Playing on the Come

What should you do when you flop a draw? Should you always just call and try to take off cards cheaply? Should you sometimes raise to get a free card on the expensive street? Playing a come hand properly depends upon many factors, one of the most important of which is the strength of your draw. Other factors are the number of opponents, the betting action, and the texture of the board, to name a few. The following hands were taken from live middle-limit play and bring out some important considerations in playing come hands. It might be more fun if you cover up my answer and decide for yourself what action you would take before reading what I think.

Hand No. 1 ($10-$20 game): You have posted a late-position blind in the cutoff seat and check while holding the 3 2 after two middle-position players limp in. The other players fold. There is $45 in the pot and four players.

The flop is A K 5. The big blind checks, the first limper bets, and the next limper calls. Should you raise, call, or fold?

Answer: You should raise. You not only have a flush draw, you have a gutshot-straight draw as well with any 4. This is 12 outs to a flush or straight with two cards to come. Mathematically, you are almost even money to make a flush or a straight by the river. With only three opponents, you are unlikely to be up against another flush draw. And other good things might happen. You may get one or two of your opponents to fold. If a blank comes on the turn, you may be positioned to make a good semibluff bet on the expensive street. In other words, you may win the pot outright by betting into your lone opponent, and you still have lots of outs if you are called. If no one folds on the flop, no spade or 4 arrives on the turn, and they all "check to the raiser," you may be able to take a free card if you like. In the actual hand, the player raised and only the second limper called. An ace came on the turn and the lone opponent checked. The player bet and his opponent folded while flashing K Qu.

Hand No. 2 ($15-$30 game): You get a free play in your big blind while holding the K 8 after two early players, two middle-position players, and the small blind limp in. There is $90 in the pot and six players.

The flop is Q Ju 10. The small blind checks. You check. The first limper bets, the next one folds, and a middle-position limper raises. Everyone folds to you. Should you reraise, call, or fold?

Answer: You have a "one-card" straight draw, meaning that you are using only one of your two cards to make a straight. With only one card working, your hand can be easily counterfeited such that even if one of your outs arrives, you could be splitting the pot with someone else or losing it altogether. This makes playing on a mistake. Furthermore, the board is highly coordinated, and it could get reraised and capped back to you, costing you $60 to take off a card.

In the actual hand, the player cold-called. It got capped back to him, and he called. The turn brought a 9. The betting was capped again. The river paired the 9. It was bet and called in two spots. A player with pocket tens won a huge pot, having flopped a set and filled up on the river. The other player had A-K. The player was playing three outs to tie.

Hand No. 3 ($15-$30 game): You limp in from the cutoff seat behind two early-position limpers with the K 10. The small blind limps in and you take the flop fivehanded with $75 in the pot.

The flop is A 9 7. The small blind checks, the big blind bets, and only one limper calls. Should you raise, call, or fold?

Answer: In a three-way pot like this, you should not raise the flop bet with a flush draw when the ace is not of your flush suit. Change the flop to A 9 7 and you can raise. The problem with this flop is that you can get buried if one of your opponents has the A with another club, and therefore has top pair with the nut-flush draw. He will be pounding the pot, having both the best hand and the best draw. Another reason to avoid raising is that it may not be in your best interest to drive out players when you have a standard draw like this. Players with middle pairs and bottom pairs should be encouraged to hang around so that you can collect some additional money when you make your hand. I would just call and not raise.

Hand No. 4 ($15-$30 game): You are in the small blind with the 7u 6u. An early-position player and middle-position player limp in, and then another middle-position player raises. Everyone folds to you and you call, as do the other players. There is $150 in the pot and five players.

The flop is 10 9 4u. Everyone checks to the raiser, who bets. Should you raise, call, or fold?

Answer: You have a gutshot draw, which is an 11-1 shot, plus a backdoor flush draw. There is $165 in the pot, so you are getting 11-1 pot odds – but your draw and your play have some serious difficulties. Your gutshot draw to is not to the nuts. If you catch an 8, someone with Q-J or even J-7 has a bigger straight, and with four opponents, this will happen more often than you think, costing you a ton of money in the process. Another problem is that you are being bet into with three other players yet to act, one of whom might raise. Don't be fooled by all the checking, since they were just "checking to the raiser." Adding to your woes is the fact that you can catch an 8 but get counterfeited on the river if another straight card comes, such as a 7 or a 6, resulting in your having to split the pot, which cuts your equity in half, or even losing it altogether. Even an 8 followed by a queen or a jack on the river could be bad news for you. For these reasons, I would fold.

Hand No. 5 ($15-$30 game): You open with a raise from the button with the Q 10 and both blinds call. There is $90 in the pot and three players.

The flop is A 8 3. The small blind checks and the big blind bets. Should you raise, call, or fold?

Answer: You should raise. You are still the preflop raiser and you could have a top pair of aces with a good kicker. Your opponent's lead bet might be done with middle pair or bottom pair in this threehanded pot with one player already checking. You probably won't win the pot outright on this round, but you set yourself up to take it down on the next round when you follow it up with a bet if your opponent checks to you. You have your flush outs to fall back on if your opponent stays with you. The ace being of your suit helps.

Hand No. 6 ($15-$30 game): You are in the small blind with the 5 4. An early-position player and a middle-position player limp in. Another middle-position player raises. The cutoff and the button both call, you call, and the other players call. There is $210 in the pot and seven players.

The flop is A 6 3. It is checked to the middle-position limper, who bets. The preflop raiser raises, and it is folded to you. Should you reraise, call, or fold?

Answer: You should dump a straight draw with a two-flush on board and two players betting and raising with other players involved. Two of your outs could be killed, and if not, redraws get created. The pot could get raised again and you could be going for a four- or five-bet ride on every street.