Flushtered!

There are several styles of play that never seem to work for me. As well as they seem to work against me, I never seem to be able to win with them.

The one that frustrates me the most is the pre-flop flush chase. I am not talking about suited connectors, suited Ace's or suited over cards. I'm talking about players that will see the flop with any two suited cards, even attack the pot pre-flop to build it. They figure if they do hit a flush, the odds are that no one else has one. These player's also tend to flop lots of un-readable hands, like: open end if not nut straights, trips, 2 pair. Those hands can become dangerous, but profitable: bottom ends of straights, under pairs, low kicker sets, weak full house. The best players bet their chases creatively, their catches deceptively. If you out-flopped them, make sure you force them to pay you off, as they rarely will fold their weak flushes, straights, etc..

The other flush chasers that frustrate me are the ones that bluff the flop 'all-in' with their flush draw. There you are with top-top (which is foldable), a set, maybe even a flopped straight, and you have to call their bet. It just takes a few of them to hit their draw to really hurt your chip stack. I have seen big chip leaders in tournaments bet their flush chases aggressively, late into the game. It is probably what got them there, so they just keep doing it. It may double you up, but when they crack your big pockets it is really frustrating. On cash tables, you can only fold so many hands against their pushes...

The flip side: I cannot make this work for me. I have tried, it just does not work consistently. That is, I cannot make it profitable. If I hit a flush, in most cases no one calls my bets or someone out kicks me. If I hit trips, I get out kicked or out drawn. Against me, I will hit the top end of a straight and their weak flush takes my money. When my weak flush hits, no one gets a hand good enough to pay me off, or they river me. I get my few pay-offs, but it is a net loss. Yet day after day I watch players leave tables with 2x to 3x the buy-in using these strategies.

Just insert the type of strategy that frustrates you: the player that sees the flop with any weak Ace offsuit; the one that thinks a low pair is unbeatable; and so on...

Now, what can be done to both avoid paying these players off and also take the most from them? How do you slow them down or just avoid them? When do you take them on, and how do you set them up to pay you off? There are no set answers here, it is all situational and takes daily adjustments. Hopefully a few of you can comment with your advice or examples.