You are deep into a good Texas Holdem poker game, you still have a fair amount of chips left, and you’re pretty sure you are going to chase the pot because you’ve just been dealt two aces for your hole cards. A couple of other players fold, but another couple of players match the big blind and stay in the hand. When it’s your turn, you raise big. Another player folds, but the other one calls your raise. This poker hand is getting exciting.

You think that things are looking pretty good for you until you see the flop – a deuce of clubs, a seven of clubs, and a nine of hearts. You have an ace of spades and an ace of hearts. Your opponent sees the flop and bets twice the pot.

Knowing when to chase the pot and when to cut your losses can be tricky. When you have premium hole cards and a lot of chips invested in the pot, it hurts to fold. What hurts even worse, however, is to chase a pot and find out that you were drawing dead by the turn. When the flop doesn’t give you what you want, even though your hole cards are promising, it’s time to slow down and study the situation. Chase the pot if you think you’re being bluffed, but try to be as sure as you can. If your poker opponent is chasing a flush and you are hoping for another ace to make trips, that ace on the river isn’t going to help you if your opponent gets his or her flush. If there is three of any suit after the flop or the river and your opponent is being increasingly aggressive, you may want to put those two aces out to pasture and hope for better luck in the next hand.

Though your poker opponent may bluff you into folding now and then, it’s still better not to continually chase a pot hoping for a big break. If, however, the flop gives you what you want and your opponent is still betting aggressively, then most of the time it’s okay to go for it. Sometimes it’s the luck of the draw in poker, but strategy still plays a big part.