First to Act, Last to Act
Aug 29,2007
Let’s continue with the theme from yesterday, head’s up on the river. But now we will look at it from each side of the coin. Obviously you want to act last here, as you would on any other street. If you are in the fortunate position of acting last you can decide how to proceed based on your opponent’s actions. If he checks to you, you can bet with a legitimate hand (an assumption that will apply to today’s entire tip) but be wary of the check-raise. You can bet here if you believe you have at least a 55% chance of winning the hand. If your opponent bets in front of you, call him after you consider the hands he might hold and your chances of beating them. Compare your chances of winning to the pot odds and call if it is favorable.
If you are first to act on the river things become more difficult. Now you have to decide if you would like to bet, check and fold, check and call or check-raise. With a winning hand in this position you’re deciding how much more money you can coax out of your opponent. Should you bet or risk the check-raise and win two bets if your opponent calls? These are the types of questions you should ask yourself at this stage of the hand.
But, be careful to mind the board. That last card could have made someone else’s draw. People are drawn out on in low limit hold’em all the time, even when their opponent had to hit a runner-runner straight or flush and you will usually only get action from these opponents on the river if you are beat. Be mindful of the board if you can be beat, but if your hand is invincible try and get as much money as possible out of your opponent. These extra bets you win on the river distinguish the great players from the merely good players.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Top Pair on the River
Aug 25,2007
Perhaps one of the toughest decisions in hold’em is what to do against one or two opponents on the river with top pair. Should you bet or check here? First look at the board and determine if any straights, flushes or full house draws are possible. You’ll beat any two pair but fall to two pair or three-of-a-kind. It is possible for top pair to win the hand and you’ll probably be in a kicker war here if there has not been significant action on the preceding rounds of betting.
Let’s say you hold A-K on a board of A-J-5-2-8 and are first to act. The action has been standard throughout the hand; you leading out with your top pair, top kicker and your two opponents calling. If your opponent had hit two pair on the flop or turn, they would have raised. So, you can bet on the river here and in the unlikely event that one of your opponents made two pair on the river, they will call and you will win an extra bet.
If you are last to act on the river in this example and an opponent has bet in front of you, what should you do? You can raise with confidence against an overaggressive player here but just call a tight player who bets on the river. The key here, as it most always is, is to know your opponents. Holding top pair on the river is a common situation at the hold’em table and it’s important you learn how top play it well.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Overcalls
Aug 23,2007
An overcall occurs when there is already a bet and a call in front of you. You really need to put the brakes on in this situation before you throw more money into the pot. Realize a couple things here, you now must beat two hands and while the original bettor might be bluffing, a caller is not bluffing. While you need a stronger hand to call with than you would to raise with, you need an even stronger hand to overcall with. A lot of players don’t realize this, so you can take advantage of this flaw in their game.
In the best case scenario you will find yourself in the position to overcall with a very strong hand. Your initial action may be to raise here, but look to see how many opponents are left to act behind you and if those players are loose calling stations. If your hand is indeed strong enough you will win more money by letting these players into the pot on the river rather than raising and knocking them out. Remember, on every street you’re trying to get as much money into the pot for you to win as possible and in some cases the action that you think will accomplish this may actually not. Let the poor play of your opponents pay you off in the right situations. You just need to be aware enough to recognize them.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Game Texture
Aug 20, 2007
One thing to pay close attention to pre-flop is the game texture of your table. How many players are usually seeing a flop? Is your table tight or loose, passive or aggressive? These are all things you should know the answer to after a few minutes at the table. Game texture can also change as players come and go and as players become impatient and want action. Game texture is another thing you should observe pre-flop while everyone else is second guessing their starting hands.
A game is classified as tight when 3-5 players see a flop and loose when 6-8 players see a flop. In loose games drawing hands become much more valuable, because you will be paid of nicely when you make your hand. You can afford to limp in with the crowd pre-flop. High-card hands play better in a tight game where fewer opponents can suck out on you and your top pair with a high kicker or two pair will often win the pot.
I was playing in a low limit game at the MGM Grand poker room when a massage therapist walked up to the table and offered a free massage to the winner of the next hand as a promotion. I was dealt pocket kings in middle position and knew I was in for a long hand when every player at the table called in hopes of scoring a free message when I raised the pot pre-flop. To make a long story short I proceeded to bet and raise on every street only to be sucked out on by J-2 offsuit when my opponent spiked a 2 on the river. To add insult to injury I had to watch the guy who beat me get a free massage after the hand that I was a 90 percent favorite to win before the river. This example just goes to show how game texture can diminish the strongest of hands pre-flop.
