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Cry me a River - A 7-Stud Journey!
By Al Spath 

Ever take a foolish daredevil ride down the rapids of the Colorado River? Well, most of us haven't, but in stud poker, players frequently experience a river equally full of risk and unpredictable dangers. Although a bit more tranquil, the 7-stud river is filled with a sense of wild expectations and often dampened by utter disappointment... Frankly speaking, the 7-stud river can be extremely thrilling or down right costly. 

Our river, like the mighty Colorado, can and will take a number of twists and turns. At times, the trips to the river never seem to end, and time and time again we find ourselves, head in hand, crying over our disastrous finish. You know that sinking feeling all to well, when the river leaves you needing that single card to take down a humongous pile of chips you single-handedly built by leading at the pot. 

Avoiding the river seems impossible! We swiftly and convincingly want to complete our journey and tell a tale about the successful showdown. And you know how poker adversaries are eager to hear a card story with a happy ending; it gives them immediate hope and promise for their own upcoming river experience. 

Many poker players have made their living on this river. A river of hope, a river of despair, a never-ending river of unpredictable results. Think hard about all the times you have gone to the river. Do you realize how seldom your river card changes your hand from the turn card? Percentages are substantially against sticking around for what in all likelihood is a limited number of useful cards, or the case card. My point is simple. If you haven't made your hand after the turn, be prepared to finish with the same hand you're holding. You must alertly avoid ending up in the proverbial river, by disciplining yourself to abandon weak hands early; and the earlier the better. Your win at the end of a session often amounts to the bets you saved. 

Stud players always make their most critical financial decision on third street (whether to play or fold), however, don't dismiss the importance and strategy you employ when your fifth street card arrives. Avoid habitual chip pitching the entire way to the river. Building bigger pots that you eventually lose can be very costly. You must try to eliminate competitors fast and early, and position yourself to take down the pot when the fifth street card arrives, or even earlier. Is that not the objective; extract your opponents' money and eliminate the need to risk additional chips from your own stack. Considering the diminishing amount of live cards as a hand progresses, it is essential and in your best interest to win early and not bank on a miracle river finish. 

Consider one significant aspect of seven stud. When you continue after fifth street, the amount of chips in the pot almost always dictates you and your competitors must stay to the river. Most of these players will finish with their sixth street hand, so it is essential that you have the best playing hand or best drawing hand when you pay to see the last two cards. Take it from me, and a thousand other poker players; there is nothing worse than reaching the river and having the second or third best hand. Been there, done that! 

Poker styles will vary game to game, city to city, club to club, and table to table. Whether you play in Gulfport, Mississippi, Reno, Nevada, or in one of the many poker rooms scattered throughout Southern California, winning players (no matter what the game, Stud or Hold'em), consistently play aggressively solid poker. They're the ones with table presence, switching gears often, never giving free cards, and always searching for a desirable game where chips are moving and opponents are very predictable. Next time you're on the rail, take a look at the action, the types of players and the cards they are playing. It's your responsibility to be alert, size up the competition, determine the best strategic seat at a given table (strong players to your right), and figure out the texture of that particular game. 

Finally, a word of caution for those who play low limit poker games in Vegas, such as 1 to 5. Experienced players will employ a strategy called "milking" (only a $1 or $2 increase after each subsequent card), that will ultimately entice tourists and recreational poker players to linger in the hand. The novice player, thinking that it's only a buck, says, " what the heck, I've come all this way, I'll just take one more card." By the turn, the bet may reach the maximum and players have invested so many chips they no longer can abandon a marginal hand, and are now committed to the river. Rescues are often quite rare for these thrill seekers and the river eventually claims another victim. 

While I'm busily stacking my chips I can faintly hear the rest of the table humming that all to familiar tune, "Cry Me a River!" Oh, Floorman!