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We explain what pocket pairs are in poker, the odds of being dealt one, and how to play them to your advantage every time you play.

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Michael Shackleford: Hi, I'm Mike Shackleford with the Wizard of Odds website, and I'm here with my student, Angela Wyman, and Lamone, who is a real dealer here in Las Vegas. And you are going to learn about how to play Mississippi Stud in the casinos.

Mississippi Stud is another one of the popular new poker variants in the casinos. This one, unlike some other games, there is no dealer hand, the player is paid strictly by the poker value of his own hand, and there's three opportunities to raise your bet as the cards are revealed to the player.

As you play, one of the single best things you can do is observe your opponents, even when you're not in a hand. If you know if one player always raises in a certain position, and another has a poker tell when he bluffs, and a third folds to every re-raise, you can use that information to help you decide how to play against them. The game is based on Five-card Stud Poker, where you play individually against the house, therefore, one deck of 52 cards is used. For an initial stake or Ante, players receive five cards face down whilst the dealer receives four cards face down and one card face up. Show at Live Poker that you have nerves of steel or Lady Luck by your side! Live Poker comes with plenty of features to make your game truly special: You play against real live opponents that you can interact with via an avatar, selected by you, virtual presents and chat options.

Usually the player loses in this game, but when a player wins, he can win really big, so it's an exciting, thrilling game. Let's just jump right in and learn by doing. Okay, Angela?

Angela: All right, let's do it.

Michael: Okay. Now, a word of explanation. We are teaching this at the offices of Galaxy Gaming here in Las Vegas who are kind enough to let us use their studio. However, they don't have a Mississippi Stud table, so please forgive me that we're playing Mississippi Stud on a Black Jack table. Let's try a hand.

Angela: All right, let's try a hand with this.

Michael: Okay, we each get two hole cards, and the dealer will get-- deal three community cards. Let's see what you got.

You have two medium cards, the odds favor making a small raise in that situation. I have, wow, a pair. Anytime you get a pair on two cards, you make the big raise.

Okay, Angela. You have three middle cards so take it on faith for now that you should make a small raise equal to your ante bet. I already have a paying hand, so I'm going to bet as much as possible, three times my ante bet again. The dealer will then deal the second community card over.

Okay, Angela, you have three medium cards and a small card. The odds favor folding.

Angela: It’s all right, next time.

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Michael: Okay. I already have a paying hand, so I'm going to make the big raise. The dealer will deal, turn over the final community card, and adjudicate the hand.

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I have a high pair for the pay table of the game. All my bets pay even money. The pay table in this game, if you have at least a medium pair, a medium pair defined as sixes through tens is a push, a high pair defined as Jacks through Aces pays even money.

A two pair pays two to one, three of a kind pays three to one. A straight pays four to one. A flush pays six to one. Four of a kind pays 40 to one. Straight flush pays 100 to one and a royal flush pays 500 to one.

And again, all that matters is your own cards. The dealer doesn't even get any. So let's try another hand, shall we?

Angela: All right, let's try another hand.

Michael: Okay. Let's see what you got. You have one high card and one medium card; that is worthy of making a small raise.

I had two high cards, that's also worthy of making the small raise. You have a paying hand already so you should bet as much as possible, three times your ante bet. As well as me. I've also got a pair of kings, so I'm going to make that big bet.

Again, make the big bet because you've already got a winning hand. As shall I. And the dealer will turn over the final community card and then adjudicate the bets. So I have a high pair so everything's going to pay even money. As do you.

Let's see what you got. You have one medium card and one small card. That's not good enough to stay in the game so you should fold.

I have a pair, any pair even though this is a low pair worthy of making the big raise. So the dealer shall turn over the first community card. I'm still looking at a low pair and one high card. At this step of the game, the odds favor making a small raise.

Wow, now I've got a two pair. That's a paying hand, so I'm going to make the big raise for sure.

Two pairs, so the dealer's going to pay me two to one in everything. Okay, make your bet Angela.

Angela: All right, I'm ready.

Michael: Let's see what you got. Okay, you have a small card and a large card. Now let's take a moment at this point in the lesson to talk about the strategy for the first decision point.

In this game, we define a high card as a Jack through Ace, much like in video poker. A medium card is a six though a ten, and a small card is a two through a five. So you have one high card and one low card.

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The strategy at the first decision point is you make the big raise of three times your ante bet with any pair. And only any pair. The strategy for when you should make the small raise is with at least one high card, doesn't matter what the other card is, or two medium cards.

So you have that high card, therefore you should make the small raise. Let's see what I got.

I have two medium cards. Again, a medium card is a six through a ten. I've got two of them so that is worthy of a small raise.

Community card. A pair of aces, so you've already got a winning hand because a high pair pays even money. So you're going to be making the big three x raise the rest of the game.

I have one high card and two medium cards. Just take it on faith that the strategy says to make the small raise. The dealer will lend the other next community card. Another big card. You obviously make the big raise because you're already a winner.

I see two high cards and two medium cards, the strategy dictates to make the small raise in that situation.

The dealer will turn over the final card. Nice, Angela. You have a three of a kind. And I have a pair. A high pair. So the dealer is going to pay me even money on all my wagers for that pair of aces. You have a three of a kind so you're going to win three to one.

Can you understand it so far, Angela?

Question 1 - [08:05]

[00:08:05] Angela: Well, I understand the strategy for the first bet but what is the strategy for the second and third points of betting?

Michael: That's a good question. Unfortunately for the purpose of this video, the strategy for the second and third decision points is a little bit too long to explain in a short video.

However, like with all the games that I discuss, the strategy is on my website. This is what the Mississippi Stud strategy looks like. It can easily fit on one piece of paper. There's 13 different points to when to raise after three cards and 10 different situations with raising with four cards so I'm not going to bore you with going over all 14 situations but again, the strategy is all on my website, wizardofodds.com.

Any questions, Angela?

Question 2 - [08:55]

Angela: What's the house advantage on this game?