Observations on draws in Limit Holdem

   I was at the Sands Bethlehem today playing 3-6 LHE. This is my third visit and I've netted a small profit across 3 sessions. I've been trying to use pot odds to made decisions about when to chase flushes, straights, and full houses which means I have been counting the number of bets pre-flop and using the following odds to determine when to chase:

Flush: 4:1

Straight: 5:1
Full house or gut shot straight: 11:1 (4 outs)

   Since the game is low stakes, the pot size pre-flop is usually 3 to 6 bets (big blinds) if no one raises which is about half of the hands. In these cases there is typically enough money in the pot to chase a flush and straight but not an inside straight. If someone raises pre-flop, most of the limpers who acted before him will call, hence pots are often much larger in the range of 6 to 10 bets. If anyone bets the flop the pot will almost always be large enough to chase a gut shot. My conclusion is that raising pre-flop provides better pot odds for chasing more hands and the chance of getting sucked out on.

   This lead me to think about how to use this to my advantage. If I am in the BB and there are three limpers and the SB calls, then the pot is only 5 bets pre-flop (assuming I check). If I look down at a hand like 7c8d (off suited connectors) then I really need to hit the flop hard in order to continue after the flop. If there are one or two over cards on the flop then my had is probably worthless. But say I flop a gut shot like 5s9hKd. If there was 11 bets in the pot I could probably draw to my straight profitably.

   Here's my thought, if I raised pre-flop in the BB I would certainly get 4 callers and the pot now becomes 10 bets. If I check my gutshot on the flop and someone bets I immediately get pot odds to draw to my gut shot straight. At the same time anyone with any part of the flop gets odds to call. Someone who hits bottom pair on that 59K flop has 5 outs (2 more 5's for a set, and 3 other cards to make two pair) and can also call.