Playing Made Hands in 5 Card Draw

Strong made hands in 5 Card Draw are few and far between. Catching a made Seven or Eight on the deal doesn't happen very often and yet beginning players frequently give away their value by not playing them correctly. Of course, when the draw comes, the obvious correct play is to stand pat, but not being skilful with bet sizing and the right play can result in little profits being made on the hand. The correct plays will depend on the table texture and the level of aggression from the opponents.

In early position, the question of whether to raise or not will certainly be related to how aggressive the opponents are playing. If it is an active table with lots of raises before the draw, then the correct 5 Card Draw poker strategy for a made hand is definitely to limp. While it does invite other players to draw cheaply, a raise in late position can leave a lot of trapped chips in the pot. When an aggressive player raises, now is the time to show the strength of your hand with a sizable re raise to force the aggressive player to fold or make a bad call. After the draw, the bet sizing will depend on how likely you think the player will call with a worse made hand. If it is highly likely, then a pot-sized bet is the right choice. If you think the opponent is ready to fold, then a smaller value bet of one-third to one-half of the pot may be enough to convince them to call.

In middle and late position a strong made hand is almost certainly worth a raise. In these positions, the raise could be viewed as meaning a variety of things, such as a steal attempt, trying to buy position, or even a marginal made hand. With this in mind, many opponents will call and attempt to draw, creating a larger pot. Most of these situations will have more players; therefore value betting on the end is very important to get paid off. A standard bet size could be between half to two-thirds of the pot. If a calling station is in the hand, then it may be worth betting the pot as it could be seen as an attempt to bluff and induce a call. Combining the right way to play made hands and picking the right spots for marginal hands will make you a force to be reckoned with in 5 Card Draw.