one big bet as opposed to just a small bet.  With the loose nature of low-limit games,  many players think nothing of calling on Fourth Street,  but will pause on Fifth.  In my last session,  I played a pair of Aces aggressively,  completing the bet on Third Street,  betting again on Fourth and again on Fifth Street.  On Fifth,  three players remained,  but thanks to my bet,  they all folded.  The tight player in you will be tempted to check or call remembering the bad beats  --  but you <I>must</I> make drawing and weaker hands pay,  never giving a free card.  Even when you think you are behind,  a raise has the desired effect of increasing your chances of winning the pot,  as calling two big bets makes even the loosest of players pause.

Two warning signs.  While aggression is a key part of winning poker,  you cannot be throwing in chips anytime you have a big pair.  You certainly want to raise anytime you believe you can get heads-up against a player with two pair  (as long as his biggest pair is not bigger than yours)  and obviously against a player who may just be on a smaller pair or a draw.  But what if that player doesn’t have two pair?  There are two indicators.

One is the paired doorcard.  This is the biggest sign in 7-stud that a player has made trips.  If you completed the bet,  representing a big pair,  and the player called you  (a justifiable move if they had called the bring-in),  odds are they have trips.  So when they come out betting after pairing the doorcard,  your best bet is to fold.  You’re looking for a paired Fourth Street card,  which typically indicates two pair.

The other warning sign is the re-raise.  If a player comes back over the top of your raise,  he’s probably got trips or better.  Don’t fall into the mentality of having to defend  “your money."

Best when players have yet to act.  The best time for this play is when you have players who are yet to act behind you,  meaning you want to be able to act as close to the bettor as possible.  If the player with the open pair bets,  gets several callers,  and the action is on you,  you have to evaluate your move based on your knowledge of your opponents.  If they are the type who will respect a raise on Fifth Street even after they have money in the pot,  by all means raise.  But in many low-stakes games,  you are likely to get callers,  since people already have money in the pot,  so calling,  if you're one of the last players to act,  is the right move.

Don’t forget about Fourth Street.  While our focus here is on Fifth Street,  don’t forget to continue to play your pair hard on Fourth.  One of the best hands I played recently was when I was dealt pocket Jacks that did not improve on Fourth Street.  A player who had two suited cards showing came out and bet,  and instead of just calling,  I raised her.  The other players involved in the pot folded,  and I ended up winning as she didn’t hit her flush.  One of the players I forced out commented,  “That was a good raise  --  won you the pot.”  He was right. The temptation is to call  --  but had I done that,  it would have allowed one of the other players to improve.

Stay focused.  One of the easiest things to do is to lose focus,  and get knocked off your A game.  That doesn’t necessarily mean going on tilt,  just falling into the mentality of tightening or loosening up a bit too much so opportunities are missed.  Raising and getting heads-up is a play that has the potential to cause you to tighten up when it doesn’t work.  You’re an underdog when heads-up against two pair,  but you still have a better edge than with other drawing hands involved.  It’s easy to forget that if,  the first couple of times you raise,  you get heads-up but lose to the two pair,  or improve to two pair only to have your opponent fill-up.  You have to always remind yourself that winning poker isn’t about one hand;  it’s about making the right decision each time and improving the odds so as to maximize your winnings and cut the advantage of your opponents.  Don’t let a bad experience lure you into passive play,  because doing that will only increase the suck-outs.