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TIPS FROM THE PROS
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson
December 19, 2005
In Limit Hold 'em, it is not uncommon to
see pots that are contested by four, five,
or even six players. This happens with some
frequency at lower limits, especially when
playing with those who haven’t learned the
virtues of a tight-aggressive style of play.
In multi-way pots, draws become
especially powerful, and playing big draws
aggressively against multiple opponents can
create very profitable situations. For
example, say that you’re dealt As-8s on
the button. Three players limp before the
action gets to you, and you decide to limp
as well. Both blinds call, so a total of six
players see the flop of 4s-7s-Jc. You have
no hand at the moment, but you do have the
nut flush draw.
On the flop, the small blind bets and
three players call. What’s your best
action? Clearly, folding would be wrong.
With two cards to come and nine outs,
you’ll make the nut flush roughly 35
percent of the time, making you only a 2:1
dog. With six small bets going in the pot
pre-flop and four going in on the flop,
you’re getting pot odds of 10:1.
You might be tempted to just call and see
what the turn brings but, in fact, raising
in this situation gives you better value.
The pot is getting large and it’s likely
that all your opponents are going to call.
Even those who have nothing more than second
pair or a gutshot straight draw may feel
that their pot odds are favorable enough to
justify calling the second bet. If your
raise gets called by four people, you’ll
be getting great value. You’d be getting
4:1 on your money when you’re only a 2:1
underdog – a clear win for you.
The raise might also work well for you on
the turn and river. By acting after the
flop, there’s a chance that the other
players will check to you on the turn. This
gives you the option of checking and taking
a free card if you don’t make your flush.
The level of aggression that you show
with a draw will largely depend on your
position. To show how your play might change
with position, imagine you’re in a hand
with the same hole cards (As-8s), the same
number of players (six), and the same flop
(4s-7s-Jc). This time, however, you’re not
on the button but are in the big blind
instead when the small blind bets out. Here,
you want to encourage the other players in
the hand to put as much money in the pot as
possible. If you raise, you’re probably
going to force players with second pair or a
gutshot to fold, so your best option is to
call. Give your opponents every opportunity
to throw money in the pot.
Finally, let’s look at how you might
play the same cards when you’re the first
to act. If you have a nut flush draw in the
small blind and there are six players in the
pot, go ahead and bet. It’s a favorable
situation for you, so you want to make sure
that some money goes in the pot. When out of
position, I’ll usually follow-up my flop
bet with another bet on the turn no matter
what card hits. Then, if I miss again on the
river, I can decide whether or not I want to
bluff at the pot. If I’m against only one
or two players on the river, I’ll usually
bluff. If there are five players left in the
hand, I won’t bother. It’s too likely
that someone will call.
You can make a lot of money playing draws
in low-limit Hold 'em. Just remember that
you want as many people contributing to the
pot as is possible, which means that in
different positions, you’ll need to do
different things to get the most out of your
draws.
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson |
