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Fourth
betting interval, after the first discard. Much depends, of course,
on what has gone before. If anybody has been at all aggressive,
a pair is a very poor hand. But against a single opponent drawing
to a straight or flush, a pair, especially a high pair, is an excellent
hand. Opponents' chances of filling are no better than in Draw Poker.
The importance of the exact denomination of your own pair is simply
that four-card straights or flushes can end up as a pair. The discard
after the fourth betting interval presents no new problems.
Fifth and final betting interval, after the second discard. By this
time you should have a lot of information about any opponent. His
bets, his discards and his up cards should add up to something definite.
In any case, you can tell with absolute certainty the maximum possibilities
of his hand.
For instance, if he has three odd up cards which cannot be made
into a straight or flush he cannot have better than triplets of
his highest up card; and if you have accounted for two cards of
that denomination elsewhere, then his maximum will be triplets of
the next highest card. Your opponent, of course, has the same opportunity.
He can gauge your maximum holding, and may know he has a cinch.
As in straight Stud, you must beware of betting into possible cinches. |
