Attacking Third Street Limpers

Of the board games, Seven-Card Stud High-Low (Stud-Eight) attracts the most Third Street limpers. By "limpers," I refer to players who call the bring-in bet, rather than raise to the complete bet allowed by the limit. I am not referring to callers of a completed bet.

Limping is rarely seen in Razz because there is no reason not to show aggression with an exposed low-card. The hole-cards are almost immaterial in the early part of a Razz hand. In Stud-high, limping is seen, but it is generally regarded as a weak play. Even if a starting hand is marginal, aggression should be used early on to force the other players to define their hands.

But, in Stud-Eight, there are certain types of hands in which it is advantageous to entice a large number of competitors, rather than drive opponents out. The ideal situation is a low hand versus two or more high hands. In that situation, the low-hand can jam the others while being assured of half the pot.

As a result, it is common to see many players with three low-cards limping, in the hope that they can pick up a fourth low-card cheaply, and see if the hand develops into the only viable low. Many of these players will make a quick exit if their fourth cards are high.

Of course in poker, any player showing a predictable pattern should be a target. The question is what is the best way to get an edge? Should you attack or limp-in yourself? Here is a mathematical analysis of a typical scenario.

Assumptions:

•  $1-2 Stud-Eight game with a $0.20 ante and $0.25 bring-in. (These limit values are computationally convenient because they scale easily to higher and lower limit games.)
• You act near the end, and after one player, who has limped-in.
•  That player has demonstrated a pattern of limping with three low-cards, and only continuing in the event of making a low-pair or low-draw on Fourth Street.
• The bring-in folds in response to a completion.

Scenario 1: Full table with eight players making antes.

Suppose you attack the limper with a complete bet while holding three low-cards; the bring-in folds and the limper calls. The pot size is the $1.60 in antes, plus the $0.25 bring-in, plus the $2 in bets, for a total of $3.85. You have bet $1 for a chance to win the $2.85 on the table uncontested if your opponent's next card is high. The pot is paying 2.85 to 1. What is your chance of succeeding?

The deck contains 32 low cards and 20 high cards. The minimum number of low cards in play is 7. There are three low-cards in your hand, three for the limper, and the bring-in must have had one low-card exposed to be the bring-in. (If not you or the limper would be the bring-in, because you each have three low-cards.)Your worse case scenario is that the five hands that mucked on Third Street, all had door-cards that were high. That means, that if we total the known and unknown cards, there are 25 low-cards that are unknown, and15 high-cards that are unknown. The chances that an unknown card will be high are 15 out of 40, or 37.5%. That means, the odds against this play succeeding are 1.67 to 1. Because the pot pays 2.85 to 1, the play has a positive expectation. It cost $8 to make this play 8 times, but it brings back $3.85 three times out of eight, for a total of $11.55. We expect to receive back about $1.44 for every $1 invested. The expected value (E. V.) of the bet is $0.44.The edge increases if more low cards are exposed in the five mucked hands.

No. Low-Cards Mucked	Fraction High-Cards Remaining (%)	Odds Against High-Card	E. V.
0	37.5	1.67:1	$0.44
1	40	1.50:1	$0.54
2	42.5	1.35:1	$0.63
3	45	1.22:1	$0.73
4	47.5	1.10:1	$0.83
5	50	1:1	$0.92

That means that in the ideal situation of five mucked low-cards, the locations of 12 of the 32 low-cards are known. Because no high-cards are visible, we are getting coin-flip chances on an outcome that pays 2.85 to 1. That is a significant edge.

Scenario 2: Three-player game.

Interestingly, the edge does not go away if the game becomes shorthanded, even though the sum of the antes at stake is smaller. For example, a three-player game would have $1 less in antes in the pot. You would now be wagering $1 to win $1.85. The pot is now paying 1.8 to 1. We still know about the 7 low-cards, but have no information on the high cards. There are now 45 unknown cards. The chances of the play succeeding are 20/45 or 44.4% or 1.25 to 1 odds. In other words, 4 out of 9 times the limper will be hit with a high-card and fold immediately to a Fourth Street bet. You spend $9 making this Third Street-play 9 times, but it wins back 4 times on average, an amount of $2.85, or $11.44 total. You expect to receive back $1.27 for every $1 invested-an E. V. of $0.27.

Of course these calculations assume an idealized situation, in which the bring-in folds, and the limper is completely predictable. Often the bring-in will defend in these situations because he or she has observed the same pattern from the limper. Also, the limper might have a wider range of hands than three low cards. Split or wired-pairs might be included and a quick exit on Fourth Street not planned if he or she has a pair.

But those are all reasons to show aggression and not limp as well. Completing the bet forces the bring-in and the limper to define their hands. If they don't back down on Fourth Street, you will know something is up, and can proceed more cautiously.

In summary, if you see a player exhibiting this pattern, attacking on Third Street will give you an edge. Conversely, if you exhibit the pattern, alert players can gain an edge against your play.