Mississippi Stud Poker Strategy
Mississippi Stud gives players a variation of poker that allows them to enjoy the game without worrying about the hand of other players or the dealer. The only hand they need worry about is there own as well as the community cards, which are shared by all players. Like all stud poker variations, Mississippi stud deals players a mix of facedown and face-up cards throughout multiple betting rounds. It is a non-positional game, meaning that the player who bets first on each round can change from round to round.
- Mississippi Stud Poker Strategy
- Mississippi Stud Poker Strategy
- Mississippi Stud Poker Strategy Charts
Mississippi stud is, unsurprisingly, most commonly played in Mississippi casinos. The game is also played in a few other casinos throughout the United States, as well as online. Throughout the years Mississippi Stud has become increasingly popular, due to its fast play. In terms of poker, the game is fairly simple to learn.
How to Play Mississippi Stud
Mississippi Stud Poker Odds and Strategy Advice Mississippi Stud Poker is an online casino game based on poker that’s similar to Let It Ride Poker played in reverse. Instead of decreasing the size of your wager as the game goes on, in Mississippi Stud Poker, you get the option of increasing the size of your wager as the game continues. In any game where strategy makes a difference, there are fine points and there are players who struggle with small differences. One such game is Mississippi Stud Poker, in which players must ante to start, then may raise by betting one to three times their ante after seeing their first two cards, again after seeing the first of three community cards and a third time after the second community. Playing Mississippi stud poker unprepared may only cause harm to novice players so better that they first learn some basic strategies that can help them succeed and beat other gamblers. If a player is lucky and draws two useful hole cards, slow playing is the best move that the player can make.
Mississippi stud was created in an attempt to improve seven-card stud poker better at no limit and pot limit. It is unique in that a player wins based on their own cards rather than what hand the dealer has. For this reason, Mississippi stud is slowly becoming a popular alternative to seven-card stud. The betting structure for Mississippi stud offers a fixed limit, with the last three rounds doubling the limit of the first two. This style of betting is similar to that of Texas hold ‘em.
At the start of each hand each player must make the ante wager in order to participate. At this point the dealer will deal each player two cards face down, while also placing three “community cards” face down on the table. The dealer will flip the community cards one by one, so to new players it may look as if this were the dealer’s hand, but this is not the case. In fact the players are utilizing the community cards throughout the game, in order to improve upon the cards they have in their hand. After the cards are dealt, players are given the opportunity to examine their cards, while the community cards remain face down.
In addition to the spot on the table for players to make the ante bet, there are three other spots where players can bet up to three times the ante: 3rd street, 4th street, and 5th street. After players have had a chance to examine their cards they may choose to place a bet on the 3rd street spot that is one to three times the ante. It is important to note that at this point all three community cards are still face down. If a player has a bad hand then they may choose to fold, if not they can use their best judgment regarding the value of their hand.
Mississippi stud was created in an attempt to improve seven-card stud poker better at no limit and pot limit. It is unique in that a player wins based on their own cards rather than what hand the dealer has. For this reason, Mississippi stud is slowly becoming a popular alternative to seven-card stud. In the case of Mississippi Stud, the pay table is based on the poker hand value of your final hand. The payouts are as follows: A royal flush pays 500 to 1. A straight flush pays 100 to 1.
Once players have made the decision whether or not to play their hand then the dealer will turn over the first community card. Again, players will have the opportunity to bet, this time on the 4th street spot, one to three times the ante. The dealer will then flip the second community card, which gives players the opportunity to then place their wager on the 5th street spot, or fold. Finally the dealer will turn the third and final card over, and players will be paid according to their hand.
Mississippi Stud Payouts
The pay table will always be listed on the table itself. As mentioned previously, players will be paid according to their hand at the conclusion of each round. The payouts are as follows:
– Royal Flush: 500 to 1
-Straight Flush: 100 to 1
-Four of a Kind: 40 to 1
-Full House: 10 to 1
-Flush: 6 to 1
-Straight: 4 to 1
-Three of a kind: 3 to 1
-Two Pairs: 2 to 1
-Pair of Jacks or Better: 1 to 1
-Pair of 6s through 10s: Push
-Other: Loss
Mississippi Stud Strategy
There are a number of factors you will want to keep in mind while playing Mississippi Stud in order to have success. As always, it is important to consider the house advantage when playing Mississippi Stud. The house edge will be the percentage of your winnings that the casino will claim. For Mississippi Stud this is generally 4.91 percent. Perhaps the most important factors when playing this game would be understanding the difference between a strong and weak hand, and what payouts to expect from these hands.
