This variation of poker has two sides and has alot of contrast. If you start of with a big pair or even a medium pair and a couple high side cards, you might want to avoid most of the other players. Which you can achieve by using your other options, like bettin, raising, calling, reraising to chase out drawing hands.

But if you start with a flush or straight draw, you would want to play as many as opponents you can, you’d like to make your hand as inexpensively as possible. If your fortunate enough to catch a scare card or two, your opponents will think you’ve already made a hand or you will make it as earliest possible. If that is the case he may be wary of betting any pairs into if your holding a powerhouse of a hand.

That’s the true nature of the Seven-Card Stud. The pairs do their betting early on trying to make it expensive for other hands, and those playing draws are betting and raising later-if they are lucky enough to their complete hand.