Steve Brecher
August 28, 2006
In No-Limit Hold 'em, drawing hands can
be very difficult to play out of position.
Most beginners take a straightforward
approach when they flop something like a
straight or a flush draw; they check, then
call a bet and hope the turn brings
something helpful. But, simply check-calling
can present difficulties later in a hand. If
you miss on the turn, you'll probably have
to check and, oftentimes, end up facing a
turn bet that is too large to call. Any bet
of normal size in relation to the pot will
be too large because the odds against
hitting your hand are typically more than
4-to-1.
The problems don't end there. What
happens if you check-call the flop, then hit
your draw on the turn? If you check the
turn, your opponent might very well check
behind you, fearing that you hit. If you
lead at the pot, you're pretty much
announcing that you made your hand and your
opponent might fold. So, even if you hit,
you may not get paid in proportion to the
risk you took by calling on a draw.
Rather than check-call, I often like to
check-raise when I flop a draw out of
position. This sort of situation comes up
most frequently when playing from the
blinds. For example, say that I'm in the big
blind with Ad-6d and I call a raise from a
late position player who popped it to three
times the big blind. The flop, Td-5d-3s,
gives me the nut flush draw.
After calling from the blind, I'd expect
to check the flop almost every time. It's
the natural progression of the hand: my
opponent took the lead pre-flop and I'm
going to allow him to keep it. I'd expect
him to make a continuation bet most of the
time, even when he misses the flop
completely. Most aggressive players will
stab at small pots in these situations.
If he does bet, this is the perfect kind
of flop for a check-raise. It's likely that
my opponent raised with two big cards -
something like A-K or A-Q - and, if that's
the case, he's missed this flop completely
and will almost certainly fold to the
check-raise. Or, if he's got something like
A-T or K-T, he may be worried that he's run
into a bigger hand and he'll likely just
call the raise.
If he does call the check-raise, I can
then make a decision on the turn. Sometimes
I'll check and sometimes I'll lead out,
regardless of whether I hit my draw. If I
missed, I may continue the semi-bluff or I
may check with the hope that my check-raise
on the flop was sufficient to make my
opponent nervous and get me a free river
card. If I hit, I may choose to continue my
aggressive play and put my opponent to a
decision or, I may check, deceptively
representing fear of my opponent's having
the draw.
Of course, things won't always work out.
If the initial raiser has something like
pocket Aces or a set, I'm likely to be
re-raised and shut out of the hand. But
nothing works out every time in poker.
Try varying your play when you flop
draws. Look for opportunities to
check-raise. It may be the best way to
proceed with a draw when playing out of
position.
Steve Brecher |