How do win $$$ from a flush?

[Excalibur]

I have a problem... Whenever I make my flushdraw everyone seem to fold to anything but a small bet... How shall I play?

If you have a 1 card flushdraw on the flop. How do you play to make your hand as profitable as possible?

How do you act pre-flop?
How do you act when the flops gives you the 1 card flushdraw?
When do you start betting seriously?
How do you play when your Ace-high flushdraw finally hits?
When do you try to go all-in?


It feels like these are the kinds of hands where you really have to profit when it hits...

Share how you like to play your flushes...

[poskid_1982]

Depending on the feel of the table try throwing out a smallish 3-4xBB bet on the flop. Sometimes you'll win it outright and if you don't you are in a great pos to check to the river. ur opp may feel that u are slowplaying (especially if you do this on sets) and check even if he is in position. But if you hit he's less likely to believe you were waiting on a draw and may try to rep the flush...you should be able to maximize some pots doing this on passive tables but dont try it against an aggressive player you'll just be raised and forced to lay it down. If u find yourself on a table with multiple TA players 1st option: find a new table...or 2nd option: don't play flush draw hands out of position. CO or button only and button had better be the fish we've all been dreaming for if you're playing from CO. Even aggressive players will check to you sometimes and they may bait themselves when you hit.

[Waggho]

How do you act pre-flop?

I usually limp with AXs, maybe not with A3s UTG, but most of the time. AJs-AKs I raise. A10s I don´t bet, but call a moderate raise. King high the kicker has to be at least ten or maybe 9.

How do you act when the flops gives you the 1 card flushdraw?

It depends. If there is some betting before me, say half pot size, I probably cold call. If I raise I may scare out other drawers with a lower flush or a straight. A minbet I would raise. A pot sized bet I probably won´t call, if I don´t think I can get lots of money from the bettor if my flush hits (i.e. he is prepared to go all-in when I have the nuts). Heads-up isn´t great for a flush draw. If I´m first in, I would bet maybe 2BBs.

When do you start betting seriously?

When I get my flush.

How do you play when your Ace-high flushdraw finally hits?

It depends on the table and the number of people in. An unpaired board on the turn with someone betting aggressively and me having the nut flush, I would reraise, probably all-in. If the guy has a set or two pair, he is the one drawing and you need to give him incorrect odds. Plus, if the board does pair on the river, you don´t know if he has got the boat and therefore not how much to bet either. You have the best hand right now, let him pay big to see the last card.

If there is some betting, but not very much and several people still in the game, I would play my flush slowly and hope for someone hitting a straight or something on the river. Then I would try to suck'em out as much as possible. Probably a check-raise is good here, if there are two-three or more still there and you´re early in position. Someone will probably bet, either the guy with top pair or the guy who hit his straight. If none of them bets, probably no one would have called any substantial bet from your side either. If you´re late in position, try to figure out how much you could reraise (value betting). If someone rereraises you, and the board is unpaired, just go for the all-in and hope he calls you.

When do you try to go all-in?

See above.

If someone finds something bad in my play, I´m glad to hear it. This is not as much advice as it is asking for advice.

[a500lbgorilla]

I play my draws fast.

Lead with them and if they hit, just keep on firing.

The worst thing you can do with a draw is check/call, check/call, lead strong on the river when you make your flush. You gotta bet to conceal the hand.

-'rilla

[bspahn]

depending on preflop play it's not a bad idea to lead with 1/3 or maybe even 1/2 pot bet unless your position is horrible, also depends what's on the board of course.

In general I'd say I play this like Waggho, but i agree with 'Rilla that you shouldn't make it obvious that you're on a draw.

[Fnord]

The worst thing you can do with a draw is check/call, check/call, lead strong on the river when you make your flush. You gotta bet to conceal the hand.

It depends on the player. Some of the lemmings will under-bet their hands then pay-off on the river. Against them, playing your draws fast is just throwing away money.

[Lucid]

I love to bet with my flush draws, especially the ace high ones. This is the only way I can get paid off. If I call then I might have to draw against odds. If I finally do make my flush then everyone knows it and no one will call my bets. I say bet 1/3 to 1/2 pot size from middle to late position. Alot of times people that were planning on betting will just call a medium sized bet and you well get better drawing odds to make up for the times when an aggressive player behind you re-raises hard and you have to drop you hand. The times you don’t want to bet of course is when someone else bets for you and gives you good odds to draw. Depending on the feel for the table you usually don’t want to pansy bet from early position into a lot of aggressive players because they will re-raise you and make you drop it.

I agree with the lemmings part too. Sometimes people will bet small with their top pair or whatever they have and give you good odds. Might as well call these guys if they bet from an earlier position than you. If they check the turn then give them back another pansy bet in which case they will normally call or you can try to semi-bluff with a 3/4 pot-sized bet depending on the player.

Also, when you make you flush always pause for just a bit to make it look like your thinking because your scared of the card then make a large enough bet to make it worth your while but one that won't scare them off. An alternative is to very weakly bet when there is a big pot in the hopes that they will try to bluff you out. This can be a big payoff when an aggressive player goes all-in. This of course only works well when you have been the aggressor.

[Waggho]

Question for 'rilla:

How do you play it when it doesn´t hit on turn? When it doesn´t hit on river?

I think I´ll try this strategy... but when is it time to get out of the hand?

{This post has been removed}

[jmrogers7]

For the most part, I agree with 'rilla and this is how I play my flush draws. The main reason is that people will most likely put you on 2 overs or a pair. This conceals the fact that you are on a draw for the most part so when you do hit it it tends to keep most people who would normally fold at that point (if there had been just checking/calling up to that point and then suddenly you lead out with a bet when the flush card hits) in the pot because they won't suspect you of having been on a draw.

[Hubris1]

Yup, when you bet people put you on a made hand. In position my favorite thing to do is actually re-raise a non paired board with flush draw. For a few reasons:

1) If your opponent simply calls then he's very likely to put you on a made hand that has him worried, or he might outright fold. This completely conceals your hand or lets you win a pot right there. There's a good chunk of players will lay down TPTK to a re-raise on the flop.

2) Unless the turn gives him a hand that's dripping with dollar signs most players will check to the raiser. If there's more than two handed and your opponent is smartly betting pot odds this means you'll get to see the river cheaper than you would have if you don't hit on the turn or it justifies a bet on the turn if you do hit it.

3) If your opponent continues to raise on the turn after simply calling that gives you a hell of a lot of information. The turn helped him, if the board paired with the turn then its time to get worried, if a paint straight hit then I might make the laydown there too.

4) Rarely you may get a cowboy that think he's going to represent the flush if you hit on the turn, because he's assuming you have a made hand and are going to be scared off by it. This... this is priceless.

Anyone of these are not enough to re-raise, but all four together are a pretty damn good reason to re-raise in position. Out of position... hell no, don't even think about it.

Out of position, such as UTG, I'm very likely to put in a nice 1/3 to 1/2 of pot bet depending on how the board hits if I get re-raised then I'm likely to lay it down.

[Obertray]

It seems to me that this is the kind of decision that is almost completely table dependent. This is the classic simibluff hand, on the come. So the question I would ask is the standered question, what is the expected value of the bet at this table. You have to figure what the chances of your opponents folding are, your chances of making your hand, and how much you would likely make if u get it. And then there is the free card senario etc.

So I cant think of any simple advice on how to play this one, there is too much variation in the correct play.

[Obertray]

BTW ... I love to make semi buffers pay, and if I have something I will usually rerase them big on the flop. So be careful with that whole betting the draws stratagy, it usually fails if its obvious.