The Free Showdown

ere are many occasions when you bet a marginal hand on the penultimate betting round with the intention of inducing a free showdown on the final betting round. This is a very important poker concept. Betting the turn trying to get the opponent to check the river applies when you have position on the opponent. The free showdown tool is especially useful in hold'em, because betting the turn is so crucial to achieving success at that game. A bet on the turn in hold'em, after the limit has doubled from the previous round, stands a much better chance of winning the pot than, for example, a bet on sixth street in seven-card stud, where the limit has not changed from the previous round. An opponent calling half a load without raising gives one hope that he won't call a full shot.

A bet on the flop in hold'em gets called a high percentage of the time. A player can have a decent hand, such as top pair, a straight draw, or a flush draw. He also can have a monster, waiting for the limit to double before pulling the trigger. But there's a wide range of hands played here that are speculative in nature, such as overcards, second or bottom pair, a pocket pair lower than top pair, or a gutshot-straight draw. With a great many of these marginal holdings, the opponent intends to take off a card only on the cheap betting round. If he does not help and you bet again, he will fold. The effect that his strategy has on yours is simple. If you bet the flop without getting raised, and have only one or possibly two opponents, you normally fire another barrel when a blank comes on the turn.

Of course, there are times when you want to take a free card on the turn, such as if you are pumping with a draw and suspect the possibility of a check-raise. But it is rare for a good player to dog it on the turn with a made hand, however fragile it may be. With a made hand, you have few outs to improve. So, if you get check-raised on the turn, which normally shows a powerful enemy holding, you can usually dump your rag with a clear conscience.

If you decide to check from last position instead of following up on your flop bet, what will you do when your previously passive opponent springs to life with a bet on the end? Is he betting because your check on the turn let him know that his hand is good, or did he have a draw (or very weak holding) and is now running a bluff based on the weakness you showed? The one thing that is obvious is that your check on the turn has placed you in a poor position on the final betting round. If you had bet and gotten called, the most likely scenario is that your opponent would check again, giving you the option of one last bet or a free showdown.

What most players do after checking the turn with a fairly weak made hand is call on the river, to protect themselves against getting bluffed. When you induce a bluff by showing weakness, it does not make poker sense to then make sure that your opponent is successful. Perhaps this call on the end is correct against most opponents, but realize what the caller has done. He has spent a bet calling at the river that could have been spent firing on the turn. Anyone who understands poker should realize that it's superior to bet a marginal hand on the turn than call with it at the river. You have a chance to win the pot without a fight when you bet, but are simply reacting to the opponent when you call.

Now that we have talked theory, let's see how it is applied to specific hands. Here is an example: You open from early position with A-K for a raise and get called by only the big blind. The flop comes J 9 6, giving you the usual: no pair, no draw. All you have is two overcards. Your opponent checks, you bet (if you would check, please stop reading this article at once and go buy a book on beginning poker), and he calls. The next card is the 3, a total blank. Your opponent checks. You can take a free card, or you can bet again. You can see by our discussion that I do not think this is a close decision. You must bet; you must bet; you must bet. I hope that I have emphasized this adequately.

If your opponent raises, you fold; if he folds, you rejoice. If you do not help and he checks the river, the wise thing for you to do is turn your hand up and see who wins. Your opponent does not see any big cards on the board, so if he has a pair, you will get called. He is going to put chips into the pot, hoping that you have A-K. If you want to make him feel good, bet; and when he calls, show him what a good read he made. He may even tell you that he put you on that hand all along. So, don't bet the river.

Another example of a typical hand that wants a free showdown occurs when an overcard has come on the flop. A player limps in and you raise on the button with pocket queens. The big blind calls and so does the limper. The three of you see a flop of K 10 3. They check, you bet, the blind folds, and the limper calls. The turn is the 7, a blank, and the opponent checks. You must bet; you must bet; you must bet. There are too many hands the opponent may hold that he will fold. He could easily have a gutshot-straight draw, perhaps combined with an ace overcard. Hands with middle pair are another reasonable possibility. You have to protect your hand with a bet against all of these holdings. Sometimes the opponent has even less than that, such as an ace overcard and backdoor-flush draw on the flop. Get rid of these tack-ons, or make them pay to draw out on you.

Occasionally, the opponent is slow-playing a good hand and will raise if you bet. With Q-Q, you can be pretty sure that you are beaten. Unless you are up against a maniac bluffer, it is time to muck the hand. If you had checked, you would have to call a bet on the end (because it is poor poker strategy to induce a bluff and then fold). With either a bet or check on the turn, you lose exactly one more bet. So, your only downside to betting the turn is losing the pot when a queen was coming to enable you to draw out, but that is 22-to-1 against.

There are some times when you cannot follow through with a turn bet after betting the flop. The most common one (aside from when you are drawing against multiple opponents) is when you are up against a crowd and the turn card really cripples your hand. In the preceding example where you had the two queens, this would be if an ace hit on the turn. No one is telling you to always bet. Always is a bad word in poker strategy discussions.

The free showdown is one of the most common poker situations. In tomes that exhort you to play aggressively, this is exactly the type of play being talked about. If betting the turn with a marginal hand when you're in position to get a free showdown is not yet a member of your poker arsenal, add it immediately.

Editor's note: Bob Ciaffone is available for poker lessons. He may be reached at (989) 792-0884. His website is www.diamondcs.net/~thecoach, where you can download Robert's Rules of Poker for free. His books Pot-limit and No-limit Poker, Improve Your Poker, and Omaha Hold'em Poker are available through Card Player.