Deviation from BS at Mississippi Stud

I have a friend who plays a lot of MS stud. He is very conservative in what he holds for the first bet. He needs a face card plus a middle or he folds. BS says stay with two middle cards, one face card or 5/6 suited or better. How much does he give up by doing this? For that matter what is the ev playing BS? TIA

Quote: DeMango

I have a friend who plays a lot of MS stud. He is very conservative in what he holds for the first bet. He needs a face card plus a middle or he folds. BS says stay with two middle cards, one face card or 5/6 suited or better. How much does he give up by doing this? For that matter what is the ev playing BS? TIA

You have brought up a very valid question, and one that I'm interested in learning the answer to, so here's a bump for you!

My guess is he's probably giving up a high percentage, maybe as much as 4-5%. The thing about the two medium cards are they offer more chances to hit straights. Although a 4-1 payout isn't great, all straights will include either a 5 or 10. If he's only playing M/H, H/H or the pairs, he's probably not playing many hands, and losing out on numerous two pairs, straights, and possibly flushes. He'll probably miss out on the occasional full house and quads too.

But the math people are here, and it's a valid question.

He is a dealer at another establishment, so he's nobodies fool. He buys in for $100 at a $2 game and plays for hours. This locals casino in Biloxi has 4 MS stud tables, haven't heard of another place that does this. Limits $2 - $10.

"He is a dealer at another establishment, so he`s nobodies fool."
Miss stud with perfect basic is -4.9 ,so with your friends mistakes he`s playing with over a 5% disadvantage.
But he`s a dealer so he thinks he knows better than the math. The common dealer comment is," I deal this game everyday,I don`t care what the book says I know the right way to play".

At a $2 game with maybe 1/3 the speed of a bj game his hourly ev is still way less. He knows he's playing negative ev my question is how much more does he give up. Fools are those who play this game and play all.

Quote: DeMango

Fools are those who play this game and play all.

I have to respectfully disagree with that comment. It's not a bad game; otherwise, it wouldn't have the legs that it currently has. Yes, the house edge is higher than a lot of games, but it's surprisingly lower than most games with a side bet. Since you could consider the entire game one big side bet, it's not bad. Furthermore, a big hit on that game is A BIG HIT, the main problem with LIR. You hit a full house on LIR, the MAX you'll probably win at most places is $165. You hit a full house on MS, the MINIMUM you win is $300 for the same $5 base bets. Of course, you risk a LOT more, more often on MS, but the payout reflects that.

I used to really hate the game myself, but it's a fun novelty. I don't play it every trip, but if I'm feeling lucky and up a little bit, I give it a whirl.

perfect strategy:
house edge:4.91, element of risk: 1.37%
could do better, could do worse...

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