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Chasing straights and flush draws will BURN you... there's
no doubt about it.
The term "chasing" means you stay in the hand... hoping to
catch a certain card (or cards) that will complete your
straight.
The problem with chasing is that the ODDS ARE AGAINST YOU.
And as you know, successful Texas Holdem poker is all about
keeping the odds in your favor.
But sometimes chasing a straight IS the right thing to do.
SOMETIMES.
Let me explain...
First off, let's look at the two different types of straight
draws:
1. GUTSHOT - This is when you're trying to make an INSIDE
straight... like if you have 4-5-6-8 and you need the 7.
2. OPEN-ENDED - This is when TWO cards can "make" your
straight... like if you have 4-5-6-7 and need EITHER the 3
or the 8.
There's also what's called a "double belly buster", which is
actually like two gutshots at once. We'll talk about this a
little later.
OK, so how should you play a gutshot straight draw? Let's
look at the odds... if you FLOP an inside (gutshot) straight
draw, the odds of making your straight are 16.47%.
If you have an inside straight draw after the TURN... with
just the river card to go... your odds are 8.70%.
So the odds aren't good. 16.47% might SOUND like it's worth
it... but you've got to ANTICIPATE the bet after the turn
card.
For instance, let's say you flop an inside straight draw and
someone makes a big bet. If you call and then miss your
straight on the turn, what then?
Your opponent makes ANOTHER big bet... do you call to see
the river card? You feel pot committed, but you know the
odds are against you...
This is how you get into trouble with gutshot straight
draws. You become pot committed and you chase a hand that's
not worth chasing.
As a general principle, you should NOT chase gutshot
straight draws... especially on the river.
When I flop a gutshot, I might call a small bet but that's
it. And that's only when the odds are worth it.
As we'll discuss in a moment, you must also factor in the
IMPLIED ODDS... but first, let's look at how to play
open-ended straight draws.
For an open-ended straight draw, your odds of making your
straight are MUCH better. If you flop an open-ender your
odds of hitting are 31.45%.
If you have an open-ender with just the river card to go,
your odds are 17.39%.
Notice that you have BETTER chances of completing an
open-ended straight draw just on the RIVER than completing a
gutshot straight draw on both the turn AND the river.
Interesting, huh?
OK, so what's the right way to play an open-ender?
Many players will just CHECK with an open-ended straight
draw... and then CALL any bets.
This is REACTIVE card playing... and it's the WRONG thing to
do.
You need to be PROACTIVE... and here's why:
Let's say you've got 6-7 of diamonds and the flop hits:
4-5-K
You've got the top half of an open-ended straight draw...
either an 8 or a 3 will give you the nut straight.
The NATURAL TENDENCY here is to check. You don't have
ANYTHING yet... no pairs, no high cards, nothing. So
obviously you'd LOVE to wait to see if you make your
straight before you risk any chips, right?
Wrong.
If you just check, you're making three dangerous mistakes:
Mistake 1: You're showing weakness.
Mistake 2: You're not increasing the pot size.
Mistake 3: You're giving your opponent a read on you.
There's a strange analogy I like to use for this.
If you're ever in the Wilds of Canada and you encounter
a mountain lion, bobcat, or a Grizzly Type Bear, the
NATURAL TENDENCY is to get scared.
Most people would run away!
However... the RIGHT thing to do is to SHOW AGGRESSION and
NOT show fear.
I'm dead serious here.
The right thing to do if you see a bobcat is to make a lot
of noise, to raise your hands in the air and possibly hold
up a coat or jacket (in order to appear bigger), and to
snarl or growl.
It's counter-intuitive... but it's what you MUST do if you
don't want to get attacked (or eaten).
Now... back to Texas Holdem... LOL.
Your OPPONENT is your PREDATOR. Show them weakness and they
will likely attack you.
When you have an open-ended straight draw, you want to see
the next two cards... and you don't want to risk a lot of
chips to do so.
