Should You Play Drawing Hands in Middle Stakes No Limit Holdem?

Absolutely yes. When drawing hands hit, they are likely to be the best, and in a middle stakes no limit Texas holdem game, where making a winning flush or straight can allow you to win hundreds of dollars worth of chips, they can be highly profitable, well worth the small amount it usually takes to see a flop with such hands. Not every hand with drawing potential should be played in every situation, but leaving draws out of your repertoire can be a severe leak in your middle stakes no limit holdem poker game.

When Should You Play Drawing Hands?

Ideally you should play your drawing poker hands when you have position on your opponents. This will help you in difficult situations such as cases where you may have led out with a flop bet on a draw, then missed the draw on the turn. If your opponents act before you, the extra information will help you win more money when you hit your draw, or make you more likely to successfully bluff or save a few poker chips when you miss. Additionally, if you limp in or call a small bet with a drawing hand out of position, a subsequent raise from a player in later position may make it unprofitable for you to continue with the hand, resulting in a wasted bet. Also, you should be more inclined to play draws in a multi-way pot, where there are many players who will add to your winnings when you hit. Since your flush or straight will usually win the pot, a big field contributes to your profit without seriously threatening your likelihood of winning the hand.

When Should I Avoid Drawing Hands?

You should avoid drawing to hands that can be costly to you if you catch the card you are looking for. For example, playing any suited cards can lead to trouble. If you have the 9s 2s and two spades come, you may feel compelled to hang around to try to catch your flush, only to lose your whole stack to a player sitting with the Js Ts. Even suited kings should be played sparingly. When you play suited aces, on the other hand, you can be confident that if you hit your flush on an unpaired board, you will win the pot. Similarly, drawing to a hand that is not that likely to be the best is usually a mistake (e.g. drawing to a straight on a flushed board or drawing to a flush when the board is paired, making a full house possible).

How Can I Play Against Drawing Hands?

If you have a made hand, you want to bet enough so that your opponent is getting incorrect odds to call with their hand. Usually, any bet that is larger than the size of the pot gives your drawing opponents bad odds, however, you may want to calculate more exactly if you would like to bet less to induce an incorrect call from your opponent. Online poker has a truly infinite depth of complications.