heads up against flush/straight draws

[rpatters]

I've been in this situation many times, and I don't quite know the best way to play it. I'll be in early position with a strong hand and 2-3 players to the flop. Say 2 of one suit come up or 2 connectors come up along with my top pair. I bet, figuring I have the best hand, and say one person calls. Then when that flush or straight comes out, either on the turn or the river, I'm stuck in early position, and it's tough to know if they are drawing, or if they have the second best hand. So I'm stuck not knowing whether to bet again (hoping they missed their draw or weren't drawing in the first place) or check. What's the best way to tell if someone a) was drawing and hit, b) was drawing and didn't hit, c) has a weaker hand and is bluffing at the draw? It seems to me if I check, the other player bets hard, and then I have no way of knowing what he has, and I lose the pot. If I bet, then I could be betting into him if he made his draw. I seem to be in this scenario a lot, and it's akward each time, any one have any suggestions for dealing with this? Thanks.

[Darklord]

If you've already put some money into the pot thinking you have the best hand, I think you should always try to keep control. If the nut flush/straight draw dosen't come up on the turn and you have a solid hand, bet big to take away his pot odds. Don't let him see another card for free. Stay in control. If the nut flush/straight does come up on the turn I would still bet, at the very least your getting some information on what your up against. If you don't bet on the turn when you bet on the flop, the other player can pick up on weakness and with postion on you will bet even if he dosen't have the nuts. If you get reraised big, then you have to know your beat. Of course there are alot of other things to consider, but you can't let the board scare you too much. Just because there's the possibility of a flush/straight dosen't mean there is one.

[dalecooper]

In this situation I like to do one of these two:

1. Mirror your own flop bet (if you bet $3 on the flop bet $3 again). It's cheaper relative to the pot but it gets information (if raised, you may be in trouble). Even though it's a weak bet technically speaking, it doesn't come off quite the same as a regular weak bet because it looks like you're on auto-pilot. A lot of players will just fold to this bet, if they don't have the straight or flush (and aren't drawing to it).

2. Check-raise. Check to show weakness, let them bet (may be a bluff - probably is, in fact), then raise back. It projects either that you're not buying what they're selling and still like your hand, or that you yourself made the straight or flush that they're repping. Steal the power from them. The only time you'll get called or re-raised here, you're beat, and you can comfortably let the hand go without further struggle. This option is more expensive but more powerful than #1.

Hidden option #3: bet strong again, at least 2/3 of the pot. Costs more than #1, possibly less than #2, but it's a predictable action that announces your hand ("I am protecting top pair!") and still leaves you open for the bluff from a bold opponent. I do this sometimes for a change-up, but prefer the first two.

[RD Olivaw]

I agree with Dalecooper, but the big factor to consider is who you are playing against. Assuming you didn't just join the table, you should have a good idea of how the other guy will tend to play.

I tend to like the check raise. But only if he leads out with a weakish bet. If the guy bets the pot or more it might be OK to lay it down. But never try the CR against a calling station or fishy player because you'll have no idea where you are when he calls.

This play works best against solid players. It's pretty difficult for anyone to call if they don't have the flush. Just remember that if the CR gets called, and you don't improve dramatically on the river (say fill up or something) then it's best to go into check-fold mode. Your opponentn has already shown the capability to call big raises - so he is unlikely to fold at this point. No shame in showing aggression and then backing down later.

[Tottenham]

2. Check-raise. Check to show weakness, let them bet (may be a bluff - probably is, in fact), then raise back. It projects either that you're not buying what they're selling and still like your hand, or that you yourself made the straight or flush that they're repping. Steal the power from them. The only time you'll get called or re-raised here, you're beat, and you can comfortably let the hand go without further struggle. This option is more expensive but more powerful than #1.

I love this one.....unless they go REALLY big on the bet. Then of course you have to wonder if your check raise is giving away money...

[rpatters]

Thanks guys... anxious to try out these tips

[dalecooper]

Here's an example in action. No flush or straight, but an obvious scare card came out (in a situation where it wouldn't surprise me if he had trips). I went with the mirror bet here instead of the check-raise because it's more likely he would have a set in this hand, than that he would make a flush on a three suited board.

***** Hand History for Game 1609280668 *****
$50 NL Hold'em - Friday, February 18, 09:59:44 EDT 2005
Table Play ball (Real Money)
Seat 8 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: Holloutis52 ( $63.05 )
Seat 2: innitm8 ( $50 )
Seat 3: LayDownRocks ( $298.9 )
Seat 4: midnight234 ( $51 )
Seat 5: hg212017 ( $57.5 )
Seat 6: tmh2000beh ( $35.5 )
Seat 7: McATM ( $56.8 )
Seat 8: SS02man ( $55.8 )
Seat 9: Valdinsbro ( $49.45 )
Seat 10: stressball10 ( $50 )
Valdinsbro posts small blind [$0.5].
stressball10 posts big blind [$1].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to stressball10 [ Kh Jc ]
Holloutis52 calls [$1].
LayDownRocks folds.
midnight234 folds.
>You have options at Table 14185 (6 max) Table!.
hg212017 folds.
tmh2000beh folds.
McATM folds.
SS02man folds.
Valdinsbro folds.
stressball10 checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7s, Kd, Qd ]
stressball10 bets [$2].
Holloutis52 calls [$2].
** Dealing Turn ** [ Qc ]
stressball10 bets [$2].
Holloutis52 folds.
stressball10 does not show cards.
stressball10 wins $8.2