So the RIGHT PLAY is to BET or RAISE the pot.
In our example above, you want to throw out a
reasonably-sized bet. Your opponents might fold right there.
Or you might get one or two callers.
NOW, when the TURN card comes, your opponents will probably
check to you. So basically you're getting a FREE CARD. You
can check and see the river for free.
If you HADN'T taken control of the betting, your opponents
would have made you PAY A LOT to see the river card. And you
might of been forced to FOLD your open-ended straight draw.
By taking control of the betting and coming out strong after
the flop, you're actually investing LESS money overall to
see the next two cards.
Now... the other reason taking control is important is
because it doesn't give your opponent a read on you.
Say your opponent checks the flop and you also check. The
turn card comes and it's a 3... giving you the straight.
Your opponent checks again and now all of the sudden you
come out betting strong.
Obviously, your opponent will SEE what's going on here and
will have a hunch that you just made your straight... and
he'll fold.
If you DON'T bet after the 3, the odds of you making any
real money off of this hand are slim, and you've let your
straight go to waste.
So the key is to bet EARLY... that way if you HIT you're
golden and you'll get paid. And if you DON'T hit you won't
have to invest any more chips.
Say you took control of the betting after the flop and your
opponent called with A-5. He's probably putting you on the
King, but isn't sure... He's got middle pair along with an
Ace.
The turn card comes and it's a 3, so you bet again. Your
opponent calls again.
Finally the river hits and it's an Ace, giving your opponent
TWO PAIR. By now he's confident that you have the King...
and not the straight... since you were betting consistently
after the flop.
So your opponent puts you ALL-IN with his hand... not
knowing that you've got him DOMINATED. You win a big pot,
all because you played the open-ender properly.
There's also what's called a "double belly buster" straight
draw. A regular (single) belly buster is simply an inside
straight draw. A DOUBLE means there are TWO different cards
to make your straight... but it's not open-ended.
For example, if you were holding A-5 and the flop hit 3-4-7
you would have a DOUBLE BELLY BUSTER.
Either a 2 or a 6 would give you a straight.
Double belly busters are great because your opponents will
often never see them coming... and your odds of hitting are
the same as an OPEN-ENDED straight draw.
When an opponent doesn't put you on a hand, THAT is when
you'll be able to win the most chips. This is known as
IMPLIED ODDS.
Implied odds means that when you make your hand, you're
going to get paid a LOT for it.
Implied odds is a very important part of making decisions in
Texas Holdem... just like regular odds. Except the key
distinction is that implied odds doesn't necessarily involve
numbers or math percentages.
Implied odds is more about getting a SENSE for how big the
pot will be if you make your hand.
When your implied odds are HIGH, you can often bet more
early in order to build the pot size.
An example of high implied odds is when there's a straight
draw on the board with HIGH CARDS. For instance, let's say
you're holding J-10 and the flop comes Q-K-3.
You've got an open-ended straight draw... but you might face
opponents who have a REALLY GOOD HAND right now... something
like A-K, A-Q, or K-Q.
An opponent with a big hand is going to be very aggressive
with his bets... and if a 9 or an Ace hits, you're going to
win a ton of chips. Those are high implied odds.
On the other hand, this type of flop is BAD for you because
it means you'll probably have to PAY DEARLY to see the turn
and river cards.
Be careful... don't chase the straight if it's going to
break your chip stack.
An example of a straight with LOW implied odds would be when
it's all low cards on the board. After all, if no one has
anything decent, no one is going to give you a lot of
action.
When you have an open-ended straight draw with low cards and
you sense weakness in your opponents, the best move is to
act aggressively and take the pot down right there.
After all... nearly 70% of the time you are NOT going to hit
your straight. So if you can win the pot by betting, do so.
If you do get a caller, that's OK too, because you still
have a lot of outs and a good chance at busting your
opponent (and now the implied odds are higher since he's pot
committed and must have a good hand).
