Drawing Texas Holdem Hands
Although you now know which starting hands to play in Low-Limit Texas Holdem, dont think this will automatically make you a winner. The truth is most of the money goes into the pot after the flop and in the later betting rounds when bets are doubled. Therefore, you must maximize your payout with a strong hand, and minimize your losses with weak hands. To do this, you will have to know what to do after the flop. By the end of this series, I will have detailed what to do with every strong hand where you must bet and raise and what to do with hands where you are drawing to make the best hand.
This section we will talk about drawing hands. First we will cover which drawing hands are worthwhile. I will demonstrate how to calculate Pot Odds, and give you the odds for the common situations that will occur. Then we will discuss when it is best to call, or when it is best to raise with drawing hands.
Calculating the odds of making your draw on the following card is simple. All you need to know is the number of cards left in the deck that will make your draw, known as OUTS in the poker world, and the number of cards left in the deck that will not make your draw.
To determine how many outs you have, simply figure out all the cards that would make you win, and add them up. For example, if you have 4 cards to a flush on the flop, that means there are 9(13 cards in a suit 4 cards u already have) outs, that will complete your hand.
To determine how many cards are left that will make you lose start off with the amount of cards in the deck (52), subtract the number of cards that you already know (your 2 cards and the 3 cards on the flop.) This leaves 47 unknown cards. You must then subtract all of your outs. For the flush draw example, this would mean 47 unknowns 9 outs = 38 cards that would make you lose. You can then look at it as a ratio 38 losing cards left to 9 outs or winners. 38:9 means that in the long run, you will miss your flush on the turn 38 times for every 9 times you hit one.
To make this ratio worthwhile, divide both sides by 9. Now the ratio looks like this 4.2:1, which means that you will miss your draw 4.2 times for every 1 time that you hit your draw. So the concept of Pot Odds here tells you that the amount of the pot should be 4.2 times the amount of the bet that you have to call.
I will give you the odds for a number of drawing hands on the flop and turn so that you dont have to calculate them yourself, however knowing the process gives you a better understanding of why pot odds make sense, and why basing your drawing game around pot odds is smart and will win you money in the long run. More importantly though, you can determine the necessary payout for any type of hand that you can have.
For example, if you are heads up and you know your opponent has pocket aces, and you have one low pair. If the pot is huge, a call on the flop might just be the right play. I wont give you the odds for this hand, you can figure it out for yourself if you want to know. It just isnt a common enough drawing situation, and I wouldnt want you to start calling with one low pair all the time because I accidentally called it a drawing hand.
If youve read our Pre-Flop strategy article, and play based on those recommendations you will usually find yourself with drawing hands in middle or late position, and those draws will almost always be four card flush draws or open ended straight draws. Of course sometimes you will find yourself in other situations such as gutshot/inside straight draws or combinations of draws. We will discuss each of these situations next, including the odds on the flop.
Flush Draw: Odds 4.2:1
With the flush draw, you will either be going for the nut flush with a suited ace hand, or going in with a suited connector. Weve already discussed the odds of a flush draw, which are 4.2:1. Basically, on the flop if the pot is 4 times the amount I have to pay I will always call. You can even call if it is less in some situations based on Implied Odds.
Any flush is a very strong hand and you are unlikely to lose with one; however, with lower suited connectors you are taking more risks. First of all, your opponents may make a higher flush, which will cost you dearly, or when you hit your flush on the turn, it may give them a higher flush draw with one card. In these situations you may have to stop raising and just call your opponent unless he is a maniac.
Open-Ended Straight Draw: Odds 4.9:1
Open ended straight is the term used for a straight draw in which two cards will make your straight. For example, you hold 78 and the flop is 6, 9, 2. In this case, both a 5 and a 10 will give you a straight, therefore it is an open-ended straight draw and has 8 outs.
The odds of making an open-ended draw are 4.9:1, slightly worse than a flush draw. Straights are also weaker than flushes, obviously, as they can be beaten by a flush. If there are three flush cards on the board and I have an open-ended straight draw I will usually fold. First of all, I may be losing already and make my straight only to lose more. I may also make my straight while another player makes a flush, which will also be costly. If there are only two cards to a flush up on the board, then you can play open-ended draws no problem.
Another thing to pay attention to here are the straight possibilities other players have. For example, you have A7 suited in the blind, and the flop comes down 8, 9, 10,. In this situation you have an open-ended straight draw, 8 outs. However, you have to worry about an opponent maybe holding a higher straight already, 7J or JQ. Or any player who is holding any Q because if the jack comes up, you will have the lower or idiot end of the straight and will most likely lose a ton of money.
Inside/Gutshot Straight Draw: Odds 10.75:1
As much as it pains me to include this here, folding any inside straight draw is a common mistake among poker players. And I feel that it is my duty to inform the people that inside straight draws can sometimes be worthwhile. An inside straight draw is where only one card will make your straight. For Example, you hold AK and the flop is 10, J, 2. Only a queen will give you a straight so you have 4 outs. The odds are 10.75:1 which is huge, but sometimes in a low-limit game, many players will be in the pot, and it will have been raised pre-flop. In this situation the pot will often be 10 or 11 times the amount of the bet you have to call. This means that there are situations where you must call for an inside straight on the flop. Personally, I prefer to make these calls when I am in late position, so there is less of a chance that the pot will be raised. I wouldnt say that it would be wrong to call for gutshots in early position, just a little more risky. Remember you want the pot to be about 10 times the amount of the bet you are calling, and the board should not be suited if you are going to call for a gutshot.
Full House Draw:
-with a set on the flop 5.7:1
-on the turn 3.6:1
-with two pair 10.75:1
A Full House Draw! What?
Well what if you have a set or two pair on the flop, but the flop is suited and you know your opponent has a flush because he is the tightest player ever and just keeps raising. You should not fold if you have a set/trips.(I know you couldnt have trips by definition on the flop but you understand). If the pot is large enough, which it probably will be after all the raising that happens on the flop, you will have to continue calling to try and make your full house. In fact, with trips, if no more flush cards come I would call the river as well just in case. It might be a wasted bet, but with only three flush cards on the flop, and a very large pot, it would be a huge mistake to fold the winning hand for one bet.
The other situation that may arise is you hold two pair, or you make two pair on the turn but that card gives your opponent a flush. Well in this situation your odds of making a full house are terrible, so the only thing you can do is either call, if the pot odds justify, or you believe your opponent could be bluffing. Otherwise, just fold, save yourself some money.
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