The Value of Aces in 5-Card Stud Poker

5 Card Stud, Hand Selection
October 10 2008

The game of 5-Card Stud is a game of aces. Top pair is often the winning hand, and a pair of aces is the best pair you can get. Having the highest pair going into the draw, against an opponent with any other pair, puts you at a 4-to-1 advantage. Most hands will be moderate wins where your aces hold up against their pair. In the situations where both of your hands improve—like when you both make two pair into three of a kind—you will get paid off a big hand.

When you get dealt aces it’s almost always the right play to open with them. Even against seven other players, you have a positive expectancy to win the hand. Unless there is some way you can tell that a player has been dealt a big hand, opening with aces is the right play.

If you get any callers you have to try to figure out where you stand. Players drawing three cards are chasing trips with an inferior pair, and players drawing one card will be looking to complete a five-card hand like a flush or straight.

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