Getting the Most Out of Your Draws

Poker players often discuss position, but mostly in the context of its relationship to the blinds or button. But your position in relation to varying types of opponents also has great importance. How will they bet their hands? Who is between you and the likely bettor? How will the hand likely play out? How can you best exploit the way that they play their hands relative to your position? And how does their position affect your odds?

A solid opponent opened with a raise from under the gun in a $40-$80 limit hold’em game at Bellagio, and was called by two players. Holding the Q♠ 10♠ two off the button and feeling more players would enter the pot, I also called. An aggressive local pro in the cutoff position three-bet. The button and the small blind folded, and the big blind and the remainder of the field called. We took the flop six-handed for $120 apiece.

The flop was promising, A♠ K♥ 4♠, giving me a gutshot and the second-nut-flush draw. The value of your hand is not in how it fares in terms of ranking against your opponents’ hands, but in the odds that it will win, and how much positive equity it will have, including any equity that may arise from outplaying your opponents.
My draw had great value. I was almost even money to make a flush or a straight. Yeah, I wouldn’t necessarily win if I made either of those hands, as the board might pair and give an opponent a full house, or someone might have the king-high flush draw. But while those facts devalued my holding, it still had great potential. Adding value to my hand was the fact that the pot was likely to be played with volume. If you can get greater odds from your opponents than the chance that you will win, you have gained equity.

The board likely hit the range of hands that my opponents probably held. With a flop containing an ace and a king in a double-raised pot, I had almost no fold equity. Anyone holding an ace or better would almost certainly pay me off, eliminating much of any semibluff equity. The best way to extract the most possible value out of my hand was to play it for “drawing equity,” trying to get the best possible odds. This involved a balance of getting money into the pot and keeping players in the pot in order to increase my chances of getting paid off if I made a big hand.
The field checked to me and I had a dilemma, which was caused by my positional relationship to Mr. Cutoff, who had three-bet preflop. If I checked, Mr. Cutoff would check if his hand didn’t contain an ace or K-K. That said, if I bet, Mr. Cutoff would raise if he had hit any portion of the flop. And that raise would probably eliminate players whom I wanted to call. What should I do?

Since a free card wouldn’t be dangerous, I chose to check, hoping that Mr. Cutoff would bet. I could then base my decision on what the rest of the field did. If a given play enables you to make your move with a higher level of information, you must add that value into the weighting of your play’s worth. Checking gave me other advantages even if Mr. Cutoff checked. If I made my hand on the turn, it would be harder to read. That said, I was hoping he’d bet.

Mr. Cutoff did bet, the big blind folded, and Mr. Initial Raiser check-raised. One player called, and it was up to me. Not wanting to eliminate any customers if I three-bet and Mr. Cutoff four-bet, I cold-called the raise, thinking that Mr. Cutoff would likely three-bet, which would be a pot-building positive for my hand. When he didn’t do so, I thought there was a high probability that he had flopped a monster and would raise the turn if no flush hit and someone bet into him. Based on that read, I made a mental note to flat-call if I caught a jack and Mr. Initial Raiser led into the field. That way, I could reraise when it came back to me, trapping the field for three bets. All of that said, the flop bets were positive for me. I received 3-1 on a hand that I was better than a 2-1 dog to win.

But the 8♥ turned. Mr. Initial Raiser fired, and was called by the other caller. I flat-called, and as I expected, Mr. Cutoff raised. The fact that I was getting 3-1 odds on my turn bets made the bet almost neutral, as I likely had 10-12 outs and there were 46 unseen cards. The field called.

The river was the 3♠, making my flush. The field checked to me, and I wagered, Mr. Cutoff gave me a crying call, and the others folded. My flush was good.
This hand speaks to adjusting your play based on your position relative to other players in a manner that gets you the most equity. This is not quantified by obtaining the greatest number of bets on your draw, but by balancing the highest level of equity on your bets with the potential risks. I wanted to get volume from my opponents on the flop and keep as many players in as possible for as many bets as possible, without risking the chance of shutting out customers.

Exploiting your draws to obtain the highest possible level of equity greatly enhances their value. It includes knowing when you may semibluff with the best of it, as well as planning your betting strategies to receive the best odds when you must make a hand to win. Do this effectively and you can correctly play more drawing hands. And when you play more hands correctly, you’ll win more money. ♠

Roy Cooke played poker professionally for 16 years prior to becoming a successful Las Vegas real-estate broker/salesman in 1989. Should you wish to get any information about real-estate matters — including purchase, sale, or mortgage — his office number is (702) 396-6575, and his e-mail address is [email protected]. His website is www.roycooke.com. You also may find him on Facebook.__