Large Pots
Aug 18, 2007
Pot size is one of the most important factors to consider when making decisions about a hand. On the turn, you’ll start to have an idea about how large or small the pot size is going to be. Hands have value that depends directly upon the size of the pot. Always think of the pot size by the number of bets involved and not the chips or money. This will lead you to think more strategically and will work no matter what limits you play.
While there is no distinct line that defines a pot large or small there are a number of things you can watch for that will tip you off. These include, for a large pot: flops that are six-handed, flops that were raised pre-flop and are still four-handed, when pre-flop action is three-bet and hands were you suspect two of your opponents will call down to the river. Use these as a guideline starting out and then with practice you will be able to make decisions in marginal situations.
When pots get large play your draws aggressively and call liberally with marginal hands. Large pots will frequently build up in loose game and you will win a lot of your money by forcing opponents to fold with aggressive play. Knocking oppoenents out of the hand, no matter what you hold, is invaluable in this situation. Folding a live draw can be quite costly here. When the pot gets large it is a huge mistake to fold a winner, while only a small mistake to call one bet with a loser. When the pot is large, you stand to win a lot of money. These pots will largely determine your profit at the end of the night. Make every attempt to wins these pots by investing extra bets if it helps your chance to win the pot.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Head’s up on the River
Aug 17, 2007
When it gets down to the river and you have one opponent across the table from you, you can be sure they have some kind of hand, unless they’re bluffing. This isn’t likely to happen in a hold’em game all the way to the river though. Look at the board and identify any draws or the best hand they could hold. Where do you stand in relation to the best possible hand? Take all this information into consideration and bet accordingly. You may be able to bluff successfully yourself if you missed your draw and a scare card hit on the river. You can bluff on the river in a favorable situation like the one just mentioned if you know you cannot win the pot by checking and the pot odds are profitable in relation to the odds against your opponent calling the bet. Whether you have a hand or not, how you decide to play will likely depend upon your position and how much money is in the pot already.
No matter what you do on the river, remember this: While it is a small error to call one last bet on the river with a losing hand; it is a huge mistake to fold the winning hand on the river and lose the entire pot.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Head’s Up vs. Multi-Way
Aug 15, 2007
The number of opponents you have on the turn is another factor you should consider in your strategy. If you are head’s-up you can use more tricks, like bluffing, slowplaying, semi-bluffing and inducing bluffs. When the hand has many people involved you want to pull back on the fancy play and play straightforward.
You should not completely stop using these moves when the pot gets large, but you need to understand that with many opponents the implied odds have increased not only for you, but your opponents as well. You are probably going to have to show down the best hand to win and if you are on a big draw you don’t have to worry about building the pot yourself because there will already be a lot of action ahead of you.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Not Improving on the Turn
Aug 10, 2007
You played solid starting cards, hit enough of the flop to continue and no help came on the turn. This is a sticky situation, what should you do? This is where the information obtained by observing everything going on at the table is a major advantage. If you haven’t improved you’ll most likely hold a draw with the right amount of opponents, a big pocket pair in the hole that you believe will hold up or absolutely nothing, but you believe you can bluff and pick up the pot.
A lot of time when you flop an open-ended straight draw or a four-flush you will not improve on the turn. If you have two or more opponents you can call a bet and give it one last shot on the river. Watch out for a lot of action on the turn though. If there’s a bet and raise ahead of you, be wary. Make sure the board is not paired so that you’re not drawing dead to a full-house.
If folding is the superior play to checking with your hand, it might be the most profitable to bluff against your opponents. The turn is a good place to do so, if the action leading up to it is passive. This will require that you pull in all the information from the hand to pick a good situation to pull it off. If everyone has checked on the flop, then you have a good chance of pulling off a bluff on the turn from early position, especially if a blank card has fallen.
