Stop Getting Burned On Flush And Straight Draws

Have you ever lost a huge pot because you had a flush draw
or straight draw and didn't catch the card you needed?

It's happened to all of us.

And frankly, it sucks.

Because when you're on a draw, you're just ONE CARD AWAY
from raking in a ton of chips.

And you WANT to keep calling everyone else's bets, in hopes
that your card will pop out on the turn or river.

Am I right?

Of course, what ends up happening is you have to put a ton
of your chips in the middle... just to call everyone else's
bets.

That makes you pot-committed... and if you DON'T catch your
card, you're screwed.

Now let me ask you...

Wouldn't it be WONDERFUL if every time you were on a draw
all the other players would CHECK around?

That way you didn't have to risk any chips, and could bet
only after you KNEW for sure whether or not you caught your
card.

That sure would be nice, wouldn't it?

AND...

What if there was a way to STILL WIN THE HAND... even if you
DIDN'T catch your card?

That'd be nice too, huh?

Luckily, there IS a technique you can use to make BOTH of
these things happen.

Let me show you how...

OK, so let's say I'm at an 8-person no limit table and I'm
sixth to act.

I'm dealt a 5-6 of diamonds.

Josh comes out firing with a $10 pre-flop bet. Sarah and
Derek both call.

Now it's on me.

I love suited connectors... especially busting my opponents
with them unexpectedly, so I jump in and call.

The players behind me muck their cards right away... scared
to death of so much action.

The flop hits:

4d-9s-7d

That means I've just flopped an open-ended straight flush
draw. I couldn't have asked for a better flop in this
situation.

Unfortunately, Josh comes out firing (again) with a
no-hesitation bet of $20.

Sarah and Derek both FOLD this time...

And the action is to me.

I'm putting Josh on a high pocket pair, or maybe A9 or A7.
And he's figuring the scraps on the board didn't help
anyone, hence the strong bet.

Which puts me in a tough situation.

Think about it... If I CALL, I might miss my flush or
straight on the turn card. Then what? Josh will make another
strong bet... what will I do then?

And if I call to see the river and miss, then I'll have just
given Josh most of my chips and lost a major hand.

On the other hand, I don't want to FOLD, because I have a
ton of outs and I want to WIN this!

Now let me ask you, what would YOU do in this situation?

Most amateur card players don't think ahead, and they'd call
Josh's $20 bet. And if they missed on the turn, they'd call
another bet to see the river.

And if they missed on the river, they'd probably fold, watch
Josh rake in all the chips, and wonder why they "never catch
the right cards".

Now a more skillful player would ANTICIPATE what's about to
happen... and would probably call to see the turn, but then
fold if Josh bet again.

And of course, there are always the tight players who would
never have played the 5-6 of diamonds in the FIRST place.

So what do I do?

Remember, I'm sitting on 5-6 of diamonds. The board reads:

4d-9s-7d

And Josh, who made a strong pre-flop raise, just bet $20
after the flop.

Here's the answer...

I RAISE.

Not some wimpy raise either... I raise him $40 more to play.

Most players would NEVER think to raise in this situation...
but here's what I've done:

1. I've TAKEN CONTROL of the hand and bought myself a FREE
CARD when it matters most.

You see, if Josh calls the $40 raise, when the turn hits
he'll CHECK to me.

(Remember what I said at the beginning of this email?)

That means I get to see the turn and river for a total of
$40 more, which is a BARGAIN compared to what Josh's next
bet would have cost me.

2. I'm representing possible trips.

Josh now has to wonder whether I called his pre-flop raise
with a low pocket pair and just caught trips on the flop.

Or I could be sitting on a high pocket pair and I'm not
"phased" by the flop.

3. I've raised the stakes of the hand in MY favor... not
his. You see, if I just call Josh's bets and then hit a 8 of
diamonds on the turn, what will happen?

Well, Josh will SEE the three diamonds and the straight
possibility, and he probably won't make any more huge bets
or call any huge bets from me.

This way, I've raised the stakes $40, which increases MY
CHANCES at winning an even bigger pot than if I had just
called.

Make sense?

And last but not least...

4. I've given myself a way to WIN even if I don't catch the
straight or flush.

Now I get to see Josh's reaction to my $40 raise...

If I sense weakness, I may decide to BLUFF and buy this pot
if I don't catch my flush or straight.

If I only call Josh's bets the whole way, he would't fall
for this type of bluff. But my raise of $40 will sure get
him thinking.

OKAY, BACK TO THE HAND...

Josh shuffles his chips around for a moment, and looks back
down at his cards. It turns out he's holding an A9... so
he's got top pair with the kicker. A good hand, but not a
monster by any means.

He calls.

The next card comes out... Queen of spades.

No help.

Josh checks.

THAT WAS IMPORTANT.

This is my "free card" opportunity that my $40 raise bought.

Now I'm in complete control... and feeling pretty good about
this hand.

I can check and see the river for free. I've still got a lot
of outs here.

Or I can bet STRONG and try to scare Josh away.

"One hundred dollars", I say, as I push a huge stack of red
chips into the middle.

True, I only have a Queen high... and the beginner card
player may think this type of play is crazy.

But then again, that's why they're called "BEGINNERS".

Anyway...

Josh thinks for a minute and then mucks it.

I rake in a beautiful pot.

Even if Josh had called, I still had a good number of outs.
And if I missed, I could have tried to bluff again.

Now think back to when the flop came out...

After Josh bet $20, what if I had called? (And not raised.)

Well, here's what would have happened...

The Queen would have came and Josh would've immediately
fired a huge $80 bet.

I would've had to either call the $80 to see the river, or
muck my beautiful straight flush draw.

And THAT, my friend, is why it's CRUCIAL that you TAKE
CONTROL of the betting.

This type of technique allows you to truly DOMINATE THE
TABLES and win more money playing poker. Period.

That's what makes Texas Holdem such a fascinating game...
there are just so many scenarios that can occur, and so many
special "tricks" and "techniques" you can use to beat the
competition.

I'll talk to you again soon.


Your Friend,

Roy Rounder