Playing Flush Draws

Believe it or not, but as a poker player one of the things that frustrated me the most was to be on a flush draw. That’s because I played them wrong and I’d loose money on them. I was able to learn from my mistakes, and now I want to share the secret to successfully playing flush draws with you.

First, I have to tell you that I don’t play flush draws in a generic way, meaning I play them differently depending on what situation I am in. What I’d like to do is explain a few typical scenarios where people get caught up in there flush draws and make bad plays.

The first scenario is being faced with a raise when you have your flush draw. Let’s be honest, the odds that you will hit the flush draw are no in your favor. The first thing to do here is calculate pot odds. If you don’t know how that works, see this article on calculating pot odds. Now here’s what you need to consider:

When pot odds are in your favor, it’s pretty much an automatic call unless you’re low on chips and this would make you pot committed. If that’s the case, don’t call. Either fold or go all in. You have to decide if this is the hand to gamble. Consider other factors. Are there more players acting after you, and how did they act pre-flop? If you go all-in, it’s because you’re hoping your opponents will fold, but you get a caller, at least there is still hope.

When pot odds are not in your favor, this isn’t an instant fold. Usually, you’ll fold frequently, but sometimes you’ll play differently. When pot odds don’t work out in your favor, consider implied pot odds which will take into account future actions of remaining players. If there’s a lot of players in the hand, and the majority will go after you, by calling, you’re increasing their pot odds which means they’ll be more motivated to call themselves. At the end of the betting round, when you have added a few more callers to the pot value, perhaps your pot odds turn out favorably after all. I only make calls in this situation when I’m confident that no one will reraise after me (and sometimes I’m wrong…), and I only do this when I have plenty of chips and can afford to gamble. This poker strategy is high risk, but a flush is pretty hard to beat, even with four players in the hand. So if you happen to hit it, the risk pays off because this situation usually yields big pots simply because there’s a lot of players in the hand, and there’s often a bluff attempt when the conditions are right. If you hit your flush, slow play is certainly an option unless the board really posses a risk.

The last option, other than simply folding, is to try an end the hand with a big raise. I only do this when there’s few opponents in the hand (ideally just on or two), and they’ve played in a way that indicates weakness. The thing to remember is that you may not be the only person on a flush draw, and when you sense that someone is chasing cards like you are, the best play is often a large bet. In doing so, you make the pot odds work against them and they end up folding the hand. This play won’t win you huge pots, but they’ll win you pots nonetheless.

In all three situations above, the ability to read your opponents is essential. Players usually loose a lot on flush draws because they get attached to the hand. Especially when a big pot develops, they end up committing to many chips when the pot odds are way off, and they pot commit themselves and end up loosing a large portion of their stack, or the entire thing. This, you must avoid at all cost. Putting all your chips on a flush draw is something you should avoid. Sometimes, it’s the right play, most times folding is the better option. The other thing to remember is that it’s much riskier to play flush draws when you’re in early position because you have no control over how the betting will go. When you’re in last position, you actually get to close the betting if you choose to opt-in, and that’s a huge advantage. Good luck!