PokerToast · study tools for mixed-game poker
In Stud 8, should I play three high cards like K-Q-J (against a deuce bring-in)?
Heads-up, PokerToast's limit Stud 8 solver folds with K-Q-J against a deuce bring-in 77% of the time, and just calls the bring-in 22%.
The spot
- Game: heads-up limit Stud 8, 3rd street.
- You: (K♠ Q♦) J♣ (down cards in brackets): K-Q-J of mixed suits: no pair, no low cards, a three-card straight draw.
- Your opponent: shows a 2 and brought in (up: 2♥).
- 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Fold | 77.2% | +0.00 |
| Call the bring-in | 22.2% | +0.02 |
| Complete | 0.6% | −0.30 |
Measured on 25,742 play-outs of this situation. The highlighted row is the play that measured best.
Why, in plain words
Call the bring-in and fold are worth about the same here (0.02 small bets apart, within the measuring noise of about 0.10), so neither is a real mistake; mixing them keeps you hard to read.
One limit of the model: here, when you just call, the street ends; under real rules the bring-in could still complete. That makes calling look a little better than it is, so where calling and completing are close, completing is at least as good.
What popular strategy articles say
Usually fold.
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 agrees: its main play is fold (77%).
But it also just calls the bring-in 22% of the time, at about the same value, which the common advice doesn't mention.
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.
3-handed (the bring-in shows a 2 and a third player showing a 9 is still to act behind you), PokerToast's 3-handed solver folds 100.0% of the time. So the heads-up answer holds with three players.
| Play | How often (strategy) | Worth from here on (EV estimate, small bets) |
|---|---|---|
| Fold | 100.0% | +0.00 |
| Call the bring-in | 0.0% | −0.35 |
| Complete | 0.0% | −0.89 |
From the 3-handed limit Stud 8 solver, trained 17,428,140 iterations, exported 2026-10-06 07:08:16, 301,198 situations (version E33-17428140-20261006070816); measured on 2,328 play-outs.
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|N/x|-0|S|i), 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: 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 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?