Predestination vs. free will

One very interesting fact I've realized about 7 card stud is that there's no such thing as a cold deck. The deck itself is not intrinsically cold; it can only have the appearance of being cold. In reality, its coldness is purely a result of the actions of the players at the table. That sounds clear as mud, so let me try explaining it a little better. In hold'em, the deck itself can intrinsically and unequivocally be cold. The reason why is simple - no action on the part of any player can in any way alter what is the best five card hand which can be made from their two hole cards and the five community cards. The hands are predestined. If my predestined hand is a full house and your predestined hand is a four of a kind, I'm in for a world of hurt, no matter what. Nothing I do, and nothing you do, can prevent my hand from being a full house, or your hand from being a four of a kind. This is absolutely not the case in 7 card stud. Since there are no community cards in 7 card stud, any player who folds their hand alters the cards which the remaining players will be dealt. The hands aren't predestined at all; they're the result of the separate free will actions of the players at the table. So an interesting side effect of playing 7 card stud is the paradoxical feeling of power you get whenever you decide to fold :-)

During current Stud session you were dealt 40 hands and:
- saw fourth street 29 times (72%)
- saw fifth street 25 times (62%)
- saw sixth street 19 times (47%)
- reached showdown 11 times (27%)
 Pots won at showdown - 5 of 11 (45%)
 Pots won without showdown - 4

delta: $17,283
cash game 7 card stud balance: $28,530
balance: $10,114,264