PokerToast · study tools for mixed-game poker
In Stud 8, I hold A-2-3 suited and my 3 is the lowest card, so I am the bring-in (opponent shows a King). Bring in or complete?
Heads-up, PokerToast's limit Stud 8 solver brings in for the minimum with A-2-3 suited as the bring-in against a King 93% of the time.
The spot
- Game: heads-up limit Stud 8, 3rd street.
- You: (A♠ 2♠) 3♠ (down cards in brackets): A-2-3 of spades with the 3 showing; the 3 is the lowest card, so you must bring in or complete.
- Your opponent: shows a King and has not acted yet (up: K♥).
- Pot before this street: 0.3 small bets (the antes).
- Pot size and the numbers: the solver groups pots by size: its numbers here are averages over every pot of up to 1.5 small bets at this point, so in exactly this pot they would be a little different.
The solver's numbers
| Play | How often (strategy) | Worth from here on (EV estimate, small bets) |
|---|---|---|
| Bring in (minimum) | 93.1% | +0.55 |
| Complete | 7.0% | +0.40 |
Measured on 837 play-outs of this situation. The highlighted row is the play that measured best.
Why, in plain words
Bring in (minimum) and complete are worth about the same here (0.15 small bets apart, within the measuring noise of about 0.31), so neither is a real mistake; the solver's usual choice is to bring in (minimum) (93%).
What popular strategy articles say
Complete; open-limping in Stud 8 is never the best play.
What AI search answers said when we asked this question on 2026-10-08. They cited strategy articles written mostly between about 2007 and 2013, and most of that advice is for full-ring games with several players in the pot.
Heads-up, the solver disagrees: it chooses the recommended play (complete) only 7% of the time; its main play is bring in (minimum) (93%).
Measured value from here on: bring in (minimum) +0.55 small bets, complete +0.40.
Heads-up vs multiway
The numbers above are for heads-up play (two players). Most published advice is written for full-ring games with several players in the pot, so part of any difference can come from that.
We also looked up a 3-handed version (two opponents, showing a King and a Queen, act after your bring-in) in PokerToast's 3-handed solver, but it has not measured that spot often enough, so this page makes no claim about multiway pots.
How these numbers were made
From PokerToast's own heads-up limit Stud 8 solver, trained 7,862,000 iterations, exported 2026-10-05 09:56:29, 47,383 situations (version E-7862000-20261005095629). It learned by self-play (Monte Carlo counterfactual regret minimization) for limit betting, at most four bets a street.
- How often is the solver's average strategy for this situation.
- Worth (EV) is an estimate measured after training by playing the situation out many times against the solver's own strategy: small bets won or lost from this decision on, compared with folding (0). It assumes an opponent who plays like the solver.
- Hand groups: the solver groups similar hands, so the numbers are for the group (here:
0|Af/D3a0|-1|S|), not only these exact cards. For each decision it looks at the street; your high hand (and flush draw); your low (made, or how many low cards you have and how many of the ones you need are dead); your opponent's board (a pair or an ace showing, and how many high cards they have for the low); the pot; and the betting so far on this street. - Stakes: ante 0.15 small bets per player, bring-in 0.25, a completion or bet on 3rd and 4th street is 1 small bet, 2 from 5th street.
- Looked up when this page was built (2026-10-19); a newly trained solver changes the page and its version number.
Practice it
Your equity with these cards Today's Stud 8 Daily Spot Open PokerToast
Part of: Stud 8 3rd street: which starting hands to complete
More Stud 8 spots: Stud 8: complete A-2-3 suited against a deuce bring-in? · Stud 8: a pair of Queens on 3rd street against a deuce bring-in · Stud 8: Queens in the hole, an Ace completes your bring-in · Stud 8: a pair of 5s, you brought in with a 2, an Ace completes · Stud 8: play K-Q-J against a deuce bring-in? · Stud 8 4th street: A-5-3 catches a Queen, K-4 bets. Call or fold? · Stud 8: brought in with 2-4-6, an Ace completes. Defend? · Stud 8: a pair of Aces with a 4 against a deuce bring-in. Complete? · Stud 8: 3-4-5 (no Ace) against a deuce bring-in. Complete? · Stud 8: A-2 in the hole with a King up against a 3 bring-in. Complete, call or fold? · Stud 8: Kings in the hole, an Ace completes your bring-in · Stud 8: a rough low draw (8-7-6) against a deuce bring-in. Complete? · Stud 8 4th street: Queens catch a 9, the low draw catches a 4. Bet or check? · Stud 8: a pair of 8s with a 4 against a deuce bring-in. Complete? · Stud 8 4th street: Kings against an Ace that catches a 5 and bets. Call or fold? · Stud 8 6th street: a made 8-low, one way, against open Kings that bet. Call or raise? · Stud 8 4th street: A-2-3 catches a King, the opponent shows 4-5. Bet or check? · Stud 8: three high suited cards (K-Q-9) against a deuce bring-in. Complete, call or fold? · Stud 8: you complete A-2-3, the deuce bring-in re-raises. Cap, call or fold?