The Right Time To Chase A Straight

[tiptheboss]

The Right Time To Chase A Straight
Brought to you by Rory Monahan
Chasing straights and 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 forest or wilderness and you

encounter a bear, mountain lion, bobcat, or any

other PREDATOR, 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 bear 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 2-A 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.