Many times you should be folding the hand,  rather than making foolish chases.  With so many calling stations at low-stakes games,  buying the pot is tough.  But that doesn’t mean big slick or other overcards to the board always need to go in the muck when the flop comes 7-3-2 and someone bets; or that you should just give a free card when no one bets into you.  Going into your decision to bet,  check, call or fold will be:

1) The drawing chances of your hand;

2) Your knowledge of your opponents;

3) Your position and

4) What the board looks like.  Sound like a lot to put to memory?  It’s not as tough as it sounds,  but important to remember and is a key to a winning or losing session.

Backdoor draws.  Obviously,  big draws are playable,  and you can even raise or bet

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For instance,  take the situation where you are dealt Jh Qh.  In late position,  you call the big blind and five other players are involved in the pot.  The flop comes Th 8c 2s.  The first player bets,  and two other players call.  One player is yet to act after you on the button.  Here,  you have one out  (runner-runner hearts)  for your heart-flush,  and four outs for the inside straight.  Because there was no raise before the flop,  a Jack or Queen would probably give you the best hand as well.  Therefore you have 11 outs.  You need to take the time to look carefully,  though.  If you look too fast,  you might not count the out for the heart-flush,  or the Jacks and Queens,  seeing only the inside straight.  (Note,  however,  that while one of the remaining three Jacks and three Queens gives you top pair and probably the best hand,  there is always the chance you may run into someone sticking around with J8,  J2,  Q8,  Q2 or the top pair,  tens,  may have improved to two pair.  Therefore if you hit the top pair on the turn, bet if it’s checked to you,  raise if you face a bet,  but slow down if it is two bets to you or re-raised,  as this is an indicator your top pair probably would not be good.)

Other times,  when your backdoor draw is weak,  you need to exit stage left in a hurry.  Take

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With a backdoor draw,  you want to be in strong position to take down a pot you are confident you will win should you hit your hand,  rather than have to sweat out the fear of being sucked out by a bigger hand on the river.  You also want to be in a situation where hitting one of your overcards would put you in front,  and not give you the second-best hand,  which is why hands like AJ,  AQ and AK are preferable to overcard hands like TJ and JQ.

How are your opponents playing?  As always,  the rule of knowing your opponents well applies here.  Are you up against tight players who will get out of the way when you push them around?  Or are you up against players who will call you down with middle pair,  or who hope to catch a miracle card,  hitting bottom pair instead on the river and taking two big bets and one small bet from you in the process?  If they are tight,  AND you have position on them,  AND the board is ragged  (more on these last two things to follow),  go ahead and bet.  If you do not have position on them and they check,  getting a free card and it looks ragged,  you can take a stab with a bet on the turn.  But this too can be dangerous.  Tight players tend to be the exception and not the norm at the low stakes tables,  so fire at the pot only when you think there is a strong chance they will fold.  You can do this only after observing them for a while,  because you can’t assume that they will respect your bet or will play logically.

How many opponents are left?  Trying to take down the pot with two overcards is obviously a lot easier when there are fewer opponents you have to worry about calling you down.  When you enjoy position on your opponents,  and if it’s just one or two players with a ragged flop and they check to you,  fearing your pre-flop raise,  take a stab and toss a bet out there if you think it will win you the pot.  If they are loose and you believe you’ll be called,  just check and consider a bet on the turn if it is checked to you  --  if you think they’ll fold due to the higher betting limit.

Position is essential.  The importance of position in holdem can never be stressed enough,  and a perfect illustration of that is holding two overcards.  The best time to try to take down the pot is when you are last to act or one off the button.  If you are in early position,  even if the flop looks like it hit nobody,  because people play all sorts of illogical hands pre-flop hoping to “get lucky,”  you have to check.  If you are one of the last players to act and it’s checked to you,  you can take a stab at the pot in a tight game.  But in a loose game when you're out of position,  just check and take the free card unless you’ve got a four-flush or four-straight,  because you’ll just end up costing yourself money when you can’t get players to fold and you do not have all the information you need to justify the bet.

