The Flush Draw - 2 or 3 Way Action
I recently received an e-mail from a player asking about playing a flush draw, with either 2 or 3 way action. A lot of times in poker, the answer is “it depends.” This is a cop out though, so I will try to run through a couple scenarios, but the best way to figure out things is just by practice.
The flush draw is an interesting spot. The problem with flush draws is that people are always scared of the flush draw, so if you hit it, people are unlikely to pay you off for your efforts. You are about 2:1 to hit a flush draw, so you need to be making money when you do to make the draw profitable. How you do this is largely dependent on the image you have at the table, and that of your opponent(s).
If you are a tight player, you want to be putting in raises (either check raise or raise if they bet into you) before you hit your flush. This way people will be releasing a lot of one pair hands because they fear you have a set or two pair. Being tightly viewed at the table means that you have to exploit a lot of your value from what’s called fold equity. Fold equity is the value you gain from your hand due to the likelihood that the player will lay down better hands than yours because of your image. This is where you need to get more of you value out of if you are tight.
If you are loose, the opposite is true. You want to get to your flush as cheap as possible, because people are more likely to pay you off thinking “he’s probably bluffing or on the draw” and you can get a lot of money in with your opponents drawing very slim.
This also depends on your opponent’s image. If he’s tight, you need to be raising and semi-bluffing him more. If he’s on the calling station side, you want to draw cheap and then punish him when he won’t lay down his top pair to your made hand.
Another factor that you need to evaluate is how high your flush draw is. You do not want to enter a scenario where you hit your flush with like the 76 of hearts, only to lose your stack to the KQh. A quick example of how NOT to play a flush draw can be seen in a hand I played two days ago. The hand went something like this:
I have a stack of 2500, covering both opponents barely. I have a fairly tight image so far, and on the turn I make a mistake.
Preflop
CO raises to 80
I call on the button with KQd.
SB calls
BB folds.
Flop: 10d 7h 4d
I have a good flush draw and two overs.
SB leads for 180 into a 260 pot. The CO folds. I can either raise, or call here. I called.
Turn: 10d 7h 4d 6s [Pot: 620]
He bets out for about 400. Since my image was tight, and I was most likely up against a draw or made hand, I should have probably shoved here. I still had a lot of fold equity, coupled with my tighter image, I think a shove is best. The only way its not is if he misses his draw and he won’t fire the river. The problem is if he has a set, he might check anyway to allow me to bluff, and I think I can take the pot down right here if I raise. Instead I called.
River: 10d 7h 4d 6s 3d [Pot: 1420]
I hit my flush. He bets out like 800, I put the rest in, and he calls showing A8d. I think he would have folded the turn. He probably would have check raised a set 3 way on the flop, so I was probably safe in taking it down on the turn. I think I misplayed this hand.
Flush draws are so obvious, that you need to be tricky to make them work. This is an example of a concept that seems easy when you first learn odds and such, but becomes harder as your stakes increase. Evaluate your opponent and yourself, and try to take the correct line and your results should improve.