The higher straight
March 10, 2008
If you have some experience in poker then you have certainly experienced being taken out by someone with the higher straight. This is one of the things that will break your heart. This is one hand where you will be thinking about it even after you sleep at night. How could you have lost that hand? How could you have lost it when you had the cards? You got taken out with the higher straight? What were the odds? Your opponent knew you had the straight although he knew better because he or she had the higher one. Your opponent reeled you in and he or she knew it from the very beginning.
How can you avoid being beaten by the higher straight anyway? There are two strategies to avoid being beaten by the higher straight. One of the ways to avoid being beaten by the higher straight is simply to fold when you smell something fishy going on. If you look at the flop and the turn and you see a five, a seven, a nine, and a ten, you have to be wary. A lot of straights can be made this way. Do not be so confident if you have a six and an eight already. Do not even hope of hitting a three if you have a four and a six already. The best thing to do at this situation is to fold out if anyone raises the pot by a substantial amount. Imagine the possibilities that can happen on this hand. If you are not careful, you will be taken out by a higher straight in the form of a jack on the river card and someone holding a queen and a king. That would be a disaster and a heart breaker. You are simply going to get devastated after you have poured and invested a lot of your chips on that round. If you are in this sticky situation, you should know what to do. Do not be overconfident and be realistic. Keep your eyes open on how a straight can turn out in the end.
Another way where you can avoid being beaten by the higher straight is to make a flush. If your opponents have been banking on making a straight or a higher straight then you can elude them by aiming for the flush. You will be in the higher league when you aim for the flush. Just make sure that you have the higher flush. It would also be a disaster if you lose to a higher flush. If you have an ace high flush then go for it. If you have the ability to go all in then do so. The likelihood of someone taking you out with a higher flush must be eliminated right away. If you think someone will have a higher flush then be wary. Be on the lookout for these guys. It is very annoying to lose to a higher straight so you should be vigilant at all times when these five card combos can occur.