As for playing against an open pair: You know, of course, that it is always dangerous. I am speaking only of the times when you have a higher pair, concealed of course. Only a losing player bets because he has a number of "over" cards which, if paired, will beat the showing pair. Except as a bluff, such hands should be dropped. In most cases the higher pair must not be dropped, but it is losing play to raise on it.

The only time to raise is when you are alone with the open pair, when you have a lower limit before the last card, and you want to coax the open pair into checking to you on the last card. A bet by the only pair on the last round puts every other player on a terrible spot. There are few more effective bluffs against good players, because everyone knows that when a tight player gets a pair showing, there is a very good chance that he has two pairs or better.

Watching other cards. It takes a pretty good stud player to watch all the cards and draw the proper conclusions from them. Every player, however, can watch for the cards that most affect his hand. Sometimes simple observation leads you to some valuable conclusions. Suppose you have neither the temperament nor the aptitude for concentration to watch and remember every card, but you have observed the cards in general and have noticed that a "lot" of spades have shown.

If you have a doubtful play on a spade four-flush for the last card, this observation will cause you to drop fast. If you have noticed an absence of showing spades, that might persuade you to stay in on your four-flush.Much more important is to watch every card that pairs one of your cards. The appearance of those cards has a tremendous effect on your chances. For example, if you have an ace in the hole and no other ace has shown, the odds are 4 to 1 against your pairing it eventually. If one ace has shown, the odds go up to more than 6 to 1 against you. If two other aces have shown, for all practical purposes your ace is valueless except as a high card.