Playing Draws

Playing DrawsWays to Eliminate Your Risk While Maximizing Payout
The best way to establish success at the poker tables is to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your starting hand. While this concept might appear to be simple and straight forward, it requires discipline and constant mental reinforcement. All too often a player will overplay his or her starting hand, and will fail to bail as the hand deteriorates.

The key to playing a draw, for example, lies in the recognition and acceptance of the odds offered from start to finish. While AK suited looks fantastic on the button, it can become a nightmare if the flop misses. In order to play a drawing hand properly, it is best to draw a mental note of what needs to happen, and what course of action you will take along the way.

Avoid drawing dead at all costs

While this may sound simple, it happens quite often. As a general rule of thumb, be ready to cut your losses if the board is paired, even if you are one card away from a flush with two cards to go. The worst losses occur when an ace high flush tries to push a boat around. Hitting the flush in this case would be a sure fire way to give away your chips. When you spot the warning signs, the best way to stay in the hand is to fire a value bet into the pot. This will help you feel out the strength of your opponent’ s hand. If he starts pushing back, make a mental note of it, and exit the hand. If the same opponent always fires back with a re-raise then catch him later, when you can.

Avoid playing low flush draws or being on the dummy end of a straight

If you want to avoid fleas, then never lie down with dogs. Playing a 7-5 suited pocket might work for James Bond, but it can only cause headaches if the flop yields a flush draw…or even worse…a flopped flush. The same holds true for straight draws. If you allowed yourself to remain in the hand just to chase the lower side of a straight, you might be tempted to keep trying to win a losing cause. By being in this hand you have placed yourself at risk.

Lower Costs and Maximize profits on a flush draw

On the other hand, if there are no pairs on the board, and if you hold the nuts (highest card) in a flush draw, be sure to pad the pot for the win. The best method is to call any bets after the flop, or make a value bet if none have been made. You have two cards to draw from and a large number of outs. At this point you want to maximize the amount of chips that you can win. Waiting for the flush to show up is a sure fire way to lose out on a chance to win big. Since you have two opportunities to bet before the hand has been played out, bet a reasonable bet on the flop. If your card does not show up on the turn, your earlier bet on the flop may have helped you cut costs because opposing players may defer or check to you again on the turn. If you can get away with a simple check here, then you may opt for this course of action. If the river card makes your flush then you can raise and re-raise until the pot is yours. If you miss the draw, your losses were minimal. The one bet that you made on the flop might have bought you the free pass to the river.