On most hands you’ll never see the turn, but when you do make it to this turning point in the action without much hope, know when you can correctly continue to the murky waters of the river and when you should fold.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Inducing Bluffs
Aug 06, 2007
Inducing bluffs is a version of the slow play. You check when you find yourself in a pot with an aggressive player who you know will bet if you check to him. Do this when you have a strong hand on the flop or river. To consider this move a number of things will have to be right about the situation: 1) You must be in the pot with only one opponent. 2) Your opponent must be capable of bluffing but also good enough to fold if you bet yourself. 3) If he does check when you induce him to bluff, the free card will not be dangerous to your hand.
A good time to induce a bluff is on the turn after you have bet on the flop when you hold strong hole cards like Queens and the board is suited. Check to your opponent on the turn and he may try to bluff on the river. If you do this you can pick up an additional big bet on the river and be pretty sure your opponent does not have trips when he bets on the last round.
A lot of time when you flop an open-ended straight draw or a four-flush you will not improve on the turn. If you have two or more opponents you can call a bet and give it one last shot on the river. Watch out for a lot of action on the turn though. If there’s a bet and raise ahead of you, be wary. Make sure the board is not paired so that you’re not drawing dead to a full-house.
If folding is the superior play to checking with your hand, it might be the most profitable to bluff against your opponents. The turn is a good place to do so, if the action leading up to it is passive. This will require that you pull in all the information from the hand to pick a good situation to pull it off. If everyone has checked on the flop, then you have a good chance of pulling off a bluff on the turn from early position, especially if a blank card has fallen.
On most hands you’ll never see the turn, but when you do make it to this turning point in the action without much hope, know when you can correctly continue to the murky waters of the river and when you should fold.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Small Pots
July 30, 2007
When the pot is small you need to tighten up because there isn’t much to gain by playing loose. If anything, it will be you who contributes most of the money into a pot with one or two opponents, which will add up over time. You need to be much more confident that you have the best hand or a strong draw to continue. Try and bet a marginal hand on the flop to win the pot right there, but if you find yourself on the turn with a bet in front of you and opponents to act behind you continue only with the best hands. Especially on the turn, where the bets have doubled, don’t make the mistake of giving your chips away one call at a time.
If you find yourself with a close decision on the turn and the pot is small, use this factor to lean towards folding. If you do have a strong hand, push the action and bet. You’ll win most of your money in hands with small pots from opponents who call down to the river with weak draws and second best hands. Let your cards and the size of the pot, be your guide.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Bluffing
July 28, 2007
Yesterday we talked about deceiving your opponents to think you are weak when you are actually strong. It can work the other way as well and this is where the bluff comes into play. Often thought of as the sexy play you can make at a table, the bluff is often over emphasized in movies and on television. A bluff is a very effective play and a winning player needs to know how to do it well, but not as often as you might think.
When you bluff, you raise the pot with nothing or close to nothing in an attempt to make others think you’re strong, inducing them to fold and give you the pot without having to show your cards. A few words to the wise on bluffing: In limit hold’em you will rarely bluff, not nearly as often as you would in no-limit hold’em because it’s too hard to make people fold for one bet. Pay attention to the size of the pot, people are more likely to call you if the pot is large and fold if the pot is small. You usually want to be head’s-up when you bluff and never try to bluff more than two opponents out of a pot.
The most important thing for you to know when bluffing is to know your opponent (a recurring theme). Watch them throughout the game and you’ll know when they’re on the come and then you can possibly bluff them out of the pot. Also, if you are in a pot with a bad player, don’t bluff. They will usually call anyway and you will have to show down the best hand to win. As you play more poker you’ll notice the correct situations to bluff in will find you more as you recognize them. Develop your observation skills and you will able to blend all the information given to you by opponents, pot size and game texture to decide when to bluff. Integrate bluffing into your game and you can skillfully pick up pots when you’re not dealt the winning hand.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Raising on the Flop
July 27, 2007
On the flop you have a lot more information to work with and the reasons for raising become numerous and more complex. This is where the strategy becomes more creative and less mechanical. There are many reasons to raise: ranging from protecting your hand, building a pot, bluffing and semi-bluffing, to gaining information or getting a free card on the next round. In most cases you want to be the aggressor if you’ve got the goods.
First, let’s talk about defense: failing to protect a strong hand in a large pot is a very costly error. You protect your hand by betting and raising so that you put your opponents who hold weak draws on a decision between folding and making a bad call. Everyone has bad beat stories of how they bet and raised on every round only to be called and sucked out on by a horrible player. Bad beats suck, but guess what; you want those players to call you every time. They will pay you off far more in the long run, than beat you. Ignore the results of one hand and appreciate that you made the correct play by raising.
