What do you do when you know you have best hand but see draws on the board?

Last couple days it seems I've been in this situation a lot. Flop top pair or 2 pair but the flop is 2 suited or has str draws. Usually its early so if I bet enough to price the draws out (they always call anyway) that if the turn doesn't help them, I have to push to have any chance of getting them to fold, and they call anyway. And of course they connect on the river. I don't want to give them a free card, but also don't want to get knocked out. Any advice?

If there is one thing experience has taught me, it is you cannot push a flush draw out of a pot no matter how much you try. I once watched Mike the Mouth drop 4k in one hand on a flush draw. The reason is simple..odds. Any flush draw gives you 9 outs. That by itself is 36%+ after the flop. If you have paired a card as well its almost a coin flip and if you paired a card and you have an Ace it is a coin flip. So, knowing this, if you try and push you actual make it worth chasing for the pot odds. You are ahead and should bet but shoving all in is ill advised. Knowing your opponent helps in these situations but the poker community has grown so large keeping notes on players becomes a never ending task and by the time you meet that same guy on a table again 9 months later, he plays altogether differently. The straight draw has almost as good of odds as the flush draw and you will encounter it more frequently. Although the odds are less they will hit it, the odds you will encouter it are better. It is better to check the flop and bet the turn if it misses him. your Odds double after he misses the turn. He will be less than 25% to win and you can sometimes push them out at the turn. Sometimes. At least your hand has a much better chance of holding up if he does call.

The BIG question here is what to do with "the gambler". You are ahead but he pushes with the flush draw. He knows he has a coin flip, or close to, it and he's feeling lucky. Well that is a problem. I guess it all depends on wether or not you can "afford" to call. If your in a tourney and its early and your not 'pot committed' (a term I don't like cause your never committed in my opinion) you can "afford" to fold. Folding the best hand is sometimes hard but, the right thing to do in certain situations. After all the goal is to survive not double up. If in a cash game you have a little more to consider. If you are playing the right stakes for your bankroll you should be able to call him and if you lose you reload and hammer him the next time cause he ain't going to win all of them. The key here is playing the right stakes for your bankroll. Be real careful on chosing a table in cash games. You going to have a hard time making the correct call on a .5-.10 table if two guys are sitting on $50.00-$100.00 stacks. Add up the total of money on the table and compare it to your bankroll before testing those waters. Keeping it at less than 10% will keep you out of trouble.

Hope this helps.

I usually lose to that BLOODY flush!:mad:

seriously though as tallseas says the gamble is the question here!

how much you want to win or lose...also depending on whether your playing lower stakes or higher, (lower you will almost always get the chaser to call no matter what you bet)

gotta take the good with the bad, you should win but of course you won't always win....take the fact (if you shove) that at least you played right with the best hand!

If there is one thing experience has taught me, it is you cannot push a flush draw out of a pot no matter how much you try. I once watched Mike the Mouth drop 4k in one hand on a flush draw. The reason is simple..odds. Any flush draw gives you 9 outs. That by itself is 36%+ after the flop. If you have paired a card as well its almost a coin flip and if you paired a card and you have an Ace it is a coin flip. So, knowing this, if you try and push you actual make it worth chasing for the pot odds. You are ahead and should bet but shoving all in is ill advised. Knowing your opponent helps in these situations but the poker community has grown so large keeping notes on players becomes a never ending task and by the time you meet that same guy on a table again 9 months later, he plays altogether differently. The straight draw has almost as good of odds as the flush draw and you will encounter it more frequently. Although the odds are less they will hit it, the odds you will encouter it are better. It is better to check the flop and bet the turn if it misses him. your Odds double after he misses the turn. He will be less than 25% to win and you can sometimes push them out at the turn. Sometimes. At least your hand has a much better chance of holding up if he does call.

The BIG question here is what to do with "the gambler". You are ahead but he pushes with the flush draw. He knows he has a coin flip, or close to, it and he's feeling lucky. Well that is a problem. I guess it all depends on wether or not you can "afford" to call. If your in a tourney and its early and your not 'pot committed' (a term I don't like cause your never committed in my opinion) you can "afford" to fold. Folding the best hand is sometimes hard but, the right thing to do in certain situations. After all the goal is to survive not double up. If in a cash game you have a little more to consider. If you are playing the right stakes for your bankroll you should be able to call him and if you lose you reload and hammer him the next time cause he ain't going to win all of them. The key here is playing the right stakes for your bankroll. Be real careful on chosing a table in cash games. You going to have a hard time making the correct call on a .5-.10 table if two guys are sitting on $50.00-$100.00 stacks. Add up the total of money on the table and compare it to your bankroll before testing those waters. Keeping it at less than 10% will keep you out of trouble.

