The gutshot draw has a rather dubious reputation among poker players.
Some like it because if you hit the straight it’s very well hidden; others just call it a total waste of money.
The double gutshot is even more interesting as it has a respectable eight outs.
In this week's video we find a player on Live at the Bike who uses a lot of imagination playing it but ends up paying big time.
They usually play mid-stakes at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles but when Doug Polk joined the game in February they upped the stakes considerably.
This game is $50/$100 and players are very deep-stacked. All three players have at least $25,000 in front of them, equalling 250 big blinds – a recipe for big pots.
Even more so if you play as loose as our hero, Josh. He's in third position with 5-3o and decides it's a good hand to call an opening raise with.
Easy Call for Both
Michael is the player on the button. Holding 8-7o he wants to get involved and calls. It’s not exactly a monster hand but of course it has a lot of straight potential.
Both our heroes flop a gutshot and, with tens of thousands of dollars in front of them, a bet of $600 is an easy call for both.
Gin (for One) on the Turn
The turn card is a dream – for one of them. Josh hits the nuts and checks to his opponent on the button, who now has the double gutshot we were talking about.
From there, things suddenly happen very fast. Michael seems to be a big fan of the double gutshot – or double-gutter – as he semi-bluffs to buy the pot. When Josh raises with the best hand, he decides to move all of his chips into the middle.
That was probably not the perfect way to pay the hand, but it does sum up pretty well how the gutshot can be both heaven and hell in poker.
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