A combo draw is defined as a draw that has more than 12 outs. These draws are so robust they should be played fast and hard on almost all flops.

Some examples of combo draws:

• a pair and an open-ended straight draw (13 outs against an overpair)
• a pair and a flush draw (14 outs)
• gut-shot straight flush draw (12 outs)
• a straight draw and a flush draw (15 outs)
• the ever-elusive open-ended straight flush draw (15 outs)

In all of these examples over a quarter of the deck can give you the winning hand against an overpair.

In fact, the very worst combo draw you can have, a gut-shot straight flush draw (12 outs), is even money versus an overpair!

What that means for you is that you are only a slight dog to even monster hands. Against average hands you are a huge favorite. You should push these hands hard; they are big money earners for all good players.

Why Should You Play Them Hard?

Obviously you're looking to get your money in with good odds. After a pre-flop raise, a bet and likely a raise on the flop, you are getting way more than the required break-even odds on your robust draw.

If you're going to win the pot 50% of the time your break-even odds only have to be 1-1 to get it in on the flop. In reality your odds are going to be much better. So do not be afraid to fast-play these combo draws.

Furthermore, if you do not get it in on the flop and a scare card comes on either the turn or the river, your opponent may not be willing to put in any more money, making it hard for you to get paid on your hand. However, if you get it in on the flop your opponent may be more willing to call.

Fold Equity

By fast-playing combo draws not only will you enjoy excellent equity in the pot from your draw; you'll also gain fold equity.

When you are making a bet or a raise you always benefit from fold equity. Simply put, fold equity refers to the equity you gain from the chance that your opponent will lay his hand down, forfeiting the pot to you.

Obviously, calling has zero fold equity. So say you flop an OESFD, you bet the flop and you opponent raises. Now you're getting more than the required odds to call (you're actually a favorite here versus any one-pair hand), but you shove.

Mike White, WPT6 World Poker Finals: Fast-play or not, sometimes your flush draw just doesn't hit on the river.

At this point you can win the pot by hitting one of your numerous outs, or you can win by having your opponent fold. How much do you like getting one pair all-in on the flop? Not a very appealing prospect, right?

So you can exploit tight players by fast-playing your draws. They are in a lose-lose situation. If they call, they are a slight favorite at very best and if they fold, they forfeit all of their equity in the pot. This is a situation where you make both folding and calling incorrect for your opponent!

Oh - you don't believe me?

Then let's look at an example.

$1/$2 No-Limit, six-max, online

Effective stacks: $200

You are dealt T-9 on the button.

It's folded around to you and you bump it to $8.

The small blind folds and the big blind three-bets to $22.

You make the call.

The flop comes 7-2-8.

Your opponent bets $35. You raise around the pot to $110.

If your adversary was three-betting with any overcards and c-betting, he will clearly have to fold. If he was three-betting with a hand like 99-JJ he would have to make a very difficult call; if he shoves with QQ-AA he is actually a 45-55 dog!

Allen Cunningham: The more you dominate tight players, the less you'll have to look at their loud shirts.

You have just put your opponent in a very difficult spot where calling, shoving and folding are all marginal plays. Your range when you play a combo draw like this consists of mostly monsters. What your hand looks like is slow-played big pocket pairs AA-QQ, sets 77, 22, 88 and combo draws, 5-6s, T-9s, J-9s.

To make a profitable call against this range, your opponent would need a monster too. Chances are he doesn't have one, so he will either fold, donating the pot to you, or he will get it in, in which case you can call and get fantastic odds on what amounts to a coin flip.

Conclusion

From our example it becomes obvious that fast-playing combo draws should be a move in every poker player's arsenal. They are monsters on their own and you can always rely on fold equity on top of that.

You need to be able to fast-play both made hands and good draws because if you only get monsters in on the flop you're going to become very predictable and you will find yourself seldom getting action.

If you can make strong plays with both monsters and draws, the likelihood that you'll get paid off increases. So stop being so passive and start playing those combo draws like the big pot hands they are.

More intermediate strategy articles from Dan Skolovy:

• Make Every Play for a Reason
• How to Put Your Opponent on a Range
• Exploiting Your Table Image
• Sit-and-Go Essentials Part 4: Heads-Up