Playing Flush Draws in Hold’em

Posted By : CarbonPoker November 18th, 2009

7h8h suitedThe flush draw is one of the most exciting drawing hands you can get in Hold’em.  That’s because hitting a flush could potentially give you a nut hand, and allow you to take down a huge pot.  However, just because you’ve got a flush draw doesn’t mean you should play it every time.  You have to look at a number of factors first to determine if playing a flush draw is the right move for you.

Drawing Considerations

If the flop is two-suited and you’re holding a pair of the same suit then you will almost always want to draw.  The reason being is that your pot odds will be 2-1, and you will especially want to draw if you’ve got additional outs like overcards and/or a straight draw.  But there are also times when you’ll want to avoid drawing for the flush on a two-suited flop.

One of these situations is when you’re heads-up with only a flush draw to your credit.  In this case, the other player will most likely have better odds to win the hand.  Another situation is when there is a pair on the board and somebody is betting heavily.  Here someone probably has trips, and could hit a full house even if you get your flush.  One more time when you’ll want to fold your hand is if you have a small flush draw, and the flop sees a lot of action.  This scenario probably means your small flush will be beaten by a bigger one.

Playing 3-Suited Flops

Having 3 cards of the same suit on the board requires a little different strategy than having 2 suited cards.  In most cases, everyone will be a little more cautions unless they’re holding a suited ace so it’s hard to get any heavy action on the flop.  Unless your hand has additional value then you should avoid playing too aggressively on flops like this.

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One Response to “Playing Flush Draws in Hold’em”

  1. stu says:

    Your article is short and to the point. I like that! The one thing I thought you should have there is the odds of getting a flush when you have suited pockets. A little over 6%. I would not bet the farm.

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