How to play weak hand, weak draw

What should our default be when we have modest showdown value and a modest draw on the flop?

Most players know how to play top pair and the nut flush draw. The only bad way to play it is to fold. You can be aggressive with it or slow play it, because you know you have great equity against any hand.

But how do you play "decent pair, decent draw"?

Let's say you have 66 and the flop is 9-7-5 rainbow.

Here you also have a pair and a draw, but it's not anywhere near as strong. It's third pair and a gutshot.

These are hands that make natural checks. In a vacuum, the made hand part of your hand does not want to bet, nor does the weak draw.

How to play medium-strength combo hands

If you bet and get called, your 66 is almost certainly behind to a superior pair.

If you bet and your opponent folds, they probably were well behind and never going to pay you off if you hit your straight.

When you check instead, if your opponent does the same, often you can win unimproved. Or you can take the free card and make a straight.

There is often a case for betting with underpairs to deny equity to random two-card holdings, but in this instance, you have more equity than just your made hand and sometimes the card that gives them a better pair completes your draw.

So the natural thing to do with "meh hand, meh draw" is to try and see the next card as cheaply as possible.

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