Mid range hands can be difficult. You should drop most of your weak hands when facing a bet but sometimes good pot odds means calling is your best course of action.

Playing for value

When you play 32 card draw you will soon realize that anyone can hit a hand. Giving other players a cheap draw can be fatal, don't do it. There is nothing stopping you exploiting other and making the most of cheap draws.

If you are sitting on the small blind with nothing and the first three players call, you must consider calling yourself. If it is a fairly tight player on the big blind position, you can assume that he will check unless he has a big hand worth protecting.

In a $1/$2 limit game, $10 would be in the pot before the draw. You have already invested $1 from your small blind, which is paid regardless of entering the hand. You have to pay $1 to enter an expected pre-draw pot of $10. That gives you 10/1 of landing a hand. You may as well discard 4 cards, you are hoping to land a big hand or it's an easy fold. If other players see you taking 4 cards, the wont worry too much about you.

Cash in on Tight Opponents

Some players play the same way. They only play when they have powerful hands. These players will never go beyond intermediate level unless they change their approach. Poker is about situational play. A Queen high can win the hand if no one calls.

If you are in late position against 2 tight blind players you may consider raising an unentered pot with nothing, only if you suspect your opponents will fold.

Blinds are $1/$2, you raise to $4 and the blinds fold. You do it again, and they fold, you do it again and they call, you make a sharp exit and lose your $4 raise.

How have you faired? 2 steals have netted you an unchallenged $6. When called, you still have more than you originally started with, consider it a freebie.

You cannot raise every 2nd hand because it will stand out like a sore thumb; your opponents will start playing back at you. If a player is fighting back, you don't want to be sitting with the weakest hand hoping to draw. Use the steal sparingly, but systematically, they all mount up. If you wait for the right conditions you will profit long term.

Mixing up your game

Playing too predictably is a weakness. Many players have a sound knowledge of poker strategy; they can win by exploiting mistakes of weak players but struggle against stronger opponents. Why? Because when they have a strong hand it shows and when they have nothing, they are nowhere to be seen. You can generally bet them off a marginal hand, regardless of what you are holding.

By mixing up your game, your opponents will struggle to pinpoint your style. If they think you are bluffing, you can catch them. If they think you are strong you can bluff them.

When to Avoid Playing Mediocre Poker Hands -

Aggressive Opponents

When you are up against aggressive players you need to be careful with your mediocre starting hands. A one bet call can turn into a three call bet. What could have been a value bet has now turned into a bad call. If you are going to enter with a weak hand, you are hoping for an unraised pot.

After Winning a Big Hand

Sometime when you are on a winning streak, you feel invincible at the tables. You might want to enter a few extra hands. This is a bad move, you may be on a hot streak now but it can change lightening fast. Never lose sight of your basic 32 Card Draw strategy.

After Losing a Big Hand

The best thing to do after losing a big hand is to sit back, relax and wait. You need to regroup your thoughts. If you lose with a big hand it can put you in the wrong frame of mind. This is known as the tilt effect. When you go on tilt, you start chasing. When you start chasing, you start playing against the odds; you don't want to be doing that!

Mediocre Hands

To sum up, you should only play mediocre hands when you are getting good value for your call. You either want to take down the pot pre-draw or hope to make a deceptive hand on the draw.

WHERE TO PLAY 32 DRAW

32 card draw can only be played on the Entraction network. The largest and most well known site on the network is Devilfishpoker. I always recommend bigger, more established sites when choosing a particular network to play on, that way I know my hard earned money is secure.

 

USA ALTERNATIVES

As a direct result of the U.I.G.E.A. , players based in American cannot play real money games on the Entraction Network, this means they cannot play this form of draw poker online. For real money US players, I suggest either Pokerstars or Fulltiltpoker Although you won't be able to play 32 Card draw, you have some great alternatives, including the usual old guard.