When to put your chips in on a draw in a tournament
This is something you see quite a bit in tournament play, especially poker online. However, there are good times to do this and bad times. Remember, just because you won the hand does not mean that it was the right play. There are several situations when it is okay to get in there on a draw, you just need to know what they are.
Let’s get the time that it is not good to throw your chips in on a draw. Let’s say you see a flop that has 2 cards to a flush and your hole cards are suited. You fire out a bet and someone comes right back over top of you to put you all in on a call. What do you do here? Odds aside, you have to let the hand go. You are going to see arguments for both sides of this, but the bottom line is that this is not a cash game. You cannot re-buy and you are risking everything pretty much knowing that you must improve or you are gone.
On the flip side of that, you get the same flop but hold position on the other player. He fires out and you are short stacked and decide to come over the top of him and go all in on a draw. This is actually a good play. You have two ways to win this hand. Your opponent could fold thinking you already have the made hand and of course if he calls, you are still alive with a 35% draw. The difference in the two situations is that you are being the aggressor and putting someone else on a decision.
Finally, you can also make this call when you are stacked and not in danger of putting yourself at risk by covering the bet for the all in. In most cases, you don’t want to risk any more than about 25% of your stack and you have to make sure you are getting odds for the play. You are going to need to see about 2:1 to make the call off of the flop and about 5:1 to make the play on the river. If the odds are there, make the play.
Draws are great when you catch them, but they are way to overrated and lead to a lot of early deaths in tournaments. A good way to keep your head straight about it is to remember that you can always push on a draw, but you should never call on one. You only need a chip and a chair to stay alive. Putting your money in on a hope and a prayer will more than likely get you to the rail rather than to the final table.
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Chips, Online Poker, Poker Tips
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