The second nut flush
A crying call with the king-high flush is a blunder exactly when the bet is big.
A flush cannot split, so with the second nut flush on one board and nothing on the other you either win half the pot or lose your whole call. Against a pot-sized bet you win fifty when right and lose a hundred when wrong: your flush must be best two times in three. Against half a pot, one time in two. Against a third, two in five.
Most players make this call automatically and most of them are wrong when the bet is large, which is when the opponent most often has it. Before you call, ask how the nut flush would have played the hand. From the blinds with a bare flush draw it checks the flop; on the turn, with the draw live, it usually bets. If the line fits, fold.
The ace-high flush cannot be shared and cannot be beaten unless the board pairs.
Today's hand on the table
A deal that shows what today is about, with the method at your seat. Step through it, or let it run. Deal again for another.
Day 19 · All thirty days · Day 21
THE 30-DAY COURSE
A plan for your next game.
One lesson. One drill set. A little more clarity at the table.