Hey folks,

Just a quick little hand illustrating that there's more than one way to win a pot with a draw.

Party Poker 3/6 Hold'em (8 handed)

Preflop: TWRocks is BB with , .
UTG calls, 4 folds, Button calls, SB completes, TWRocks checks.

Flop: (4 SB) , , (4 players)
SB checks, TWRocks bets, UTG calls, Button calls, SB raises, TWRocks calls, UTG calls, Button folds.

Turn: (5.50 BB) (3 players)
SB checks, TWRocks checks, UTG checks.

River: (5.50 BB) (3 players)
SB checks, TWRocks bets, UTG folds, SB folds.

Final Pot: 6.50 BB

Results in white below:
TWRocks has 8c Ts (one pair, nines).
Outcome: TWRocks wins 6.50 BB.

Okay, so first off, I bet out on the flop. This is most certainly NOT a value-bet, but I felt that it was a pretty decent situation to try a semi-bluff. A paired board makes it less likely that anyone's caught a piece of it (though at the same time, it also makes drawing to a straight or flush riskier) But alas, I get called and check-raised!

The SB's check on the turn surprised me, but hey, I like free cards as much as the next guy! But the river check really surprised me. Now it seemed gosh-darned likely that the SB was check-raising with a draw of some sort. But, a bluff here still only works if (a) I'm right, and the SB was on a draw, AND (b) the caller was likewise drawing and missed. So, I wasn't surpremely confident that a bet would take the pot down, but I did feel that my odds were better than 5.5:1, so I bet, and since I rock, it worked.

The point is, there are occasionally other ways you can win a pot with a drawing hand, aside from the obvious (hitting your draw). If the pot's shorthanded and looks as though it could've missed your opponents, toss out a bet as a semibluff. And if, based on the action, it looks as though your opponent(s) may have missed their draws, don't be afraid to toss out a bet at the end if you're getting a good price!

-TW