Just about every poker player will tell you that chasing is a bad thing. Yet, just about every player chases hands in poker. Some will tell you about the worthiness of chasing when the pot odds are bigger than the odds against making your hand. However, in low limit-a game in which just about everyone will chase with anything-luck often makes them a winner, at least in the short run. In no-limit games, pot odds are even more notable. However, there are no-limit hold'em players that will see the flop with any two hole cards and then decide whether to stay or not.
Players who chase flushes and straights usually go home broke-and on the proverbial Greyhound Buses. Yet the odds of making these hands after the flop go to 4-to-1 for flushes and nearly 5-to-1 for open-ended straights. There are players who will just chase every possible flush draw or open-ended straight draw without regard to their pot odds.
For example, if the pot is $35 and someone in pot-limit bets the $35; then to pot limit is 1-to-1, right? So, when the odds against making a flush are 4-to-1, it's just stubbornness that results in a player chasing a flush even though the pot-odds are so much lower. A good rule to follow when chasing is to determine that the bet makes better pot-odds than what it would take to make your hand.
Here's an example. Suppose you decide to chase a flush with a five and six of diamonds. The flop is...9d-6s-Qd. This is a good reason not to draw for flushes with low starter cards. With reverse odds it's possible that someone with higher diamonds will also draw on this flop. A diamond draw by an opponent with an ace or king of diamonds could hurt your draw. What should you do? That's where calculating pot odds will help you-if you choose to play low draws. It's best not to even start with low suited cards.
The odds against making this flush are still 4-to-1. It will take at least a bet that is five times the size of the pot to make a call and chase this flush. That's because once out of four tries you will make a flush-if someone doesn't make a higher one.
Now, suppose that the turn card is the nine of hearts. Now someone with two pair (nines and queens) has a full house draw. The odds of making a full house on the river (with 4 outs) have become 11-to-1-but, it will beat any flush. A common chaser's error is to make the pot so large by raising and re-raising that it becomes worth chasing a full house to beat you even though you are advertising a flush.
So, regardless of what seasoned players say about chasing, everyone at some point is chasing. A little pair of fives is chasing a set on the flop, even though the odds are less that 9 percent to see another five on the flop. It helps to remember that just about everyone at the table is chasing something, so when you are raising and re-raising, it's best to calculate the size of the pot you are creating, so a call doesn't become good pot-odds. Some players will chase smart while others continue to chase dumb. For example, it's smart to chase pre-flop with an unsuited A-K. When the flop is showing a bunch of small connectors like...7d-5d-6s...and two people are betting, it's approaching dumb not to lay down your unsuited hand-unless one is a diamond. That's when chasing a flush on the turn might be a smart chase. Of course, we haven't talked about how players might chase their luck, but that would take another article.
In the end, chasing reveals a lot about people and their willingness to risk in life as well. Some take stupid risks while others make smart moves and upgrade their lives with them.
Jim McKenna has been practicing psychotherapy for more than thirty-five years. His books include the acclaimed Beyond Tells: Power Poker Psychology, Beyond Bluffs: Master the Mysteries of Poker, and Beyond Traps: The Anatomy of Poker Success, all published by Kensington Press.
