Playing Flush Draws
Many poker players go
absolutely crazy over holding two suited cards.
How many times do you hear a player with Q 2
suited saying “but it was suited”? Suited hole
cards do improve your chances of making a hand,
but keep the value of just any two suited cards
in proper perspective. Even if you make a flush
with your suited Q 2, it is not the “Nut” flush,
and you could still wind up being 2nd best.
Passive vs Aggressive
Drawing
When you’re on a flush
draw, there are two ways of playing your hand
before you complete your flush: the passive
style and the aggressive style. Surely you can
utilize a mix of both, but it’s usually best to
implement a consistent betting line. Let’s look
at an example in No Limit Holdem. Say you’re
playing 100NL and decide to call a raise of $3
with Qs Ks suited. The flop comes Ts 7s 2d. The
initial raiser leads out with a $5 bet into your
flush draw.
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The
passive approach here would be to simply call
his bet in the hopes of completing your flush.
The aggressive approach
would be to instead raise his bet 2x-3x the
initial wager to see where you stand. The
advantage of aggressive play is that you could
potentially induce an early lay down and win the
hand without a contest. If you are called,
however, you will be increasing the pot size for
the situations where you do complete your flush.
The downside of aggressive drawing is that it
will be costly if you don’t hit your flush
and/or if your opponent continues to call your
bets.
In addition to this,
aggressive play could severely damage your table
image. Mastery of this skill is one of the
defining differences between a recreational
player and a consistent winner.
Playing Flush Draws
in Limit Holdem vs No Limit Holdem
When you are playing
Limit Texas Holdem, you will find that it is a
lot easier to play two suited cards. The reason
for this is that the price of admission is
usually a lot lower. A raised pot in Limit
Holdem is only two bets, so if you are raised in
the big blind, there is probably going to only
be a small amount needed to make the call pre
flop and see what you hit. On the other side of
the coin, it may be easier and less expensive to
play a couple of suited cards, but the potential
payoff, should you make your flush will be
considerably less.
In No
Limit Texas Holdem, if you can get to see the
flop with your suited cards for a small
investment, then you have the potential to make
a big score if you hit your hand. Keep in mind
that if you were not drawing to the nut flush,
then you could still be beaten. Also, when you
make your flush, remember that if there is a
pair on the board, then it is possible that
another player has a full house or even quads,
and those are two more hands that can beat you.
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