If you're new to 7-Card Stud then you'll probably surprise yourself at how easily you'll be able to pick it up. In actual fact, it is believed by many that Texas Hold'em is a hybrid of 7-Card Stud and the similarities are certainly there. In both games you have to make the best five possible card hand out of a total of seven cards available.
It adheres to the usual poker hand rankings system and the only two major differences between 7-Stud and Hold'em is that you're dealt a total of seven cards with which to make your five card hand and there are no community cards. The cards you're dealt are yours to use and yours alone.
Because the structure of the game is different it will require a different set of skills and abilities. The hands may be ranked the same but the strategies you use in Texas Hold'em (or any poker game for that matter) may not help to make you a successful 7-Card Stud player. It's all about becoming familiar with the particular challenges and nuances of a game which, above all else, demands full attention from those who play.
With three cards dealt to you before any bets have been made, you need to make sure you proceed with hands that are already strong or at least have genuine potential to improve. If you're starting with three spread out cards that seem to offer no real chances to make a viable hand then you're best off folding and saving your chips.
7-Card Stud allows you to see four out of your opponent's seven cards and therefore you're able to make very accurate and informed judgements as to what they may be holding. It is absolutely vital that you use this information at all times. There are plenty of players who will tell tales of opponents who have called a raise in the final round of betting when they actually had a lower hand than an opponent was showing in their four upturned cards. That can only be attributed either to stupidity or, more likely, the fact that they were not paying attention to the upturned cards of their opponents.
It really should go without saying that if your own hand is not as strong as one you can see in an opponent's upturned cards, when all seven cards have been dealt, then you should either be folding, or raising in the hope of pulling off a bluff. Calling a bet or raise when you know without any doubt whatsoever that you're behind is an unforgivable mistake.
In 7-Card Stud more hands are decided by high pairs and two-pair than by straights, flushes and other big hands. Bearing that in mind, even if you're drawing to a straight or a flush it is always best to have at least one card in your hand which is higher than anything else showing in your opponents' hands. Even if you don't make your straight or flush, you will still have a chance of hitting a high pair, which could go on to make the winning hand.
You will find that a major key to success in 7-Card Stud is starting hand selection, even more so than Texas Hold'em where a kind flop can instantly rescue even the worst of starting hands. Patience is absolutely the key, especially at a full table. Unless you're enjoying a real rush of good cards you should be folding more hands than you play. In low limit and Fixed Limit 7-Card Stud most hands WILL go to the showdown so you're going to get found out if you're getting to the river with poor hands.
You start the game with three out of your seven cards and with four to come it's no use trying to play hands that would require the use of ALL FOUR of those cards to make a viable hand. As with all mathematical probabilities, it will happen from time to time but it is such a long shot occurrence that it is simply not worth playing this way.
Remember also that the betting limits double on 5th Street, so if you haven't got a strong hand with our first four cards you're going to have to pay double the amount to stay in the betting from that point on, which can start to get very expensive if you're chasing unlikely hands that have little chance of hitting. If you haven't got something viable to play after the fourth card is dealt then it's usually a good idea to get out of the betting.
Try and read the sub-sections on 7-Card Stud, which offer tips and advice on how to sharpen up your game and give yourself a much better chance of success. It is a great challenge and, if played properly, will reward those who adapt quickest to the patience, keen observation and range of skills required to succeed.