Another example of low implied odds is when the straight
draw on the board is OBVIOUS. This is especially relevant
when there's only ONE card needed to make the straight.
For instance, let's say you have K-7 and the board reads
3-4-5. And then the turn card comes and it's a 6.
Of course, with 3-4-5-6 on the board, your opponents WILL be
suspicious that someone has the straight. This type of
situation is sometimes good for a check-raise... or a strong
bet to make it LOOK like you're buying the pot. (It just
depends on your table image.)
With straight draws, be extra careful to pay attention to
what ELSE is out there on the board. You will often
encounter hands that BEAT you and wipe out your entire chip
stack.
For instance... look for possible FLUSH draws. If your
opponent might have made a flush, back off. Muck the hand if
you need to and live to see another day.
Full houses are dangerous too. If two cards on the board
pair up, be careful.
And last but not least, always think about what OTHER
straights are possible. For instance, if you're holding A-2
and the flop hits 3-4-5, you have the BOTTOM end of the
straight. Someone could have 7-6, or maybe 6-2, and would
have you beat.
It's the same way with our double belly buster example. In
that example the flop was 3-4-7 and you had A-5. Let's say a
6 hit the board.
Even though you have the straight (3-7), it's NOT the best
possible straight. Your opponent could be holding 8-5...
which would be the nut straight.
It's the same way with FOUR consecutive cards on the board.
If the board reads 5-6-7-8 and you've got the 9, that
doesn't mean you have the "nuts".
The nuts would be 10-9... which would give someone the
straight (6-10).
The possibilities are ENDLESS... and you'll soon discover
that the more you play Texas Holdem the more IMPORTANT every
possibility becomes.
For the most part, keep in mind that you want to only
"chase" a straight when the odds of hitting are most
favorable, when the implied odds are good, and when you
think you can see a cheap (or free) river card.
Knowing how to INCREASE your winnings and DECREASE your
losses is the name of the game. Strategies like these will
also minimize your risk during each pot... and help you
secure a CONSISTENT winning streak.
no doubt about it.
The term "chasing" means you stay in the hand... hoping to
catch a certain card (or cards) that will complete your
straight.
The problem with chasing is that the ODDS ARE AGAINST YOU.
And as you know, successful Texas Holdem poker is all about
keeping the odds in your favor.
But sometimes chasing a straight IS the right thing to do.
SOMETIMES.
Let me explain...
First off, let's look at the two different types of straight
draws:
1. GUTSHOT - This is when you're trying to make an INSIDE
straight... like if you have 4-5-6-8 and you need the 7.
2. OPEN-ENDED - This is when TWO cards can "make" your
straight... like if you have 4-5-6-7 and need EITHER the 3
or the 8.
There's also what's called a "double belly buster", which is
actually like two gutshots at once. We'll talk about this a
little later.
OK, so how should you play a gutshot straight draw? Let's
look at the odds... if you FLOP an inside (gutshot) straight
draw, the odds of making your straight are 16.47%.
If you have an inside straight draw after the TURN... with
just the river card to go... your odds are 8.70%.
So the odds aren't good. 16.47% might SOUND like it's worth
it... but you've got to ANTICIPATE the bet after the turn
card.
For instance, let's say you flop an inside straight draw and
someone makes a big bet. If you call and then miss your
straight on the turn, what then?
Your opponent makes ANOTHER big bet... do you call to see
the river card? You feel pot committed, but you know the
odds are against you...
This is how you get into trouble with gutshot straight
draws. You become pot committed and you chase a hand that's
not worth chasing.
As a general principle, you should NOT chase gutshot
straight draws... especially on the river.
When I flop a gutshot, I might call a small bet but that's
it. And that's only when the odds are worth it.
As we'll discuss in a moment, you must also factor in the
IMPLIED ODDS... but first, let's look at how to play
open-ended straight draws.
For an open-ended straight draw, your odds of making your
straight are MUCH better. If you flop an open-ender your
odds of hitting are 31.45%.
