Whenever the board flops all of one suit and you lack a card in that suit, you are in bad shape. Even when you are in the lead, if another card of the suit shows up, your hand can easily be beaten. Another card of the same suit appearing on the turn or the river will occur about one-third of the time. This means that you have to be cautious about getting too heavily involved without a strong holding, preferably one that could improve to beat a flush.
On the other hand, if you have a big card in the flush suit, especially the ace or the king, you are frequently justified in playing strongly since you will improve to the winning hand a very high percentage of the time. In many cases, you will have additional outs beyond just your flush draw. Aggressiveness is often merited.
As is frequently the case, the key considerations are the number of opponents you have, the previous betting action, the current betting action, the texture of the board, as well as other particulars.
Since the following hands were taken from live games, not all of the plays leading up to the problem in question are necessarily correct, but they are usually reasonable.
Hand No. 1 ($20-$40 game): You limp in from the cutoff seat behind three other players. You hold the 9
7. The button and the small blind fold. There is $110 in the pot and five players. The flop is 7
4 2, giving you top pair. The big blind bets and one player calls. What should you do?
Answer: Fold. You have top pair, no kicker with the board flopping all of one suit, and you lacking a card in that suit. You have one opponent who led into a field of four other players, and was called by one of them. A raise will not eliminate anyone, and you are very vulnerable to overcards. The situation is just too hazardous to be getting involved here. There are simply too many ways you can lose, even when your hand is temporarily the best. If the big blind is leading with top pair, he probably has you outkicked, reducing you to three outs, with one of them putting four hearts on the table. So, when you are behind, you have hardly any outs to the best hand.
Hand No. 2 ($15-$30 game): You limp in from early position with the K Q
behind another early-position player. The cutoff and the small also blind limp in. There is $75 in the pot and five players. The flop is Q J 9, giving you top pair, excellent kicker. The small blind checks, the big blind bets, and the early limper folds. What should you do?
Answer: Call. It seems natural to raise when bet into holding top pair, excellent kicker. But if you raise, will you drive out anyone with a legitimate draw? Definitely not. Anyone with a heart or possibly a 10 will call you. Is it possible that the bettor or someone else has a better hand? A single-suited flop like this one, coupled with all three cards being in the playing zone, makes it quite possible. One of your many opponents could easily have flopped two pair, a flush, or a straight, given that five of you took the flop. Here is something else to think about: In those cases in which your hand is temporarily the best, you may be an underdog to someone who has a strong draw, such as a 10 with a heart. Of course, any 10 that is not a heart gives you a big straight, but anyone with another king would have the same straight.
Hand No. 3 ($15-$30 game): You are in middle position with the A A
. An early-position player opens with a raise, and you three-bet. Only the big blind and the preflop raiser call. There is $145 in the pot and three players. The flop arrives with the 8 7 3, giving you an overpair. The big blind bets and the early-position player calls. What should you do?
Answer: Raise. You should raise despite the three clubs on board. You have only two opponents, and flopped flushes are hard to come by. The big blind could be betting all kinds of top-pair hands. Your other opponent could be hanging around with a lower overpair or just a big club. The point is that your hand is probably the best, and you should make your two opponents pay to chase you.
In the actual hand, a funny thing happened. The player raised with his pocket rockets, the big blind called, and the preflop raiser thought awhile and reluctantly folded. The turn was the 2, putting four clubs on the table. Both remaining players checked. The river was the K and it was checked down. The pocket rockets won, as the big blind had the A 8. The preflop raiser moaned, as he claimed that he had folded pocket tens, including the 10. This was another advantage to raising here. You can drive out a player who has a small or medium club and is concerned about drawing dead.
Hand No. 4 ($20-$40 game): You are in middle position with the Q 10 and limp in behind two other players. The cutoff and the button also limp in. There is $120 in the pot and six players. The flop is A Q 3, giving you middle pair. It is checked to the cutoff, who bets. Everyone folds to you. What should you do?
Answer: Fold. There is too great a danger of playing on with insufficient outs when you are behind, or having a fourth diamond appear, thereby killing your hand. When trailing, at best, you are playing five outs, which is an 8-to-1 shot, and you are only getting 7-to-1 pot odds. Let it go.
Hand No. 5 ($15-$30 game): You are in the small blind with the K 9. Two early-position players, a middle-position player, and the cutoff limp in. You limp in for another $5. There is $90 in the pot and six players. The flop is A 8 3, giving you the nut-flush draw. What should you do?
Answer: Check. While betting might work out well, with five players you are better off checking. It is unlikely that you will win the pot outright, and you have no desire to get raised and have someone with a lone, big club in his hand decide to fold.
Hand No. 6 ($15-$30 game): You are on the button with the A K. Two players limp in and you raise. Only the big blind and the two limpers call. There is $130 in the pot and four players. The flop is 10 7 3, giving you the nut-flush draw with two overcards. The big blind checks, the first limper bets, and the next limper calls. What should you do?
Answer: Raise. You could easily have 14 outs, making you better than even money to end up with the nut-flush or top pair, top kicker by the river. If someone has two pair, a set, or even a flopped flush, you have outs to the nut flush to fall back on. Your raise may even drive out a better hand, like bottom pair or middle pair. In the actual hand, the big blind folded, the first limper three-bet, the second limper folded, and the button called. The turn was a blank and both players checked. The river was a blank. The first player bet, and the button called with the nut nonpair hand. The button won, as the first player showed the 9 8, an open-end straight draw that didn't get there.
Editor's note: Jim Brier has co-authored a new book with Bob Ciaffone entitled Middle Limit Holdem Poker. It is available through Card Player.