[jamby]

OK, I admit it, I suck at spotting straights on boards. Especially when not blatantly obvious.

It seems like I get beat by straights more than other hands too, so it's a big problem for me.

I tend to play fast, even in person and I think that's part of the problem since straights are often somewhat hidden and require more than a cursory consideration.

Please share your techniques. I realize that this all ties into carefully considering what one's opponent might be holding so that discussion is probably a natural off-shoot. That's a part of my game that has yet to really develop.

Thanks,
-jamby

[Matthew]

The toughest ones to spot are the ones skipping two cards in the middle 8-10-Q, 7-9-J etc. Where a 4-5-6 on the board is fairly obvious.

Try sitting with a deck and flopping 3 cards, look for straight possibilities. Do the turn, spot any now? River - study the board. Rinse and repeat.

When you get beat by straights are they catching open ended draws, gut shots or made straights?

[jamby]

Agreed, definitely those are the toughest.

I tend to get caught by the draws, mainly the gut-shots. I'm working hard on analyzing opponents and it's especially hard to put folks on hands like 6 9 offsuit that get lucky with a board of A-7-K-8-5 rainbow. I just don't ever come up with hand possibilities for folks like that.

I like your idea of practicing with actual cards by myself.

Originally Posted by Matthew

The toughest ones to spot are the ones skipping two cards in the middle 8-10-Q, 7-9-J etc. Where a 4-5-6 on the board is fairly obvious.

Try sitting with a deck and flopping 3 cards, look for straight possibilities. Do the turn, spot any now? River - study the board. Rinse and repeat.

When you get beat by straights are they catching open ended draws, gut shots or made straights?

[jojobinks]

• slow down.
• always know what the nuts is. the practice suggested above is sensible. also, you can watch tv poker and do it that way (in the process spotting vvp's errors)
• since this is an identified problem for you, remember to always consider the possibility of a straight. i think about it when the flop first comes out..."what card could come on the turn that could bring some goofball straight?"

[hachkc]

Play a lot of Omaha (H or H/L); its great for learning to read the board. Either that or you just go broke trying

Seriously, because you need to play 2 cards you are more apt to review the board for that information. Also, a good habit to get into is always focusing on reading the board at every step to determine the nut hands and such. It will force you to take an extra couple of seconds at each step which isn't a bad habit to get into. I personally think about what cards you don't want to see come next at each step also. If I have TPTK on a board like Q67r, I definitely don't want to see a 8 or 5 show up as those hands play into connectors for OESD. If you have folks catching str8s with nothing but a naked gut shot, hang with them. With 5 cards on the board, its rare that the board won't make either a str8 possible or have a pair showing.

As a side note, str8s are probably the 2nd most profitable hands in HE especially NL simply because of the issue you've raised here; sets are #1.

[jamby]

Now you know that I suck big at Omaha. That's just giving money away.

You're right though, that is awesome practic since the nuts can change so quickly in Omaha.

Originally Posted by hachkc

Play a lot of Omaha (H or H/L); its great for learning to read the board. Either that or you just go broke trying

[jamby]

Good tips one and all, JoJo. Thanks. I know for sure that slowing down will help with the other two.

Originally Posted by jojobinks

• slow down.
• always know what the nuts is. the practice suggested above is sensible. also, you can watch tv poker and do it that way (in the process spotting vvp's errors)
• since this is an identified problem for you, remember to always consider the possibility of a straight. i think about it when the flop first comes out..."what card could come on the turn that could bring some goofball straight?"

[NanaBanana]

Originally Posted by jamby

OK, I admit it, I suck at spotting straights on boards. Especially when not blatantly obvious.

It seems like I get beat by straights more than other hands too, so it's a big problem for me.

jamby, I have the exact same problem! I can never spot a straight either - especially, as you say, when it's not obvious. So these are tips that I need to follow also. Now if I just had tips on how to spot a set, full house etc.....

[jamby]

Well, in my experience sets are nearly impossible and I'm pretty sure that's why they win so often as was pointed out earlier by hachkc. Flushes are super easy - just watch for those suited cards. Especially when there are two suited on the flop. Lots of folks have trouble getting away from drawing to those hands to the river.

Full boats are easy too, just look for the pair on the board. Of course, when the pair hits late, that kind of makes proper play more challenging.

I'm glad others can appreciate this type of discussion too.

Originally Posted by NanaBanana

jamby, I have the exact same problem! I can never spot a straight either - especially, as you say, when it's not obvious. So these are tips that I need to follow also. Now ...if I just had tips on how to spot a set, full house etc.....

[dad604]

Actually, playing fast when there is str8 possibilities on the board is the right idea but when opponent play back at you then slow down. You want to make the str8 draws paid for their draws especially the gut shot. I might suggest checking the river if there is possible str8 but I would bet the turn.