How to play Straight Draws in Online Poker
There are three main types of straight draws: open-ended using two cards in your
hand, open-ended using one card in your hand, and gut-shot draws. Lei’s quickly
summarize the odds for straight draws. An open-ended straight draws is
approximately 2.2 to 1 against improving by the river. A gut-shot draw is
approximately 5 to 1, but is 11 to 1 when you plan on just taking one more card. An
open-ended straight with a pair has 10 good outs (eight for the straight and two for
trips), which is 1.6 to 1. An open-ended with two overcards should hit a little over
50% of the time, so you are even money. Be careful however with an overcard out
since it could be counterfeited by giving an opponent a straight
Since we are discussing straight draws, this is a good time to discuss why connected cards are higher valued starting hands than one-gapped or two-gapped hands. Two connected cards can have up to four different straight draws, while a three-gapped hand only has one possibility. For example, if you start with 98, there are four combinations that could give you a straight: QJT, JT7, T76, and 765. Compare this to when you hold 97: JT8, T86, and 865. Now look at two-gapped hands such as 96: T87 and 875. Connected cards give you much better odds of hitting the straight; therefore, they are more profitable than gapped hands. Straight draws also increase in value like flush draws, depending on other qualities of your hand. For example, you could have a pair or overcards, which might add
value to your draw. On the other hand, straight draws decrease in value whenever
the flop is two- or three-suited or paired
An open-ended straight draw has eight outs, but this might only be six outs if an
opponent is on a flush draw. There is also the risk that you hit your draw on the turn
only to lose to a flush on the river, so your straight will only hold up 4 out of 5 times;
therefore, you need to discount your pot odds accordingly. Playing straight draws
with a paired flop or two-suited flop depends on the size of the pot and the overall
likelihood of your opponents being on a draw. In a heads-up situation, the chances
are less likely that your opponent has a strong draw. If there are multiple players in
the hand and a few have already called the flop, you can probably assume to be
against a flush draw or a set and play accordingly.
It is difficult to discuss strategy for every type of straight draw with every type of
flop; therefore, we will first look at open-ended straight draws when using both
cards in your hand, and then look at those open-ended draws when you are using
only one of your pocket cards. The final section of the chapter will discuss gut-shot
draws. All of the discussion assumes a rainbow flop unless otherwise noted.
Open-ended Draws Using Two Cards in Your Hand
Open-ended straight draws are played similarly to flush draws as long as the flop is
a rainbow. In fact, you should use the same strategies presented under the flush
draw section. There are several main differences between open-ended straight
draws compared to flush draws:
• Straights have eight outs while flushes have nine outs.
• Straights can be beaten by flushes or higher straights, so they win less often
than flushes. Even with a rainbow flop, an opponent could still win with a
backdoor flush. You must discount your odds, especially when the flop is
two-suited.
• Straights can be counterfeited so that you have to split the pot. For example,
you hold J♣ T♦ with a flop of 9♥ 8♠ 5♣. The Q♠ falls on the turn giving you
the nut straight. However, if a jack or ten comes on the river, you may have
to split the pot with one of your opponents, or possibly lose the entire pot if they hit a higher straight
• Straights are more concealed than flushes, so it is easier to gain additional
bets. Many players start backing off their hands when the board is threesuited,
but if you hit a straight you could get great action from someone with
a set or even two pair.
Overall, straight draws are not as valuable as flush draws, but strategies are
similar, especially with a rainbow flop. With rainbow flops, you can almost always
play your open-ended straight draws with a couple of the same exceptions given for
flush draws:
• You are heads up in a small pot and don’t have a pair, and you are confident
that your opponent has a pair higher than your two cards.
• There is a pair on the flop and a decent chance an opponent holds trips. With
a pair on the flop, it is much easier for someone to hit a full house to beat
your straight, although you can sometimes still draw depending on the action
and size of the pot.
Overall betting strategy for straight draws is very similar to the strategies presented
in the flush draw sections. Just remember that when the flop is two-suited, you must
now adjust your strategies accordingly. This will often dictate a fold, unless the pot
odds are very good or you are against a lone opponent so that the chance of a flush
draw is low.
Open-ended Draws Using One Card in Your Hand
Sometimes you hold an open-ended draw using only one card in your hand For
example, you hold A♣ T♠ with a 9♦ 8♥ 7♠ flop or a J♦ 9♥ 8♠ flop. The first thing you
must realize is that these types of draws are not nearly as strong as straight draws
using both cards in your hand:
• You could already be beat by a flopped straight.
• If you hit your straight, you will have to split the pot with an opponent holding
the same card as you.
• When you hit your straight, you will not get a lot of action since the board will
be too scary for your opponents. For example, if you hold AT with a flop of
987 and a jack or 6 comes, the betting action will quickly dry up. When you
are using two cards, your hand is more concealed, so you can sometimes
raise or even reraise and get a lot of action.
Let’s look first at three-connected flops and the various possible hands. We will use
the 987 flop as an example. Obviously. JT would be the best hand, which gives us
the nut straight followed by T6 and 65. Straights would be followed by sets like 99,
88 or 77. Two pair would also be good hands, yet very vulnerable.
All of these hands would then be followed in strength by TT, which is a good openended
straight draw with an overpair. The fact that you hold two of the four tens
also reduces the possibility of a flopped straight by your opponents and reduces the
chances of having to split the pot. Another strong hand would be JJ as you now
have an overpair with a gut-shot draw. These overpairs also have some additional
outs if you happen to be against two pair. Finally, another strong hand would be top
pair with the open-ended straight draw, such as T9 in this example. In general, all of
these hands are strong and can usually be played aggressively until your
opponents indicate otherwise.