Hope this helps.

I think you have to push all in. You are almost a 2-1 favorite, you will win most of the time, so you have to discourage the draw. If he calls you will most likely win anyway...so don't give him free cards, make him pay to draw!

Last couple days it seems I've been in this situation a lot. Flop top pair or 2 pair but the flop is 2 suited or has str draws. Usually its early so if I bet enough to price the draws out (they always call anyway) that if the turn doesn't help them, I have to push to have any chance of getting them to fold, and they call anyway. And of course they connect on the river. I don't want to give them a free card, but also don't want to get knocked out. Any advice?

Appreciate the advice (again) tallseas. One comment you made has made me stop and think. When you said to goal in a tourney is not to double up but to survive. I guess I always go into thinking a need to double up three times to have a chance. (Gives you eight times starting stack, most tourney's pay 10%, so you near average at bubble) So maybe I have wrong mindset. I'll try to think a little differently next time. Thanks again.

Appreciate the advice (again) tallseas. One comment you made has made me stop and think. When you said to goal in a tourney is not to double up but to survive. I guess I always go into thinking a need to double up three times to have a chance. (Gives you eight times starting stack, most tourney's pay 10%, so you near average at bubble) So maybe I have wrong mindset. I'll try to think a little differently next time. Thanks again.

I think you have picked up something very useful here, I hope so.
Even if it were true that you need eight times your starting stack to clear the bubble (it isn't), that wouldn't mean you have to risk everything three times.

Far better to win a few more smaller pots and NEVER put your tournament life on the line

GL

If there is one thing experience has taught me, it is you cannot push a flush draw out of a pot no matter how much you try. I once watched Mike the Mouth drop 4k in one hand on a flush draw. The reason is simple..odds. Any flush draw gives you 9 outs. That by itself is 36%+ after the flop. If you have paired a card as well its almost a coin flip and if you paired a card and you have an Ace it is a coin flip. So, knowing this, if you try and push you actual make it worth chasing for the pot odds. You are ahead and should bet but shoving all in is ill advised. Knowing your opponent helps in these situations but the poker community has grown so large keeping notes on players becomes a never ending task and by the time you meet that same guy on a table again 9 months later, he plays altogether differently. The straight draw has almost as good of odds as the flush draw and you will encounter it more frequently. Although the odds are less they will hit it, the odds you will encouter it are better. It is better to check the flop and bet the turn if it misses him. your Odds double after he misses the turn. He will be less than 25% to win and you can sometimes push them out at the turn. Sometimes. At least your hand has a much better chance of holding up if he does call.

The BIG question here is what to do with "the gambler". You are ahead but he pushes with the flush draw. He knows he has a coin flip, or close to, it and he's feeling lucky. Well that is a problem. I guess it all depends on wether or not you can "afford" to call. If your in a tourney and its early and your not 'pot committed' (a term I don't like cause your never committed in my opinion) you can "afford" to fold. Folding the best hand is sometimes hard but, the right thing to do in certain situations. After all the goal is to survive not double up. If in a cash game you have a little more to consider. If you are playing the right stakes for your bankroll you should be able to call him and if you lose you reload and hammer him the next time cause he ain't going to win all of them. The key here is playing the right stakes for your bankroll. Be real careful on chosing a table in cash games. You going to have a hard time making the correct call on a .5-.10 table if two guys are sitting on $50.00-$100.00 stacks. Add up the total of money on the table and compare it to your bankroll before testing those waters. Keeping it at less than 10% will keep you out of trouble.

Hope this helps.

Last couple days it seems I've been in this situation a lot. Flop top pair or 2 pair but the flop is 2 suited or has str draws. Usually its early so if I bet enough to price the draws out (they always call anyway) that if the turn doesn't help them, I have to push to have any chance of getting them to fold, and they call anyway. And of course they connect on the river. I don't want to give them a free card, but also don't want to get knocked out. Any advice?