2nd high flulsh

I have trouble laying down 2nd high flush in Hold'em. I was on bodog, worked my 20 into 60 and went to a bigger table ( poor bankroll management ) first hand I get Qc7c and two clubs flop, guy bets big flop and turn, and I chase ( also a bad idea ) to hit Ac on river giving me only the cooler to steal it from me but he's been betting like he already had his hand and pushes all in. I call and of course get dominated by Kc10c. Bleh

fold preflop

Hmmmm . . . well, it sounds like you already know where you made some mistakes, but you fail to give a lot of important details, such as:

- Was this a limit or no-limit game and what were the limits?
- Was this pot raised pre-flop?
- How many players saw the flop?
- Did you have a pair to go with your flush draw?
- In what position was your main opponent sitting? (this would likely affect what sort of starting hand he plays)

In regards to your comment that chasing a flush draw is "a bad idea", that's not necessarily true; what you need to think about when you consider going after a draw like this are mainly two things:

1. Am I getting correct odds to call the flop/turn in hopes of catching my draw? In this situation you would have needed at least 3.5-1 on the flop and 7-1 on the turn, and although you don't give enough details it kinda sounds like you probably weren't getting those odds.

2. If I DO make my hand, how likely is it that I'll still be beaten? This is probably the more important point in this case . . . even with one of the two club overs on the board, you still couldn't be sure that the other guy didn't have the Kc, which almost certainly made your calls unprofitable. (Note: even if you HAD won this particular hand, making these three calls in this situation would STILL be unprofitable in the long run.)

Hope this helps a little . . . good luck at the tables! (By the way, I don't need the answers to all the questions above -- I just wanted to point out some of the things you should have been thinking about in this situation for future reference.)

In my opinion, laying down second high flush was (almost certainly) the least of your problems in this hand. Most of my comments have already been mentioned, but:-

1) I'd say your 1st (and worst) mistake was probably playing Qc7c in the first place (though I can't say this for sure without knowing position / number of players etc).

2) 2nd mistake was chasing the flush - UNLESS the player betting into you was daft enough to give you the pot odds to do it.

Having hit second high flush, I suggest you should have bet it VERY strongly (although again, there's some information missing eg was there a pair to the board such that a full house was a possibility).

I think you identified the main issues with your play - so am just surprised at the question that you asked.

Boltneck

We will assume that this was a free flop from big blind since you said it was your first hand at the table.

You should have gotten away from the hand on the flop I have to assume you were not getting the right odds all the way down in a no limit game and you have no reads on your table or the villian...

When chasing your draws don't make them transparent check calling down to the river and betting the pot when the flush draw completes is totally transparent and you will not get paid off at all, try betting into the pot you can give yourself the right odds to call, disguise your hand, and gain fold equity.

Chasing a 4 flush draw you want 4/1 odds or better on the flop and river to continue unless you or you're opponent will be all in on the flop with 2/1 odds or better than and only than should you be calling worse than 4/1 odds on a flush draw from a mathmatical standpoint at least.

Don't concern yourself to much with the nut flush if you have the 2nd nut unless you have a very solid read on your opponent, from time to time it will happen and you will have to pay someone off but much more often you will have the best hand. When you hit a set of 5s on a 59J board do you worry about someones set of 9s or Js? no you bet into it and hope to high hell you get a reraise from AJ QQ KK or AA so you can stack em off. I'd say the bigger problem here is misplaying your draw and playing crap cards oop with unknown players.