Page 13 - June 2008 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Jim Mercurio: Poker
I am Superman and I Know What’s Happening: Nut Flush Draw
POa r t 1 o f 2
ne of coolest moments in the latest Superman movie was when a bad guy shoots Superman at point blank range in the eye. e bullet crunched up and fell to the ground. Invulnerability is cool. Especially in poker. Well, one situation where you are pretty close to invulnerable in poker is with the nut ush draw in a multi-way pot.
You see the pattern here. You don’t want to raise and shut out people. Granted, you may be called by the guy behind you, but if the board doesn’t pair and the ush card comes, we are invulnerable to him.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Check Check Check Bet ?
is is di erent from the last hand because it was
checked to you. Most of the time you are betting here. Getting position is worth something. Let’s say you miss your ush but you hit an Ace. Is it good? Can you call a small bet at the end? Not with someone behind you. So if you bet the guy behind you might throw away an Ax hand that might beat you if an Ace comes. Also, you want to start building a pot. e hands that may pay you o later like straight or ush draws will probably call. But bet small here in case the guy behind you raises, so you can retain the draws. Checking isn’t awful but a small bet is better. If the player behind you is aggressive or if you sense he wants to bet, then maybe check and let him do the work for you.
If you are 3rd to act, you will check because now it’s twice as likely you will get raised and kick out the other ush draws.
Come back next issue for part 2 of 2 of this column.
You can buy Jim’s lm Hard Scrambled at www.hardscrambled.com or if you like his column, contact him at jim@jamespmercurio.com.
It’s hard to get hurt if you play it right. Of course, the board can pair and that is something that you have to watch out for, in case someone made a full house. And you will miss a lot, even more than the standard two- thirds of the time because often in multi-way pots, you will be up against other ush draws, so some of your outs are already, well, out. But the nut ush is the kind of hand that can take heat even out of position and, at the low levels, will account for a lot of your pro t.
A few columns ago I helped you come up with hands you could play out of position and I included Axs. Well, if I am going to throw you into the murky waters of playing out of position, I might as well throw you a life preserver—some principles to play the nut
ush draw in every position.
Although full of details, this column—and next
month’s—cannot consider every single possibility, but these principles will help you make money. I promise. In each of these scenarios, you are the bolded player, and the players act in the order listed. Assume the board is not paired and that there are two cards to a ush. e paragraph of analysis will refer only to the scenario above it.
Last to Act
1st 2nd Bet Call
3rd 4th
5th
Call Call
You could raise or call here. I think the call is better,
just in case you might kick out a lower ush draw. On a coordinated board like 9TJ or 678, the raise is awful because someone could take the opportunity to shove a lot of chips to protect their hand. And if that hand is out there now, it will still be there when you hit your ush. If you are raising, you are doing it to build a bigger pot.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Check Check Check Bet Call Here, you are in the same position, but the bet came
closer to you. Here a raise would be awful, whether or not the board was scary. You are pushing out hands, especially the lower ush draws, that give you action. If you can’t trap another ush draw or two for all of their money, what’s the point of playing the nut ush draw?
Second to Last to Act
1st Check
2nd 3rd Check Bet
4th 5th Call Call
Call
June 2008
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Page 13
Poker: Wired Aces and River Rats