Long shot draws
Poker Strategy
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Marcus Bateman /
14 May 2010 /
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If your opponent is betting a tiny amount into a big pot, you should be calling with all manner of marginal draws – as you are getting the right price on your hand.
Although it is commonly said in poker that only idiots ever chase long shot draws, it is in fact only the idiots of poker who ever say this, and knowing when and why it is good to stick around with very marginal draws is crucial to extracting maximum value from your hands.
The first - and most obvious - of situations when you should be calling with bad draws is simply when your opponent is laying you the right price. If your opponent is betting a tiny amount into a big pot, you should be calling with all manner of marginal draws - as you are getting the right price on your hand.
The second - and much less obvious - situation is when playing very deep stacked. Say you very deep and are up against a player who simply cannot lay down a hand and you pick up a gut shot straight draw. Here you should be calling even quite large bets, simply because the pay off if you do hit your hand is so immense. Although frequently you will miss, the times that you do hit will more than pay off the times you don't.
The final point is arguably the most obscure of long draws - that of combo draws. Although a gutshot straight draw is a pretty weak hand (with only four likely outs), if you start adding extras to it it can become a much more powerful hand. Having a pair and a gutshot, as well as a back door flush draw, can all start pushing up your outs hugely. Even if you know your opponent has on over pair, a gutshot and a pair gives you nine outs (four for the gutshot, two to make trips, and three to make two pair) - the same as a regular flush draw.
Poker is a game where you are simply trying to get on the right side of bets frequently, and often even quite long shots can still be correct bets. It is important that you are able to identify the spots where weak draws should be played, as occasionally they can be one of the biggest earners in poker.
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