Whenever you draw using only one card and you don’t have other possibilities, your
hand is much weaker. You might play a hand such as T4 in the right circumstances,
but remember to include the possibility that your outs could be counterfeited by
another player or that you might have to split the pot. However, if the flop is twosuited,
you should usually fold.
When you decide to draw using only one card with a three-connected flop, you
almost always want to be drawing to the high end. For example, holding A6 with a
987 flop is not a very strong hand. A ten would give you a straight, but an opponent
with a jack would have a higher straight. The only time you might play this hand is
when you are heads up under the proper conditions, or when the pot is large and
you play the hand like a gut-shot draw to the 5.
Three connected cards with a gap could also give you a straight draw. For example,
you hold A8 or 85 with a flop of T97. In general, strategies are practically the same
as discussed above when the flop is three-connected. The main difference is that
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now at least one of your cards is not an overcard. With a 987 flop, there are times
when you might hold AT and a ten comes jiving you a pair, which holds up and wins
the pot. You would not have this possibility with a hand like 85 and a T97 flop;
therefore, these types of draws are slightly less valuable. Having said this,
strategies are still very similar as we discussed with a three-connected flop. Decent
hands like K8 or T8 play well with these types of flops.
Straight draws are always more risky with suited flops. When the flop is threesuited,
you should almost always fold your draw, unless you have a semi-bluffing
opportunity against a lone opponent or have added value to the hand such as top
pair. Two-suited flops also create a lot of problems for these types of straight
draws. Against several opponents, you should usually fold. You probably only have
six outs and there is a decent chance you could be beat on the river, Against one or
two opponents, you might play the hand, depending on your assessment of what
your opponents might be holding, the pot odds, and if your draw has any other
added value such as pairs or overcards.
Gut-shot Straight Draws
Gut-shot straight draws only have one card that can improve your hand; therefore,
you only have four outs rather than the eight outs of an open-ended draw. For
example, you hold T♣ 8♦ with a flop of A♥ J♦ 7♣ and need specifically a 9. With
only four outs, you are approximately 11 to 1 against improving your hand with one
card to come, so you need good pot odds to be able to draw. In addition, when you
are drawing on the flop you still need to discount your outs for the risk of losing on
the river to a full house, backdoor flush, or a higher straight.
Generally you are not getting sufficient pot odds to draw to gut-shot straights unless
the pot has been raised before the flop. The only exception is when there are a lot
of callers on the flop. For example, let’s say there are five players who call preflop
in a $10-$20 game for a total pot of $50. If one player bets out and two players call,
you could probably call. Your pot odds are 8 to 1 and you can expect to earn
additional bets should you improve with so many players in the hand. However,
most games on the Internet require a raise preflop to justify calling since games are
usually not this loose.
Whenever you decide to draw to a gut-shot straight, you need to be sure that the
pot will not be raised behind you. Paying $10 to win a $110 pot is fine, but if the pot
is raised and you have to pay $20 to win $140, your pot odds are now only 7 to 1.
The best time to play gut-shot draws is when your call will close the betting.
When the flop is two-suited, you should almost always fold, unless the pot is
exceptionally large. You may only have three outs rather than four, decreasing your
odds to 15 to 1. Even when you do improve on the turn, you still have the worry that
an opponent could hit a flush or better on the river.
Gut-shot draws using only one card in your hand are very weak draws. Sometimes
you will lose to higher straights, and there is also a decent chance you will have to
split the pot. In addition, it is very difficult to win more bets if you improve since your
opponents will not give you a lot of action with such a scary board. For example, 62
with a board of T87 is a very weak hand. A 9 would give you a straight, but you
would lose to an opponent holding a jack and would split with anyone holding a 6. If
you held J6, at least you would be drawing to a high straight (although you could
still lose to QJ), but it still is difficult to win many more bets with this type of board.
A lot of the value in playing gut-shot draws is the additional bets you hope to gain
on the turn and river. Since it is difficult to gain these bets when using only one card
in your hand, you should generally fold unless you have other outs to your hand
such as an overcard or a pair.
One exception to these guidelines about gut-shot draws is when the pot is
extremely large. If the pot is very large, you can sometimes justify calling two bets
on the flop, playing against a two-suited flop, or calling using only one card in your
hand. For example, with a pot of $200 in a $10-$20 game, you could call a raise for
$20 on the flop or play a gut-shot draw with three outs for $10.
Betting strategies for gut-shot draws are generally straightforward. You should
usually never bet out first or raise, unless you have a semi-bluffing opportunity or
other value to your hand. However, to try a semi-bluff, the probability that your
opponents will fold should be pretty high since you do not have very good odds to
improve your hand.
Like other draws, gut-shot draws increase in value when you have a pair or
overcards. For example, with a T86 flop, all of the following hands would have
additional outs: T9, A9, K9, T7, or QJ. You would have nine outs holding T9 if you
were confident that you were against an overpair. You now are only 4 to 1 against
improving instead of 11 to 1. An overcard can add three outs. For example, if you
are against KK and hold A9, you would have seven outs. As always, remember to
discount your outs for the possibility that they are counterfeited.
Two overcards and a gut-shot draw can also be a good drawing hand, especially if
you are drawing to the nut straight. For example, you hold QJ with a 987 flop.
However, a hand like KJ is much weaker since you may have to split the pot or
possibly even lose to QJ.
You have additional betting strategies when you add other outs to your gut-shot
draws. Top pair with a gut-shot draw is a strong hand, so you can usually bet out or
raise. When holding middle or bottom pair or an overcard with the gut-shot draw,
these are usually just calling situations unless you have a semi-bluffing opportunity.
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