You can also play a little offense with your betting strategy and still make the right decisions. This will take greater skill and awareness of your table, but it makes the game a whole lot more fun. With a drawing hand, or even better, a hand with multi-way possibilities (ex. Ac-Jc on a board of Ah-9c-4c) start building a pot right away. The large pot will ensure you get the correct odds on your draw, and pay off big when you make your hand. Just as you don’t fear protecting your hand, don’t be so timid that you walk away from risky situations that are profitable to play aggressively.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Semi-Bluffing
July 24, 2007
Let’s turn our attention to a very solid play you can make on the flop called semi-bluffing. Here you bet on a weak hand, hoping everyone else will fold and you will win the pot right there, but if you are called you still might win. Good examples of hands to semi-bluff with are second pair with a strong kicker, an inside straight draw or a small pair with a draw (Ex. You- Ac-4c Flop- Kc-8c-4d). A semi-bluff is best made from early position, as are all bluffs, to show strength. If everything goes according to plan, your opponents will fold, if not you have a fighting chance. In most cases it is better to make a semi-bluff rather then just checking and calling if you have no reason to fear a raise. You want to be the aggressive one if you decide to play. If you are in last position and have the luxury of giving yourself a free card, it is usually correct to do so and pass on the semi-bluff to avoid being check-raised.
There are many advantages of integrating the check raise into your strategy. If opponents call you and you do make your draw it will be hard for your opponents to read. They will put you on a made hand if you raised on the flop, not a draw. This will be very profitable for you on the later betting rounds, when the bets double. Also, if you semi-bluff on the flop and get no help on the turn, it is likely that opponents ahead of you will check to you. You have effectively given yourself a free card by semi-bluffing on the flop.
Lastly, by semi-bluffing you use your cards and situations to randomize your betting patterns to your opponents. This is a very important step in keeping your opponents guessing about your play. And, the best part about a semi-bluff is even when you get “caught” you can still win if help comes on the turn or river.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
The Free Card
June 26, 2007
Because checking and calling is rarely correct hold’em strategy, you usually don’t want to give a free card. If there is any amount of money in the pot you will usually prefer to win it right away, unless you have a monster hand (nut flush, full house and up). If you give someone a free card who would have folded to a bet and it makes their hand you have committed a huge error. Only give a free card with a strong hand or in situations where you think someone will bet behind you if you check or you are sure you don’t have the best hand and are equally sure no one will fold if you bet.
While giving a free card gives you a disadvantage, getting one yourself can be quite advantageous. You can do this by betting on the flop when you are in last position on a draw. On the turn when the bets have doubled your opponents will likely check to you and if you have not improved you can check in last position and see the river for free.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Check-Raising and Slowplaying
June 22, 2007
Check-Raising and Slowplaying are creative plays available to you on the flop. Both these moves are used to deceive your opponents and make them think you are weaker than you actually are. For either of these plays to work you will need to hold a strong hand.
Of these two plays you will most likely check-raise more, especially in limit hold’em games. When you check-raise you need to have a strong hand on the flop and you must be sure that there will be action behind you. Use your knowledge of the game’s texture to gauge the aggression at your table. If you are quite sure someone will bet behind you then check to that player and raise him when the action gets back to you. This is easy and very effective in low limit hold’em games where people like action.
Slowplaying requires you to lay more of a trap and should be used less often because more variables need to be met. In addition to holding a strong hand, the table needs to be passive, to the point where on this particular hand you’re sure that a small raise on the flop will drive opponents out. But, before you check take a second look at the board and make sure that the free card has a good possibility of making someone the second best hand and very little chance of making an opponent a better a hand.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Hand Types
June 19, 2007
So what kind of hand do you hold? There are three types of profitable hands you can hold pre-flop. These are top pair hands, speculative hands and monster hands. Of course there are other categories of hands, but you should not be playing those in the first place. Each type of hand should be played differently and caters to different situations.
Top pair hands consist of two big, offsuit cards like A-J or K-Q. These hands play best against a small group of people and often win small to medium-sized pots by making top pair with a strong kicker. You usually want to face 2-3 opponents with these hands.
