Ante Stealing
Ante Stealing in seven card stud eight-or-better is fairly straight forward.
It’s not as important in this game as it is in many other forms of poker, because advantageous opportunities come up less often.
But in the right spots, ante Stealing still has value.
As a word of caution, though, don’t attempt this play with two or more low cards behind you, since many players like to call with low cards.
It is easiest to steal when you have an ace up, because an ace the premier scare card in almost every game is even stronger in eight-or-better.
Another good hand to steal with is a high card when there are one or two cards ranking nine or higher that still remain to act.
Most players, even good ones, will now fold medium pairs, because they are afraid to play poker against a possible big pair.
If you are going to try to steal into low cards, you need an ace up or a medium low card, such as a six, rather than a deuce or a trey.
When you are showing a medium low card, there will be some doubt as to whether you hold a higher pair than your opponents might have.
That is, your hand will be less defined, which means that it will be less likely that one of your remaining opponents will want to contest it.
Here’s an example of a typical ante steal. Suppose you have a jack up, there are a queen and a nine behind you, and you raise.
The player with the queen up usually will go out unless he has a pair of queens, in which case you will be reraised.
In addition, he probably will throw away some other poker hands that he would have been interested in playing had you just folded or called.
Assuming that the queen now folds, the player with the nine up generally will also fold, even if he has two nines.
Since you raised into the queen, it won’t look as though you are stealing.
Because the game under discussion is seven-cards stud eight-or-better, note that if this opponent had an eight showing instead of a nine and held a pair of eights, the result might be different.
Introduction / Starting Hands / Three of a Kind Wired / Disguising Your Hand / Ante Stealing / Getting Reraised on a Semi-Steal / When an Ace Raises / When the Bring –In Raises / Afterthought
