Playing a Draw On The Flop

For beginning players, playing a drawing hand on the flop can be a scary thing, but as you advance more and more you will learn how powerful it can be to bet and raise your draws. This is a great play that you can mix in if you are a TAG player (Tight Aggressive Player) that will be certain to throw your opponents off. When you are on a draw, it can be pretty easy to figure out where you are at by betting or raising. It may cost you a few chips in the short term, but in the long run it will be profitable. When you have a big draw on the flop and get bet at by top pair, re-popping them is going to possibly make them think you have a set, or, if they have top set, you are probably going to get re-raised again. This is how you find out where you are at with your draw on the flop.

There are a lot of different pieces of information you need to process before making your decision on how to play your draw. Here are some things you are going to want to take into consideration.

Do Not Raise When You Have The Obvious Second Best Draw
If you are in a multi way pot, the last thing you want to be doing is raising with a non-nut draw. If you have a Q high club flush draw, and you see a bet from early position with 4 callers, then the chances of someone playing to a K high or A high flush draw is a good possibility. This also goes for drawing to the low end of a straight draw. You do not want to be raising with 5-6 on a 7-8-2 board.

A Paired Flop Is a Slow Down Sign
When the board pairs immediately on the flop, you need to slow down and re-evaluate where you are at. There is a chance you are drawing dead here, and raising is almost out of the question. If you can bet out, you can find out where you are at, as most players who have a made hand here will fire back. If you are holding Qs-Js, and board comes 7s-9s-7d, you can be sure if a player has a 7, they are raising you and hoping you fold without any further chances to hit your draw.

Change Up Your Bet Sizes When On a Draw
Players will often continually bet the same amount of money every time they have a draw, or consistently over-bet the pot. The whole point of playing a draw is to disguise it so that when you make your hand, you can extract maximum value. Don’t let every one know every time you are on a draw, or you will find yourself losing money and in tough situations.

Winning one big pot from hitting your draw can make your night at the table that much better. Next time you end up with a draw on the flop; consider the advice in this article.