Pat Hands

Poker Variants / Marcus Bateman / 03 March 2011 / Leave a Comment

In any form of draw game, eventually you are going to get dealt hands that need no discards to improve. These are referred to as 'pat' hands, and how you play them makes a huge difference between you and the opposition over the long run in draw poker games.

The first key point about pat hands is that they should basically never be slow played. Although it seems intuitive when you look down at an already made monster to try and sneak into the pot and not do too much damage, the second you pat your hand everyone at the table is going to know you have a huge hand, and you will struggle to get any extra action if you have just flat called pre flop unless you have a very bizarre reputation at the table.

However, if you come out strong, there are plenty of pat hands that may get action later in most forms of draw, and by being aggressive you give opponents who have drawn to something a much better chance of calling a bet. Playing fast early also gives you the extra added bonus of making your opponent much more suspicious of a bluff - something you will really struggle to get if you have played passively before the draw.

Pat-bluffing in draw games is a key skill, and one which is needed to not only win you pots against opponents unable to call at the right frequency, but also to lay down a reputation sufficient to get you consistent action when you do have pat hands in games with observant opponents. You will be amazed how often players will lay down even quite strong hands in the face of pat aggression, and until they start adapting, you should regularly be pat bluffing with air.

In any form of poker like draw where no cards are visible, you have to be expert at manipulating the other information available. The number of discards, frequency of behaviour after certain discards, and physical/timing tells become the bread and butter areas of skill. Arguably the most important of these is pat behaviour, and mastering it is crucial to beating any form of draw game.