Strategy with Kristy: Nikolai Yakovenko Discusses Open-Face Chinese Poker Strategy Part 2
Nikolai Yakovenko is a poker player, programmer, and creator of the ABC Chinese Poker app. Last week, Yakovenko came on the Strategy with Kristy podcast to discuss open-face Chinese poker strategy and is back this week for Part 2. In the interview, Yakovenko discusses what to think about when deciding whether or not to give up on a flush draw.
Here's a snippet from the interview:
In general, I think for the most part, people give up to early. So if you're thinking about it, you want to hold on a little bit longer as long as your hand is live. It's very important that you pay attention to that already. Obviously, if there are only two hearts left in the deck, maybe hanging around to hit both of them isn't such a great idea. Just remember, you're getting a four-point bonus with that flush. Not only are you probably going to win in the back with a flush, but you're getting that bonus. You want to go for it in even spots where you're not necessarily even 50 percent to make it.
The other aspect to think about is what you have in the middle. The reason to give up on your flush early is if your middle hand is really strong. Say you already played a pair of aces in the middle and a live queen up top to go for fantasy land. Then, it's very important that you qualify on the bottom. It won't matter if you make a flush or two pair. I think that if your middle and up top hands are nothing special, I'd stick around fo the flush draw. That would be my thought process.
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