One game where it’s regularly better to bet than check on early betting rounds is seven-card stud. If you have no pair, you might want to represent one by betting. Usually, this is partially a bluff, because you want to get your opponent out and take the pot early, and partially speculative in the event you stumble into a straight or a flush.The player calling may have a small pair or no pair at all, hoping to make something. Neither one of you has much to brag about
Now if you make a pair on your board, another bet will often win the pot for you immediately. Even an opponent with a pair (especially if it’s smaller than yours) may give up without a fight, fearing you had a big pair in the hole or just made three of a kind. When you’ve been the aggressor and improve, it’s hard for a previously reluctant caller to call again. This means you can often win pots without a struggle by betting “prematurely” that you might have lost in a showdown or folded to your opponent’s bet had you checked on earlier rounds.
