DECISION POINT: In a live $1-2 cash game the player in the Hijack raises to $12 preflop and the Cutoff calls. You call from the Button with A♣J♣ and both blinds fold. The flop comes 5♣4♦2♣. The Hijack continuation bets $30, the Cutoff folds, and action is on you. What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: With the nut flush draw, gutshot wheel draw (a wheel is a straight A-2-3-4-5), and two overcards, we have a legitimately big draw. In general, we can play our big draws of 12 or more outs in the same way we would play big made hands.

Playing big draws similarly to our big made hands provides balance to our game plan and makes us difficult to read at the table. When we raise this flop, we can have big made hands like sets or straights in addition to our big draws.

This leaves our opponents with very difficult decisions with many of their hands.

In this particular hand, raising is even more profitable than usual. Our opponent raised from the Hijack seat preflop and continuation bet on the flop against two opponents. This action represents a fairly wide range of hands, including pure bluffs.

In other words, there’s no reason to believe our opponent has only big hands. Therefore, raising will induce our opponent to fold the majority of the time.

Raising is the best play.