Strategies for Online 7-Card Stud: Starting Hand and 4th Street

One of the biggest threats to your health and overall well-being is stress. It’s important for you to have some stress-relieving hobbies to help alleviate some of the tension. Poker is an excellent way of relieving stress. Of course, learning to successfully play is necessary to maximize the experience, as constantly losing can tack its own undesired levels of stress.

Becoming even more popular than Texas Hold ‘em, 7-Card Stud is an entertaining card game that requires a lot of strategies and close attention. Here are some basic strategies that you can utilize as you get started relieving your stress and having fun.

Starting Hand

When playing 7-card stud, the first strategy is whether to continue the hand once you’ve put in your ante and dealt the first three cards. Remember, you don’t want to get too attached to your ante. You can play online poker for real money, but antes really aren’t that much money and you don’t want to get too invested on a rotten hand. With the first three cards, you want to take a look and see if they fit into any of these four categories:

• Three of a kind
• High pair (10 or above)
• Three to a flush
• Three to a straight

If you have a high pair, you want to drive out the others by betting and getting them to fold early on before they have a pair or other hand that is potentially higher than yours. With a flush, you want a strong flush with a high card, preferably an ace. Since this is a draw hand, it’s a slow build rather than raising wherever possible. It’s pretty much the same deal with three to a straight. With this hand, you’re looking for an outside straight, such as a 9, 10 and Jack, rather than something like an 8, 9, and Jack.

If none of these works out for you, consider folding here rather than losing more down the line.

4th Street Strategies

Once you get to 4th street, if you have a four of a kind, play it slow so that others will drive up the pot as they develop straights and flushes. If you have a three of a kind, you want to drive others out quickly by jamming the pot so that they don’t get the straights and flushes they’re working on. Same goes for a high two-pair. If you have a draw hand, because you’re working on a flush or straight, place a bet and call if you are raised. Keep your eye out too for the cards you need on another player’s porch. The more cards you need that are there, the less chance you are to get the card(s) you need.

Once you get to 5th street, the strategies will change as you near the end of the game, and the most money is lost, so check your pride at the door and be ready to fold if the cards aren’t in your favor.

  

Down time and rest is important

There’s a ton of advice out there on how you should be working out. One constant theme involves focus and challenging yourself. This is very important, particularly in a world where too many people don’t put the time in and don’t challenge themselves.

At the same time, people who are pushing themselves to get in shape are often pushing themselves in other aspects of their lives. Many of us work very hard to make sure we provide for our families or to advance our careers. Again, things like focus and hard work are emphasized, and for good reason.

Yet one thing that isn’t talked about enough is rest. It’s the importance of making sure that your body and your mind are rested. When working out, it’s important to consider things like pacing and also proper rest between set and between workouts. Some people decide they want to start working out or work out more, and of course they want to work at it. But you have to be smart about it and give your body the rest it needs. This will improve your overall performance and your quality of life.

The same principle applies to taking mental breaks. Stress is a huge problem and it can have all sorts of negative impacts, both emotional and physical. Take time away from work, working out and your loved ones to take a real mental break. Do short ones daily, and then make sure you take your vacations. Find time killers that help you take your mind off of work or exercise, whether it’s vegging out in front of the TV or playing online bingo or poker. Yes, even bingo can help you relax. I know for many people the opposite is the problem. They veg out too much and they can’t get motivated to work out or to put the work into their careers. But the opposite is also true, particularly in today’s crazy, fast-paced world.

So if you’re about to embark on a new workout regiment, keep this in mind. Develop good habits from the start and get your rest.

  

4 causes of aging

In his book, “The Most Effective Ways to Live Longer”, Johnny Bowden identifies what he calls “the four horsemen of aging,” which are thought to be dangerous processes that age our bodies and are triggered by the foods we eat and the lifestyles we lead. Conquer these four horsemen, Bowden contends, and you can slow down the aging process.

1. Free radicals: Free radicals are chemically unstable molecules that attack your cells and damage your DNA. You can limit your exposure to them by avoiding cigarettes, trans fats, charred meats, and other sources.

Organic fruits and vegetables will also limit your exposure to pesticides and herbicides, which contain the harmful molecules.

2. Inflammation: Inflammation is a major player in many diseases of aging, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s. One way to avoid it is to follow a Mediterranean-style diet.

Other great anti-inflammatory foods include turmeric, dark chocolate, and the anti-aging chemical resveratrol. Exercise is another great way to lower inflammation.

3. Glycation: Glycation is what happens when sugar mixes with proteins and fats to form molecules that promote aging. Advanced glycation end products, or AGEs (Isn’t that an appropriate acronym?), are thought to accelerate your aging process by churning out free radicals and promoting inflammation. One way to avoid ingesting AGEs is to turn down the heat when you cook. The browning effect of high-heat cooking causes these molecules to form. Limiting your intake of sugar-filled foods in general will also help.

4. Stress: Stress initiates the release of a variety of hormones that make your pulse race and cause your blood pressure to rise. The hormone cortisol, released to lessen these effects, also creates problems when it remains chronically elevated. Try practicing relaxation techniques to help manage stress, and get enough sleep every night.

U.S. News & World Report July 29, 2010

  

Stress and Cancer

Scientists have theorized for decades that stress and cancer are directly linked. A new study suggests that the hormones we produce while under stress increase the growth rates of a few very lethal forms of cancer.

The study showed that an increase in norepinephrine, a stress hormone, can stimulate tumor cells to produce two compounds. These compounds can break down the tissue around the tumor cells and allow the cells to more easily move into the bloodstream. From there, they can travel to another location in the body to form additional tumors, a process called metastasis.

The research also suggests the same hormone can also stimulate the tumor cells to release another compound that can aid in the growth of new blood vessels that feed cancer cells, hastening the growth and spread of the disease. The work was reported in the latest issue of the journal Cancer Research.

“This opens up an entirely new way of looking at stress and cancer that’s different from current interpretations,” explained Ronald Glaser, a professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics, and director of the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at Ohio State University .

A very interesting read, this article in Science Daily, gets one to think about the benefits of reducing stress in ones life.

  

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