Essentially any hand that contains two cards that are less than 6 should be an automatic fold. For example, if you are dealt a 2 of hearts and a 3 of clubs, those cards have virtually no value. There is no winning combination for any possible hand containing these cards, with the exception of a straight, which has an extremely low probability.
If you are dealt a winning hand with your two cards, such as a pair or three of a kind, then you should wager three times your money on the 3rd street spot before any community cards have been turned over. At this point you are guaranteed to win and your earnings can only improve based on the community cards. It’s just common sense; if you know you’re going to win and you want to win more money, you should bet more money.
When it comes to choosing the right time to bet a smaller amount, things become a bit more complicated. If you are dealt any single card that is a Jack or higher, then you will want to place 1x the ante on the 3rd street spot. The player should also make the same bet on any medium card, 6 to 10, or on a 6 and 5 suited hand. If a player is dealt any other hand, then they should fold.
Things become even more complicated when choosing the right bet for the 4th and 5th street cards. The best advice in these situations is to use your knowledge of the payout table combined with the strength of you hand and use your best judgment. If you have a strong hand then you will most certainly want to raise more.
When playing Mississippi Stud, players are not afforded the option of checking and must bet or fold. This makes it very easy for players to lose money quickly. It can be difficult to win a lot of money when playing Mississippi Stud, as is with most poker games. Mississippi Stud tends to give players a lot of losses, with the occasional big win. The big wins are great, but for the most part even the best players tend to break even due to the nature of the game. Strategy can be complicated for this, so understanding the basics is key.
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Developed by Scientific Games, Mississippi stud has become a fairly popular table game. It may not carry the same prestige as blackjack or roulette, but it still manages to find a place on many gambling floors.
Almost everybody who plays Mississippi stud does so without an advantage. In fact, the vast majority of players don’t even realize that this game can offer an edge.
However, Mississippi stud is one of the best games for advantage players (APs). It can offer over a 50% edge with the right strategy.
This guide discusses the basics of Mississippi stud along with how you can beat it through hole carding. It also covers how to gain over a 50% advantage on the house.
Basics of Mississippi Stud
The objective of Mississippi stud is to form a qualifying hand (jacks or better) using your two cards and three community cards.
Each round begins with you and other players making an ante bet. The dealer then deals two face-down (hole) cards to each player and three-face-down community cards.
After reviewing your hole cards, you can either fold (forfeits ante) or make the third-street bet (worth 3x the ante). The dealer will turn over the first community card following this round.
You then have the option to fold or place the fourth-street bet. The second community card is flipped over after this round.
Finally, you can either fold or make the fifth-street wager. The third community card is turned over at this point and your hand is evaluated for a potential payout.
Common Mississippi stud pay tables are as follows:
- Royal flush – 500:1 payout
- Straight flush – 100:1
- Four of a kind – 40:1
- Full house – 10:1
- Straight – 4:1
- Three of a kind – 3:1
- Two pair – 2:1
- Pair of jacks or better – 1:1
- All other hands – Loss
You Can Beat Mississippi Stud With Hole Carding
As described above, Mississippi stud features three face-down community cards. Neither you nor any other players are supposed to see these cards in the beginning.
Instead, you’re only supposed to see your two hole cards along with community cards following certain betting rounds. Of course, you must place a bet for each card that you hope to see.
But what if you were able to see these card values before betting? You’d certainly have a lot more information and be able to get a leg up on the house.
Hole carding involves trying to spot face-down card values before they’re flipped over. It’s a rather simple AP technique in theory. Used in any games with hole/face-down cards, hole carding requires you to find a dealer who’s sloppy when removing cards from the shoe or shuffling machine.
Dealers are supposed to be good at removing these cards without giving anybody a chance to see the values. However, some croupiers—whether due to inexperience or just being inept—aren’t great at keeping card values a secret.
These dealers are known as “flashers.” They flash face-down cards and give you a perfect opportunity to win profits.
Your first goal with this endeavor should involve finding a dealer who’s sloppy enough to reveal this information. Doing so can take countless hours, especially when considering that Mississippi stud tables aren’t as prevalent as baccarat or blackjack tables.
Secondly, you have to perfect your technique for spotting face-down cards. You need to sit in a manner that allows you to see community cards without being overly obvious.