If you have an open-ender with just the river card to go,
your odds are 17.39%.
Notice that you have BETTER chances of completing an
open-ended straight draw just on the RIVER than completing a
gutshot straight draw on both the turn AND the river.
Interesting, huh?
OK, so what's the right way to play an open-ender?
Many players will just CHECK with an open-ended straight
draw... and then CALL any bets.
This is REACTIVE card playing... and it's the WRONG thing to
do.
You need to be PROACTIVE... and here's why:
Let's say you've got 6-7 of diamonds and the flop hits:
4-5-K
You've got the top half of an open-ended straight draw...
either an 8 or a 3 will give you the nut straight.
The NATURAL TENDENCY here is to check. You don't have
ANYTHING yet... no pairs, no high cards, nothing. So
obviously you'd LOVE to wait to see if you make your
straight before you risk any chips, right?
Wrong.
If you just check, you're making three dangerous mistakes:
Mistake 1: You're showing weakness.
Mistake 2: You're not increasing the pot size.
Mistake 3: You're giving your opponent a read on you.
There's a strange analogy I like to use for this.
If you're ever in the Wilds of Canada and you encounter
a mountain lion, bobcat, or a Grizzly Type Bear, the
NATURAL TENDENCY is to get scared.
Most people would run away!
However... the RIGHT thing to do is to SHOW AGGRESSION and
NOT show fear.
I'm dead serious here.
The right thing to do if you see a bobcat is to make a lot
of noise, to raise your hands in the air and possibly hold
up a coat or jacket (in order to appear bigger), and to
snarl or growl.
It's counter-intuitive... but it's what you MUST do if you
don't want to get attacked (or eaten).
Now... back to Texas Holdem... LOL.
Your OPPONENT is your PREDATOR. Show them weakness and they
will likely attack you.
When you have an open-ended straight draw, you want to see
the next two cards... and you don't want to risk a lot of
chips to do so.
So the RIGHT PLAY is to BET or RAISE the pot.
In our example above, you want to throw out a
reasonably-sized bet. Your opponents might fold right there.
Or you might get one or two callers.
NOW, when the TURN card comes, your opponents will probably
check to you. So basically you're getting a FREE CARD. You
can check and see the river for free.
If you HADN'T taken control of the betting, your opponents
would have made you PAY A LOT to see the river card. And you
might of been forced to FOLD your open-ended straight draw.
By taking control of the betting and coming out strong after
the flop, you're actually investing LESS money overall to
see the next two cards.
Now... the other reason taking control is important is
because it doesn't give your opponent a read on you.
Say your opponent checks the flop and you also check. The
turn card comes and it's a 3... giving you the straight.
Your opponent checks again and now all of the sudden you
come out betting strong.
Obviously, your opponent will SEE what's going on here and
will have a hunch that you just made your straight... and
he'll fold.
If you DON'T bet after the 3, the odds of you making any
real money off of this hand are slim, and you've let your
straight go to waste.
So the key is to bet EARLY... that way if you HIT you're
golden and you'll get paid. And if you DON'T hit you won't
have to invest any more chips.
Say you took control of the betting after the flop and your
opponent called with A-5. He's probably putting you on the
King, but isn't sure... He's got middle pair along with an
Ace.
The turn card comes and it's a 3, so you bet again. Your
opponent calls again.
Finally the river hits and it's an Ace, giving your opponent
TWO PAIR. By now he's confident that you have the King...
and not the straight... since you were betting consistently
after the flop.
So your opponent puts you ALL-IN with his hand... not
knowing that you've got him DOMINATED. You win a big pot,
all because you played the open-ender properly.
There's also what's called a "double belly buster" straight
draw. A regular (single) belly buster is simply an inside
straight draw. A DOUBLE means there are TWO different cards
to make your straight... but it's not open-ended.
For example, if you were holding A-5 and the flop hit 3-4-7
you would have a DOUBLE BELLY BUSTER.
