Legitimate plays in this game, on the first three cards (two down, one up) are roughly as follows: Any three cards of the same suit. Any three cards in sequence as good as 10-9-8. Any high pair, nines or better. Any concealed low pair.

Occasionally, A-K in the hole if not more than one card of either rank (one ace or one king, but not one of each) has shown.The key to the game comes when the fourth card has been dealt, so that you have two up and two down. At this point much depends, as it always must in any stud game, on what cards have shown around the table, but the following general principles should be observed:

An unimproved low pair should be dropped. The only exception is the case in which the other two cards include an ace, or a king and a queen, and in which not more than one of each of these ranks has shown. By a low pair here, I mean eights or lower.

A straight possibility should be dropped unless you have drawn a near card (as for example, a king or seven to a J-10-9) or unless you have paired. However, if two essential cards have shown, such as two eights or two queens in the case noted, the hand should be dropped.

A flush possibility should be dropped if the fourth card has not matched it, unless most of the cards of the same suit have not shown; or unless the flush cards are very high, including ace and king or queen; or the fourth card has paired the hand.

A high pair, queens or higher, should be played unless there is a great deal of action in the betting, with two players raising. A pair should not be played against a higher open pair. Neither two pairs nor a low three-of-a-kind justifies a raise against a high open pair. However, if no pair is showing, then two pairs or better in the first four cards call for a maximum bet or a raise. The principle is not much different from that of draw poker. The odds against filling are only 22 to 1, and rare will be the cases in which the pot offers smaller odds than that. The hand is probably the best at the moment, and the bet or raise will drive out hands that might have improved.