I’ve been playing a lot of Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo lately. Primarily because the players are so bad the money just rolls in.

Here is something I see a lot of players do and it just makes no sense (but it does add a lot of $$ to my pocket).

After four cards, the play gets down to heads up. My opponent will have (let’s say the game is $2-$4 but this could apply to a any limit) maybe $3 invested in the pot. I have a big high hand, or perhaps 4 really good low cards. I bet out out.

My opponent is drawing to either a high or a low hand. Either way if he makes his hand he gets half the pot. So now in a $2-$4 game, he is willing to invest $12 more to get his $3 back. If he doesn’t make it, he loses all $15.

My take on this is, unless you can scoop, why chase $12 just to get your money back? The best strategy here is to just fold the hand, lose the $3, but save your $12.