Poker or color drawing in general should be played with caution, too many still being tempted to overestimate such a hand. In fact, investing a lot of chips in a hand that still doesn’t have a concrete value seems like the wrong strategy. However, there are times when you can become much more aggressive, when you are on a big draw. In such a case we will refer to this article, to see what needs to be done when you have what appears to be the most promising book.
Aggression is the key
When you have a flush draw in No Limit Hold’em, there are many different modes that you can choose to play. Sometimes it’s better just to go on the check and hope you hit the fifth card of the same symbol on the next street. Other times you will want to play that aggressive flush draw and lift so you rely on the opponent to bend. There are many different variables – from the expected power of your hand, to the image you have and to your opponents’ tendencies.
In general, you should play big draws very aggressively. By evolving in this way we offer two ways to win the hand; either our opponent folds immediately and we win chips without a fight, or we reach the showdown, where we rely on gambling. Both scenarios are to be followed and you can never say that you were fundamentally wrong when applying such a tactic. The only case you would like to slow down the action, keep the pot within certain limits, is when you face an extremely tight player whose range is very limited. In such a situation, it is rather to opt for a check-call, obviously as far as odds are favorable.
Also, it must be said that it is preferable to show your aggressiveness rather at cash tables, where you have the option of rebuy at any time, to the detriment of freezeout tournaments, where you play your presence in the competition.
How big is a big draw?
In order to understand how to play a big draw, we should refer to a concrete example, so that we understand exactly where we are and what variables to consider.
So let’s imagine we’re at a cash no limit hold’em game, where the blinds are $ 2 / $ 5. From the cutoff, we receive 8-9 spades, and in front of us a middle position opponent raises $ 20 before a hijack player pays the raise. It must be said that this is not an ideal time to get into the pot, given that both opponents display a fairly tight game. However, we have a position in relation to both of them, and the stacks we had – big enough for all three – promise a bounty in the ideal situations. In other words, it’s not wrong to get involved in the pot, at least to see a flop.
So we call, and the flop gives us a monster draw: 6 spades – 7 spades – 2 rhombs. The original Raiser is betting on a C-bet, $ 40, and the hijack player raises to $ 120. The action comes to you. What do you do in this case: fold, call or re-raise all-in?
Odds and aggressiveness
In this hand I witnessed a raise and a re-raise up to us, on the flop. We have an open-ended straight flush draw, with nine outs available for one color and eight outs for the straight (the 4 pitchers and the 4 decarios in the package). In total, we have 17 books that, if they come, improve our hand, making it probably the best.
We are not ideal in terms of pot odds for a call. To see the next book, we need to put $ 120 in a $ 220 pot. In addition, we do not close the action if we only call. The initial aggressor can rely on a re-raise, which would be to our detriment. However, we have some implied odds, so a call here would not be the wrong choice.
However, one of the primary advantages of big draws is that they have excellent equity against their opponents. If we add fold equity to the times when we play very aggressively, we can create an extremely profitable one from this situation.
In this case, a re-raise all-in from us would exert significant pressure on both the initial aggressor and the opponent in the hijack. We can win with this move even on the flop, without reaching the showdown. In any case, and if we are paid, we will definitely throw a player in the hand and go into a heads-up. Thus, we will have over 50% equity against our opponent’s range. In conclusion, we can win this pot in a fairly large proportion, shoving all-in on the flop.
To play big draws profitably, you must be willing to use them with maximum aggression, especially in situations where you can create fold equity. The above example is a perfect one: concretely, only a pair of poles, aces or a set would justify a call from opponents. Even at these times, when we will be paid, there are a lot of outsourcing to turn your hand into a winner.