How do you play a flush draw correctly.

[dmoney]

Ok. i've read lots but don't recall ever getting a full answer to this question.

Ok so say this is the situation. A 5/10 limit game.

U have Ah,3h. Flop comes 4h, 9h 8c.

So its checked around to you. You think 1) Ok imma bet and build this pot up a bit and hope I hit my heart on the turn.

Turn comes Qs.

I get the building the pot, I think it is CORRECT strategy to bet out after the flop with a 4 flush.

BUT say there is only 2 or 3 ppl left in the pot with u after the turn.

Most books ive read say “ Usually someone on a flush draw will bet post flop and check after the turn if their flush doesn’t make. It always says this is how ppl play it. I don’t recall reading that this is the correct strategy or not.

Is it better to check if u miss it on the turn OR possibly …..

Bet out again if its checked to you. This may make a few things happen. People with top pair weak kicker can lay their hands down with the best hand, people with 2nd pair good kicker will lay it down (Meaning if u hit ur ace on the river u MAY win it when otherwise u wouldnt have) and also this bet may make someone with a straight draw lay their hand down giving u a chance to win this pot right here BUT if they don’t u still have a pretty good chance of making the best hand on the river (giving u up to 12 outs (9 hearts and 3 aces) and for ppl who call they could just be chasing and if they don’t hit and u don’t hit u bet out and since u have shown strength the whole way they fold (so many ppl do this…chase to the river and fold when they don’t make)

Is this an acceptable strategy or is this a big losing situation. Depending on my openents and how well ive been running I will go back and forth between these.

Thoughts/Comments/Criticism accepted below 

[magiluke]

You seem to be talking about just a flush draw, but there are other situations that are better than your example.

You could have a pair with a flush draw. You could have a straight draw with your flush draw. You could have a straight flush draw. You could have a straight with a flush draw.

Each of these situation could (and probably would) be played differently. And of course, there's the old generic response of "It depends on the table.", which it really does.

I guess I'm really not being any help here. Just trying to get you to look at your question, and perhaps get you closer to answering the question yourself...maybe...

Roughly speaking:
Betting on the flop is -EV unless you go all-in and are called by at least two opponents, or you are called by at least 4 opponents.
Betting on the turn is -EV unless you've hit the flush or you are called by at least 4 opponents.

Now, there are tactical and strategic reasons to bluff or semi-bluff, so making -EV raises here isn't always a bad idea, but doing so frequently will loose you money.

I think that in the scenario you describe, the appropriate play, absent any reads, is to bet the flop and check the turn if it is checked around to you to take the free card.

If it is bet to you on the turn, you call if you are getting correct odds on your flush.

Consider two of your actions

1) you probably did not raise preflop
2) you bet after the flop

The lack of a preflop raise from late position (since you say it is checked around to you), probably indicates that you do not have pocket 8s or 9s. Perhaps you have pocket 4s. You may also have two pair 8s and 9s, but you are likely to have folded this hand preflop.

So chances are that your opponents will either put you on a pair or a flush draw.

So, now, when the Q comes on the board, they are likely to figure that, if your flush does not come in, you are likely beaten - unless you happen to hold JT - so in their minds, they only hands you are likely to have that are beating them at this point are 44 and JT - Q9 is a possibility too - but given that those are the ONLY 3 hands that are likely to be beating them at this moment, and given that your action thus far strongly indicates a flush draw, they are unlikely to fold their top pair or straight draws.

[tripdad]

there is no correct answer to your question without giving more spcific information. was the pot raised preflop? what position is the raisor relative to your own position? relative to the other players' positions? if i check, who is the most likely player to bet? how many players have a hand?

certainly, if you have the nut flush draw on the flop, and there are 4 other players with a hand, you would like to build the pot. the answer to "how best to build the pot" is sometimes to bet out, sometimes to check/raise, and sometimes to check/call. the worst thing that can happen is for you to bet out, and the very next person to act raises, causing the other players to fold their hand, right? or for you to check in the small blind, only to have the button bet, and you raise, right? it is also sometimes more correct for you to raise with position in order to get a free card on the turn as opposed to trying to build a bigger pot.