What is Chasing?
Your opponent bets three times the size of the pot. You are pretty sure he has either aces or kings. You have to stay in even though you know at the moment he has you beat. This is called chasing. You don't have the nuts but with the right cards on fourth street and the river you have the potential for a big win.
Is Having the Best Hand Enough?
Anyone who has played poker has struggled with the question of when should you chase. The reality is the odds may all be in your favor but without luck on your side it just isn't going to happen for you.
If you play poker often enough you will have experienced times when you hold the straight draw and flush draw simultaneously. You feel confident that you aren't chasing, everyone else is. You are sure it is your pot. Because of this you bet big, really big. This is when you really need to be careful. Having the best drawing hand doesn't guarantee you anything. The cards can turn in an instant.
Say you are in an Omaha H/L tourney and you hold Ah, Ks, 2h, 3s. Another player raises preflop. You call the hand so you disguise the strength of your own hand. The flop is Ac, 8h, Qd. You have the best shot at the low at this moment with the 2-3. You have likely missed your flushes and the high straight is a one in a million chance now. Your opponent raises half your stack. Do you call? You still have two cards to be dealt to hit your low. If they are a two or three your low could be eliminated. On the other hand you have a pretty good chance to get a non 2-3 low card. You call. Fourth street turns over a 9d. No low. Your opponent now pushes all-in. Do you call? Chances are good at this point that you are chasing blind. Your odds of getting a low card on the river have diminished greatly.
Trust Your Luck
Many players call no matter what and many fold. Chances are when you are running good that you will hit it. Chances when you are running bad are slim to none. Be prepared to fold only to have your one outer show up on the river. It's happened to every poker player in the history of poker.
The best advice is to follow your run. If you are running good and you have a sizable number of outs-go for it. That's why they call it gambling.
