In the early rounds of a seven-card stud tournament, my experience has that’s it very hard to shake people early in the hands. Since there’s no real division of the hand (pre-flop vs. post-flop), it extends the period where players of all skill levels feel they can still hit their draw card to make a hand. Especially on internet poker sites with limit tournaments, you have to constantly hammer in max bets to even get players to start thinking about dropping out. So goes the early stages of a stud tournament. People are calling, and pots, it appears, are large. Of course, they look large because there’s so many stacks of chips, but it’s early on, so those stacks are of low-dollar amounts. The pots are respectable, but they won’t make or break anyone after a few hands.
Less often, but still in the mix, is the type of game that starts off at a snails pace instead of a NASCAR Cup series playoff. Everyone is tentative, getting their feet wet, feeling out the other players, etc… In these stud tournaments, for whatever reason, it tends to lean toward one extreme or the other the whole way through the table, instead of having a few players from all categories like you often see in Hold ‘Em tournaments.
My advice? Don’t worry about playing starpoker.net tournaments coy early, or playing aggressive. This isn’t hold ‘em. Play smart from start to finish. Try not to let the fact that the money is only won at the final table affect how you play early on at your first table. Play as if your entire purse is at stake every hand. And, as mentioned, maintain your perspective on the size of your wins or losses at this stage. Three big wins might only be the equivalent of a single (or half) big win once the max bet goes up a few times. The same is true if you’re losing. Patience is called for and must be practiced. Your stack size always matters, but it’ll likely grow or shrink.
Also, don’t forget poker is poker. Just because this is stud, it doesn’t mean you don’t have to study and learn your opponents. Do this early, it’ll pay dividends in the middle and later rounds. Don’t forget to bluff when the situation is ideal. Establish yourself as unpredictable early, it also will pay off even if you don’t revisit that tactic often as the tournament progresses.