Playing A Rush

Playing in home games has taught me a lot of things that you simply can't get no matter how many books or articles you read. Like the saying goes, "practice makes perfect", and there's no substitute.

One of the most common mistakes I see on a consistent basis is a player getting on a rush, winning a few big pots in a row, and then they seem to think there's an aura of invincibility around them. They'll start coming into every hand raising, even with complete junk. They feel like they are unbeatable and feel in control of the table. The experienced player knows that this is the time to take charge and extract as much as they can from the player on the "high." Unfortunately I've been on the wrong end of these encounters several times and gone from chip leader to out of the game in a matter of minutes.

The player will come in raising with any two cards and will usually always bet the flop, even if they miss it completely, in an attempt to push their opponent off the hand. A good strategy to use is to raise pre-flop the minimum amount. Generally the player on the rush will decide to flat call rather than re-raise since they're usually not inclined to put even more money in the pot with a trash hand. If you just call, rather than raise, the player will generally raise you more than the minimum, assuming he's to act after you. Once the flop comes out, you will probably face a large bet. Be confident with your hand if you have paired either of your hold cards. I would even suggest raising your opponent if you have middle pair or better. A re-raise will usually push them off their hand if they are indeed betting with nothing and simply playing their rush. Keep in mind there is always a chance that your opponent will actually hit the flop and have you beat, so don't be wildly reckless with your bets and raises.

Take this for example: I was playing in a home game and was in pretty good chip position. I had just won a huge pot from my opponent with my 8-8 when the flop came K-8-K. His pocket aces didn't improve and I took down a monster pot. The very next hand I looked down and saw Kh-6h. Feeling like I had chips to spare, I raised to about 4 times the big blind with a hand that I normally would never consider raising with. I got one caller and the flop came 8h 10d 5h. This flop gave me the 2nd nut flush draw so naturally I came out with a semi-bluff bet after my opponent checked it to me. He re-raised me and almost instantly I called, even though his raise represented nearly about 30% of my remaining chips. When the Jc hit on the turn I once again bet out after he checked it, and once again got check-raised! At this point I was very pot committed and had the majority of my chips in the pot. I put him on maybe a 10 with a big kicker (i.e. A-10 or Q-10) or maybe even a straight draw (i.e. J-9) so I figured any king would probably give me the best hand and any heart would definitely give me the winning hand. So I pushed all-in and he called instantly. I flipped over my flush draw and he flipped over pocket 5s, giving him trips. The river was a blank and I wasn't out of chips but I went broke in the consequent hand.

The point of this story is that had I not been playing my rush, had I approached the hand as I normally do, I would not have lost so much on it. After I got busted I sat there for a second thinking of what might have been while watching my opponent stack up all my chips. And as most poker players know, that's not a good feeling. So to avoid this fate from happening to you, think long and hard about what you're going to do before just impulsively acting. This lesson hold true in poker just as it does in life. After you win a huge pot, maybe take a 5 minute break until you calm down and you feel settled. What's the worse price to pay, losing a few blinds or antes while you sit out or losing your entire stack by overplaying a hand until you reach the point of no return?

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