Playing Draws

Most of the time in Texas Hold’em poker, your pre-flop hand does not improve to a made hand on the flop. However sometimes the board brings cards that offer the potential to improve your overall holding through turn and river.

As discussed before, these are known as “draws”.

Draws can be broken down into the following categories:

Very strong draws – This is when you flop a flush draw and an open-ended straight draw giving you 15 outs. This represents a chance of more than 50% for you to improve your draw into a strong made hand.
Strong draw – Strong draws are considered either a flush draw or an open-ended straight draw. Both draws give you a 34% chance of completing your hand.
Weak draw – These include no pair, a gut-shot draw and over cards. It is often correct to fold weak draws and wait for better spots as the chances of hitting your draw are relatively slim.

As a general rule, you can be more aggressive the stronger your draw. With a more than 50 percent chance of winning the pot, with a very strong draw, you should be happy to get your chips in the middle. With a weak draw, you should be significantly more cautious.