[Andy B]

I suspect that the "professionals" West is talking about supplement their retirement income by playing in a $1-5 game with no ante and scratching out a couple of dollars an hour. Dynasty and Ray have made some good points here. I wouldn't expect any less of them.

It is my belief that the overwhelming majority of stud players lose money on straight draws, and that a significant percentage of the money that losing players lose is lost by playing straight draws badly. I can think of specific players I know who lose significant amounts of money (for the stakes they play), and I believe that more than half of their losses come from chasing straights when the situation doesn't warrant it.

There is a paradox at work here. Straights are drawing hands, so you want multiple opponents in to pay you off if you make your hand. Unfortunately, the more players you have in, the less likely it is that your straight will be good, even if you make it. This is a tough balancing act. And straights are hard to make.

The flush draw is much better. There aren't any specific cards you have to catch, it's easier to make a flush, and there is a better chance that your flush will hold up if you make it. While I haven't played the game much lately, I was extremely successful at stud $2/4 through $6/12 limits, and a large portion of my profits came from getting a lot of money in with live flush draws. I saved a lot of money by getting away from straight draws quickly if they didn't develop.

As Dynasty indicated, all straight draws are not created equal. High straight draws are much better than medium and small straight draws (I usually muck 543 and 654 for the bring-in). The extra value of a hand like KQJ comes from the fact that pairing one of your big cards may help make you a winning hand. If you can get it heads-up with a guy who has something like a pair of Eights, you're in decent shape. You've got three overcards you can pair, and you can still make the straight. If you're in a game where five people are seeing the river every hand, though, you're not likely to win by making Kings or Kings-up; you've got to make that straight.

I hate straight draws less than I used to, because I play a lot of stud/8. There, small straight draws are much better than most flush draws. I still can't bring myself to fold a lot of three-flushes that I probably should, though.