Speculative hands consist of small, coordinated cards like pocket pairs and suited connectors. Think pocket fours or 7-8 suited. You want a lot of opponents in pre-flop with these hands so that the few times they do hit, they pay off big. You also want to see the flop cheaply with speculative hands. You can call a raise in good position with strong speculative hands like 10-9 suited, but never for three bets pre-flop.
Monster hands take the best of both worlds and consist of high pocket pairs and big suited cards. Pocket kings and A-Q suited, for example. These hands play well against a few opponents or many. Not only do they often make top pair to win the pot, but also have a chance to make sets and flushes as a bonus. You should raise with these hands pre-flop, which we will touch upon tomorrow.
Note: Game texture plays a large part in determining how you should use these hand types pre-flop. For example, in limit hold’em games, especially low limit hold’em games the texture is often loose and passize, which makes speculative hands even more profitable to hold pre-flop.
Click here to play now.
Raising Pre-Flop
June 15, 2007
Selectivity and aggression are highly regarded traits of poker strategy. We have covered the selective part so now let us turn to aggression. You will raise for many reasons, but you should rarely call a raise.
Pre-flop, you want to raise with the strongest hands to get money into the pot and to narrow the field so opponents won’t get lucky with random hands. By raising things up before any cards are dealt you send a message to the rest of the table. You should always raise with monster hands like pocket aces, kings, queens, jacks and tens as well as suited A-K, A-Q, A-J and K-Q. Unsuited hands that warrant a raise are A-K, A-Q. These guidelines are not set in stone and you will have lower standards for raising in late position, especially if no one has acted in front of you. Re-raise with aces, kings and queens to protect your hand.
Don’t waste the hands you’ve been waiting for by merely limping into a pot or allowing your opponents do the same. I often hear players complain about not being able to bet people off a hand. Which in a lot of cases is true, but think about this way: if you don’t raise the pot you are giving your opponent infinite chances to draw out on you. Make them pay the price of admission to see another card when you have the best of it.
On the flip side of this strategy is what to do when there is a raise in front of you? Cold-calling a raise with mediocre or marginal hands is one of the most costly and common mistakes a poker player makes. Think about the hands you would raise with and in most cases give your opponent credit for those hands. You need stronger hand to call a raise than to make a raise.
Click here to play now.
Pitfall Hands
June 12, 2007
Some hands play very easily in a hold’em game pre-flop. When you get pocket aces, you raise and when you’re dealt 7-2 offsuit, you fold. Even pocket fours in a multi-way pot are easy to fold when they don’t hit on the flop and there is action in front of you. With weak hands and strong hands, the decisions are simple. But it is the correct decisions on marginal hands that will make you a winner in the long run. There are a number of hands pre-flop that can get you into quite a bit of trouble if you call in the wrong situation. Hands like A-10 offsuit or K-10 suited, even A-K offsuit, by no means a weak or marginal hand, can get you into trouble post-flop. The key is to recognize these trouble situations before they start. This will require you to draw together a lot of information pre-flop to help you make a tough decision. The main thing you need to focus on in this situation is your opponents: their position, style of play, the game texture and any pre-flop raises in front of you.
Let’s look at A-10 suited as an example. You are in late position and a tight player in front of you raises pre-flop, getting one caller before your turn to act. You should fold here. Your hand is most likely beat or dominated. If the player who raised was ignorant or a maniac the story might be different, but unless you are bailed out by a flush you will most likely make the second best hand here. And in poker “second place is the first loser” rings very true because the second place hand will lose the most money.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Decisions and Subsequent Actions
June 08, 2007
The most important decisions you make are the ones that occur frequently, this is why pre-flop strategy is so important. Make poor decisions pre-flop and no matter how well you play post-flop it will be hard to recover from your initial mistake. The attitude that “any two cards can win” is a losing one in the long run.
Pre-flop errors are easy to make because they don’t cost very much individually. Your discipline breaks down and you start calling raises with hands like K-9 offsuit. If you continually did this over the course of a year you would lose a large sum of money.
The other problem with pre-flop errors is that the opportunity to make them arises early and often. Avoid making money draining decisions pre-flop and you will have a solid foundation for winning hold’em strategy.
