HU --- how aggressive on a 8 or 9 out draw

[eddo31]

i havent played all that much no limit recently, but i will take a shot at this one.

the first part of this is qualified on what type of draw i have. if i have overs to the flop with my 8 or 9 outer, i will be much more aggressive than if i have the sucker end of the draw. for instance, if i have QJ and the flop is T9x i will be much more aggressive than if i had 87 on the same flop. going from 8 or 9 outs to potentially 14 or 15 make a big difference.

i would generally be aggresive on the flop in this situation, but not overly commit myself to the hand. a 1/3 to 1/2 pot bet seems about right here. if i get reraised then it gets a little bit trickier. if it is a small raise, i would be inclined to call, even though this may be intended as a trap with a legitimate hand (two pair, set). if you hit on the turn or pick up an additional draw then you can stick wit the hand and win a big pot, otherwise you drop it for a reasonable loss on the hand.

if the reraise on the flop is significant, given no reads, i would drop the hand there as it is still a relatively small pot and i would rather live another day.

if i hit on the turn then my actions would be dictated by what happened on the flop. if it went bet call, i would lead out. if it went bet, raise, call, then i would go for the check raise stop and go play.

if i miss on the turn, then i would be more inclined to put out a small feeler/blocker bet to try to either win the pot right there, or to get to the river cheaply. if reraised i am probably done with the hand, as the reraises on the flop and turn show enough strength for me to get out of the hand.


again, i havent played no limit in a while, so take these answers with that in mind.

very good questions. definitely made me think about difficult situations that arise pretty often.