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In Stud 8 4th street, my Queens (Q-Q-7) caught a 9 and my opponent (3 up) caught a 4. I act first: bet or check?
Heads-up, PokerToast's limit Stud 8 solver bets with Queens and 7-9 showing against 3-4, first to act 98% of the time.
The spot
- Game: heads-up limit Stud 8, 4th street.
- You: (Q♠ Q♦) 7♣ 9♥ (down cards in brackets): a pair of Queens in the hole with 7-9 showing: a high-only hand that did not improve.
- Your opponent: called your completion with a 3 up and caught a 4 (a good low card); your board is higher, so you act first (up: 3♥ 4♣).
- Pot before this street: 2.3 small bets.
- Pot size and the numbers: the solver groups pots by size: its numbers here are averages over every pot of between 1.5 and 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Bet | 98.3% | +1.00 |
| Check | 1.7% | +0.99 |
Measured on 2,312 play-outs of this situation. The highlighted row is the play that measured best.
Why, in plain words
Bet and check are worth about the same here (0.01 small bets apart, within the measuring noise of about 0.19), so neither is a real mistake; the solver's usual choice is to bet (98%).
What popular strategy articles say
Be cautious about putting in more money with a bare high pair and no low chance when the low draw is improving.
What strategy articles found by web search said on 2026-10-08 (PokerNews, Card Player, PokerStrategy, pokerskill and similar; mostly written between about 2007 and 2015, and mostly for full-ring games with several players in the pot).
Heads-up, the solver disagrees: it chooses the recommended play (check) only 2% of the time; its main play is bet (98%).
By the measured values, though, the two plays are worth about the same (within 0.01 small bets), so the common advice is not a real mistake here, just not the solver's usual choice.
Measured value from here on: bet +1.00 small bets, check +0.99.
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.
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:
1|Q/x|-0|M|), 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 after 3rd street: one-way hands, scooping and splitting
More Stud 8 spots: Stud 8: complete A-2-3 suited against a deuce bring-in? · Stud 8: you are the bring-in with A-2-3 suited. Bring in or complete? · 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: 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?