Pre-flop strategy is the first step in becoming a winning poker player. Using the information you gather from position, game texture, starting hands and raises to play the right hands in the right situations is something you should do every time you’re dealt a hand. So make sure you have the discipline to fully evaluate frequent decisions and avoid making costly long term mistakes that will make you a losing player.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Fit or Fold - Limit Hold’em
June 05, 2007
For the price of one betting round you can see 71 percent of your hand in a hold’em game .If five of the seven cards are out and you sit there with nothing, it’s time to check out of the hand. Going into the jungle of three additional betting rounds with a long shot is never a good decision.
We would all love to flop the nut straight on every hand we play, but that is not the way the poker gods work. A lot of times you’ll get nothing on the flop. There are a lot of reasons to fold here, but also a few to stick around. You should stay in a hand on the flop because your hand has improved to a made hand, you flop a draw that will pay off nicely from many opponents if it connects or if you had a monster pocket pair before the flop. If none of these apply to your hand, get out now. There are only two more cards to come and you’re on a fool’s errand if you pay to continue in hopes that one of those cards to come is for you.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Keep’em Guessing
May 29, 2007
A lot more weapons are available in your strategy toolbox once the flop is dealt. Don’t waste all these weapons by making your play mechanical and predictable. Never become so tight or loose that your opponents can predict what you hold with some degree of accuracy. Have an overall plan with every play you make to deceive the table. This will also help you remain patient by keeping the game exciting.
You want to deceive your opponents whenever you can; act weak when you are strong with slowplays and check-raises and strong when you are weak with bluffs and semi-bluffs to throw them off track. Show your hole cards every once in a while when your caught bluffing. Start out playing tight then change gears to loose play, and vice versa. Make it so your opponents always have a little voice in their head second-guessing what you hold when they are in a pot against you.
Pre-flop play is just the tip of the iceberg. Post-flop play is where it gets creative and where winning players truly establish themselves. To become a winning player you need to use all the plays available to you and mix them up to make the most money you can off your opponents. Be observant and you’ll notice the right situations to make these plays. Never stop thinking about your opponents and all the information available to you. Remember, the part of the iceberg concealed beneath the water is usually what sinks the ship, not the part that’s visible. Have a plan so that your opponent only observes the small part of your play you want them to see while you formulate a master plan to sink them with deception.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Flop Texture
May 27, 2007
After you watch your opponent’s reactions to the flop as it is dealt you need to identify flop texture. Immediately figure out the best possible hand and where you stand in relation to the nuts. Watch out for connected, suited or paired flops. If there are draws out there and many opponents are still in the pot, you can count on them trying to draw out on you.
If you have decided to continue, you will hold either a made hand or a drawing hand. This will combine with what’s on the board to influence how you want to continue. With a made hand you want to play defense and raise as much as possible to get opponents off their draws. With a drawing hand you want to play offense, value raising to build a pot that will be worth the risk when you make your draw.
Remember, the best flops aren’t always the ones that give you the nuts. If you hold A-J and three aces hit on the flop, you are going to get little or no action, even if someone tries to make a bluff at the pot. You want flops that will make hands for you that are hard for your opponents to identify. Straights are overlooked by opponents more often than flushes. Also, flops that make a lesser hand than you would have hoped for might actually pay off more. If you hold A-10, do you want a flop of A-4-2 or 10-7-3? Don’t be so quick to jump on pairing your ace. The 10 with an ace kicker is much stronger than the Ace with a 10 kicker, due to the texture of the flop. If you get action on the ace-high flop, it’s likely your out kicked and have the second best hand. Always use flop texture to help you identify and avoid the pitfalls of many hands.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Improve on the Turn
May 25, 2007
You played solid starting cards, received good news on the flop and once again improved on the turn, or you had a strong hand on the flop and the turn was an inconsequential blank card. What now? Pour on the aggression! Betting or raising is a far superior play to calling or checking on the turn. You set the tone for the rest of the hand and run the show. If you call here, you better have a good reason to have done so, either to set someone up for a play on the river or if you have the correct odds to continue a draw.
The general rule of thumb is, if you have top two pair and an opponent bets into you, fire out a raise that separates the contenders from the pretenders. You want to build the pot and knock out the opponents on draws. In late position bet if no one has already done so and only check in early position if you’re absolutely sure someone will bet and allow you to check-raise. As always, before you blindly rush in with guns blazing double-check the board for connecting, suited or paired cards that could put you in the path of raises and re-raises.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more…
Loading ...
(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)