Gutshots - the importance of over cards

Poker Strategy / Marcus Bateman / 09 July 2010 / Leave a Comment

Weak players seem to both miss the times they should play gutshots hard and fast, and stick around far too long with the weak ones when they should be running for the hills.

Gutshot straight draws (those where you have only four outs to one exact card) have an endless mystery about them in poker, and opinion amongst weaker players seems to be very confused as to how to play them. Gutshot straight draws can vary from actually being very powerful hands, all the way to being total junk - and one of the best examples of this is in the importance of over cards to them.

Imagine you see a flop against an opponent and have a gutshot with ace king (say a jack and a ten flop - leaving you with a queen for the nuts). This is actually a much more powerful hand than it appears, simply because you likely have up to six extra outs in the shape of the ace and the king for a high pair. Assuming a hand for your opponent like jack queen, you have nine outs with ace king - the same number as to a flush draw.

Compare this to the same situation only you hold seven eight in your hand. Here it is extremely unlikely that you have any extra outs at all, and are simply reliant on hitting a nine to have any chance at winning the hand. Although both situations are gutshot draws, one is complete junk and should be left alone, where as the other one is a hand you can often be happy getting all in with.

Weak players seem to both miss the times they should play gutshots hard and fast, and stick around far too long with the weak ones when they should be running for the hills. Over card calculations form a huge part of deciding how strong your draw is, and combining your likely extra outs against your opponent's range can often make bad situations look good or vice versa.

Strong players are masters at getting every drop of value possible out of their draws, and nowhere is this more obvious than in playing gutshots. Think carefully next time you look down at your 'weak' draws - it may be that you are miss playing hands which are much stronger than you think.

Related Entries

Long shot draws
Inside straight draws
Building big pots with draws
Monster draws

Picture courtesy of Lincoln-based punk band - Gutshot