Chasing a low straight can be a compelling but dangerous proposition. Let’s say your hole cards are king-two and the flop has lured you in with a three-four-five unsuited. This is dangerous because you will be quite naturally tempted to go looking for the six at the turn or even down to the river. This would be less of a risk in a short-handed game but if a lot of players are still in the frame and you hit your six at the turn it only requires one other player at the table to be holding a seven and you’re dead meat having contributed heavily to the pot on the way to your two-three-four-five-six. If you’re in a heads up after the flop, then go for it because your odds are good. If you’re up against a mob, muck your cards.
POKER TIP OF THE DAY Remember never to fold a hand (even if you know it doesn’t have the strength to be a winner) if there is the option to check. Why? When you check it’s a bet that costs you nothing but takes you one step closer to seeing what everyone else is doing. The risk reward ratio is right. There’s no risk in the check but there just might be a reward. You can easily find yourself in a loose online game where you manage to check all the way down to the turn or the river without risking any of your chips. This rarely leads to a classic win but there are plenty of occasions where it’ll enable you to steal a pot. Also, during the course of normal play, keep an eye out for players who fold when they could’ve checked. This will almost certainly tell you they are not familiar with the dynamics of poker and are therefore ripe to pillage at some point.
PUMP’EM OR DUMP’EM! Here’s a scenario you can often encounter online. You smile when your hole cards look royally up to you and they’re queens. All well and good if you’re aggressive. However, if you’re at a full table and the flop throws up an ace and doesn’t provide you with that third queen, it’s a classic case of having to “dump ’em!” Don’t even have a flicker of emotion about it. Save your cash to fight another hand and do a Henry VIII to your queens. For tips of this sort and a whole lot more to make you a long term winner, try the FREE tutorials at dailystarpoker.com and learn your poker the right way.