Either a 2 or a 6 would give you a straight.
Double belly busters are great because your opponents will
often never see them coming... and your odds of hitting are
the same as an OPEN-ENDED straight draw.
When an opponent doesn't put you on a hand, THAT is when
you'll be able to win the most chips. This is known as
IMPLIED ODDS.
Implied odds means that when you make your hand, you're
going to get paid a LOT for it.
Implied odds is a very important part of making decisions in
Texas Holdem... just like regular odds. Except the key
distinction is that implied odds doesn't necessarily involve
numbers or math percentages.
Implied odds is more about getting a SENSE for how big the
pot will be if you make your hand.
When your implied odds are HIGH, you can often bet more
early in order to build the pot size.
An example of high implied odds is when there's a straight
draw on the board with HIGH CARDS. For instance, let's say
you're holding J-10 and the flop comes Q-K-3.
You've got an open-ended straight draw... but you might face
opponents who have a REALLY GOOD HAND right now... something
like A-K, A-Q, or K-Q.
An opponent with a big hand is going to be very aggressive
with his bets... and if a 9 or an Ace hits, you're going to
win a ton of chips. Those are high implied odds.
On the other hand, this type of flop is BAD for you because
it means you'll probably have to PAY DEARLY to see the turn
and river cards.
Be careful... don't chase the straight if it's going to
break your chip stack.
An example of a straight with LOW implied odds would be when
it's all low cards on the board. After all, if no one has
anything decent, no one is going to give you a lot of
action.
When you have an open-ended straight draw with low cards and
you sense weakness in your opponents, the best move is to
act aggressively and take the pot down right there.
After all... nearly 70% of the time you are NOT going to hit
your straight. So if you can win the pot by betting, do so.
If you do get a caller, that's OK too, because you still
have a lot of outs and a good chance at busting your
opponent (and now the implied odds are higher since he's pot
committed and must have a good hand).
Another example of low implied odds is when the straight
draw on the board is OBVIOUS. This is especially relevant
when there's only ONE card needed to make the straight.
For instance, let's say you have K-7 and the board reads
3-4-5. And then the turn card comes and it's a 6.
Of course, with 3-4-5-6 on the board, your opponents WILL be
suspicious that someone has the straight. This type of
situation is sometimes good for a check-raise... or a strong
bet to make it LOOK like you're buying the pot. (It just
depends on your table image.)
With straight draws, be extra careful to pay attention to
what ELSE is out there on the board. You will often
encounter hands that BEAT you and wipe out your entire chip
stack.
For instance... look for possible FLUSH draws. If your
opponent might have made a flush, back off. Muck the hand if
you need to and live to see another day.
Full houses are dangerous too. If two cards on the board
pair up, be careful.
And last but not least, always think about what OTHER
straights are possible. For instance, if you're holding A-2
and the flop hits 3-4-5, you have the BOTTOM end of the
straight. Someone could have 7-6, or maybe 6-2, and would
have you beat.
It's the same way with our double belly buster example. In
that example the flop was 3-4-7 and you had A-5. Let's say a
6 hit the board.
Even though you have the straight (3-7), it's NOT the best
possible straight. Your opponent could be holding 8-5...
which would be the nut straight.
It's the same way with FOUR consecutive cards on the board.
If the board reads 5-6-7-8 and you've got the 9, that
doesn't mean you have the "nuts".
The nuts would be 10-9... which would give someone the
straight (6-10).
The possibilities are ENDLESS... and you'll soon discover
that the more you play Texas Holdem the more IMPORTANT every
possibility becomes.
For the most part, keep in mind that you want to only
"chase" a straight when the odds of hitting are most
favorable, when the implied odds are good, and when you
think you can see a cheap (or free) river card.
Knowing how to INCREASE your winnings and DECREASE your
losses is the name of the game. Strategies like these will
also minimize your risk during each pot... and help you
secure a CONSISTENT winning streak.