The best way to pull this off is by leaning back slightly in what looks like a natural manner. This puts your eyes low enough to the table felt to where you can still see cards.
How Do You Gain a 50% Edge?
Given that Mississippi stud features three community cards, you have three different chances to see a hole card. Of course, you’re not going to see every card in every round no matter how bad the dealer is.
Even the worst croupiers will keep some face-down cards a secret. But if you can see even just one of the cards, you’ll gain a long term advantage.
You also need to know which hands are worth playing. After all, knowledge of the community cards won’t help out much if you’re holding low cards.
Basic Mississippi stud strategy helps out greatly in this regard. You can determine whether it’s worth betting to begin with by judging your hand’s value.
According to Dr. Eliot Jacobson, you’ll gain at least a 50% advantage just by seeing one face-down community card. You’ll enjoy an even larger advantage when identifying two or three of the cards before they’re flipped over.
Outside of rare circumstances, no other casino game allows you to gain this type of advantage. Even blackjack shuffle tracking, which can provide a considerable 5% edge, doesn’t come close.
Challenges to Beating This Game
The thought of winning over $50 in guaranteed profits for every $100 wagered is exciting. However, you also have to deal with the following challenges before making this dream a reality.
Finding a Flasher Is Difficult
Casinos do a great job at training their dealers. They want to ensure that each croupier can deal games in a fast manner without giving away any advantage.
You may have to visit dozens of casinos on different shifts before spotting a bad dealer. Even then, you might only have a brief window of time to take advantage before the casino notices that they’re losing serious money.
Mississippi Stud Isn’t Available in Abundance
As mentioned earlier, Mississippi stud isn’t the most-prevalent game throughout the gambling world. While it does retain some popularity, it’s not quite on the level of real money blackjack, baccarat, Caribbean stud, craps, or roulette.
You’re not going to walk into a casino and have 10 Mississippi stud tables to choose from. In most cases, you’ll only have one option.
Of course, casinos have multiple shifts and dealers working these tables. But given the small percentage of flashers, you’ll still struggle to find a game that you can really profit from.
You Must Spot Hole Card Values Without Getting Caught
Mississippi stud hole carding is completely legal. You’re not hiding cards in your sleeve, colluding with a dealer, taking chips off the table, or doing anything else unlawful.
Instead, you’re merely using observational skills to make money. Nevertheless, casinos can kick you out all the same.
Gambling establishments are quite thorough when looking for APs. They like to hold the edge in every situation and don’t want somebody earning consistent profits off them.
Given that they’re private businesses, casinos have the right to kick you out for being an AP. They’re especially be quick to throw you out when you’re obviously leaning in an effort to see hole cards.
Should You Still Try Beating Mississippi Stud through Hole Carding?
The biggest drawback to Mississippi stud hole carding is the frustration that you’ll deal with. You’ll find the process of going from casino to casino and table to table to be extremely tedious.
It’s very possible that you’ll give up on hole carding before even finding a dealer that you can take advantage of. Even when you do find a beatable game, you only have so much time to capitalize before the casino realizes what’s happening.
They may not specifically catch you hole carding. But if a casino sees that they’re losing serious money, they’ll looking closer into the matter and retrain or fire the dealer.
Bottom line: you won’t just walk into any random casino and start winning big. You must invest lots of time and effort into the matter.
You’ll also have travel cost wrapped up in this pursuit. After all, your best chances of successfully hole carding are in Las Vegas.
Mississippi Stud Poker Strategy
You may consider starting out with an easier AP technique, such as card counting. While counting cards doesn’t offer nearly the same edge as Mississippi stud, it provides a nice introduction to AP.
In the end, you’ll need to decide whether it’s truly worth hole carding in Mississippi stud. This path can result in huge profits, but it isn’t any get-rich-quick scheme.
Conclusion
Mississippi stud seems like an average poker game on the surface. But beneath the surface lies one of the most-profitable opportunities that gambling has to offer.
Assuming you find an inept dealer and spot some hole cards, you stand to gain a minimum 50% advantage. No other common AP method offers this kind of edge—let alone at a minimum.
Mississippi Stud Poker Strategy
Of course, you don’t just walk into the casino, throw down your money, and immediately start winning. You instead need to put serious work into the matter beforehand.
Mississippi Stud Poker Strategy Charts
Mississippi stud hole carding feels like looking for a needle in a haystack at times. Once you find that needle, though, then you can use it to thread gold.