Can you eliminate anyone?  While you would like to win the pot immediately,  situations arise where you still can fire a bet to improve your chances and try and narrow the field.  Let’s say you hold AJ of diamonds and are on the button.  The big blind and four players have limped;  you raised;  and four called your raise.  So you,  the big blind,  and three other players are seeing the flop with a nice pot of 10 small bets being built.  The flop comes 3d 4s 4h.  Everyone checks to you.  Your instinct might be to check,  thinking that with ten small bets in the pot already,  no one is going to fold with just one small bet.  You can’t assume that,  however:  You need to bet.  With your pre-flop raise,  the odds are reduced that someone is holding a four,  and if they are you’ll find out when they check-raise you after your bet.  You have an out for the nut-flush draw,  and any Ace or Jack also puts you in front.  Your opponents could be holding suited or even unsuited connectors,  and with the flop appearing to have missed them,  one or two may fold if you bet.  Even one player getting out will help improve your chances to take down the pot,  so you need to try to get people out.  Should no one fold,  the pot is built up for you if you hit your Ace or Jack on the turn.

How’s the board?  The most important consideration that goes into your play of overcards is what the flop looks like.  A board that has two suited cards,  or cards in sequence,  is dangerous;  you want a rainbow flop  (three cards of different suits)  or a flop that has a small or medium pair,  and has given you a nut flush or straight draw.  When the flop brings no flush or straight chances,  it means it is less likely that your opponents have improved.  Conversely,  when there are two suited cards or two cards in sequence,  you have to worry about draws.  You can’t confuse the draw to top pair with the draw to a flush or straight.  The latter is much more powerful and you have more outs with the flush or straight draw.  What’s worse,  you may hit top pair and still come in second-best,  which is why you have to proceed much more cautiously,  only taking a shot with position and with a ragged board.  The bigger the pair on the board,  the more concerned you have to be.  It’s a lot more likely someone called your pre-flop raise with QJ or TJ,  especially if they were in the pot before you raised,  than it is that someone called your raise with 5-8.  Low-stakes players love to play a face card and any card to go with it that is suited,  and even hands like QT and KT offsuit.

The Turn and River.  Watch your opponents for reactions when the turn and river cards are dealt,  to try to pick up a tell.  Remember, the card will still be on the table for you to look at.  If they start reaching for their chips or give a facial expression that indicates they improved,  get out of the way.  If they frown or sigh,  it means they probably missed,  and a look at the turn or river card will confirm your suspicion.

When the turn brings another blank,  such as a card that doesn’t pair the board or put a possible flush or straight out there,  you again need to ask yourself how tight your opponents are and how hard they will chase their draws.  Again,  trying to buy the pot is best with the rainbow flop or flop with a small pair.  When the flop brings two cards in sequence,  and especially two suited cards,  you could punish drawing hands but doing so takes a near-perfect read on your opponent,  and you want to be sure the bets will cause her to fold if she misses her hand.  With so many  “calling stations”  at the low limits,  it’s very tough to get even missed draws to fold,  as they will call on the river if they hit middle or bottom pair.  The turn and river bring the benefits of higher betting limits,  but if you still just have two overcards on the turn you want to have a near-certain feeling that you can take down the pot.  If you bet and get called,  and bet again and get called on the river  --  to lose to the missed draw held by T2 and he has the deuce to pair the board  --  you will have accomplished nothing.  Save your chips for when you have the best hand.

Playing it safe.  When new to poker  (or even if you are a seasoned player!),  overcards can be very difficult to play.  In a recent session,  I took down a pot with a turn bet with AQ when a passive player acting before me checked and the board appeared to have missed her.  Unfortunately,  I’ve also cost myself valuable chips by trying to be aggressive with position with AK,  AQ,  and AJ,  only to be called down by the bottom pair.  When you have doubts about being able to buy the pot,  as the saying goes from Rounders,  “You can’t lose what you don’t put in the middle.”