Most texts offer only generalities about playing the turn in limit hold'em, and I don't blame them. By the turn, so much has happened preflop and on the flop that comprehensive discussions of turn play become very complex.
But we can discuss a small segment of turn play with some thoroughness. This series of columns will review situations in which you decide to bet the turn from first position. We will consider the following situations:
• You checked the flop, and called.
• You checked the flop, and raised.
• You checked the flop, and no one bet.
• You bet the flop, and no one raised.
• You bet the flop, got raised, and called.
• You bet the flop, got raised, and reraised.
For all of these cases, we will look at most of the possible reasons that you should or should not bet on the turn.
You checked the flop, and called.
This may be the most interesting situation, and it comes up first. If you checked the flop and simply called, why would you now consider betting? There are four reasons:
1. You were slow-playing your hand.
2. You just made your hand.
3. You just picked up a big draw.
4. You think the turn card did not help your opponent, and you wish to bluff.
Let's examine each of them and see which ones you should bet and when.
You were slow-playing your hand: The primary reasons that you would check and call with a made hand on the flop are deception or fear that a bet will eliminate players.
For example, you have a tight image, and after you get a free play in the blind, you flop a surprising two pair. The flop is non-threatening, and you think that a bet will cause the other players to fold. You check against, say, three players, and the last one bets. Again, you don't want to check-raise, because you want the others to call, as well. Now, the turn makes a possible draw. You do not want to give the field a free card, and you think there is an excellent chance that the player who bet, hoping to pick up the pot, will check here, not only because his plan did not work, but because you were among the callers. In this case, you certainly should bet.
However, if the player who bet is aggressive and frequently auto-bets the turn, or if the turn card looks like it might have hit him, you might be better off check-raising, to make sure that you get an additional bet or two.
If you are heads up on the turn, you will want to vary your play here, betting sometimes, even into a frequent bettor, and check-raising sometimes.
Of course, your hand may be stronger than two pair. Perhaps you flopped the nut straight or even a full house. Your decision to check the flop would depend on how many players there are, and how likely they are to call. Once you checked and called, your decision becomes similar.
You should bet if there are draws present, to make sure that you get your opponents to put money in before they miss and fold for free. In fact, failure to bet here, trying to be clever with a flopped full house or quads, is a common error. Having someone else bet your big hand for you twice (they already bet the flop) can be fun, but unless you are nearly certain this will happen, you need to do your own work.
You just made your hand: Many players check almost without thinking when they should bet, thinking, "I checked and called. Now I can check-raise."
That is unsophisticated thinking. When you make your hand on the turn and are first to act, you should consider several things. First, how obvious is your made hand? A flush card hitting on the turn is pretty clear to everyone, and thus the bettor is more likely to check. If an overcard hits you, especially if you represented overcards before the flop, it probably pays to just bet out.
Perhaps you hit trips, generally when you called with middle pair. Again, betting against most opponents would be your best choice. Unsophisticated opponents will not believe you, because with trips, they would have tried to check-raise. Sophisticated players may read hands well enough to check the turn behind you. Even against hyperaggressive opponents, who would always bet if you checked, you should consider betting, because they might be skeptical, or brazen, enough to raise.
If you make a well-hidden straight, you have a better chance that someone else will bet, and you can consider checking, but only if you can trap several unsuspecting opponents for an extra bet. But even then, betting can sometimes get you more money (see my column "Is Check-Raising Costing You Money?" at CardPlayer.com).
One reason to bet out is to establish that you have made your hand. At first, people will be skeptical and will call you down. This is fine, because it means that your good hands are getting paid off. But eventually, some observant opponents will realize that you have what you say you have on the turn, and will start folding to your bets.
While it may seem that you are now losing bets, it actually creates opportunities to bluff on the turn when a scare card hits. Now, since these opponents "know" that you have what you're representing, you can pick up pots by simply betting occasionally.
You just picked up a big draw: This is a fairly common reason to bet, especially against only one or two opponents. However, it does not work as well as most practitioners expect.
For example, you check and call with a straight draw. Now, the turn card gives you a flush draw, as well. Should you think, "Wow, now I have lots of outs. I may as well semibluff and perhaps win right here"?
Unfortunately, you also need to decide exactly what your bet represents. If the board is otherwise non-threatening, you are probably trying to represent that you just made two pair. But if you did hit a well-hidden two pair, wouldn't you be more likely to check-raise? Most players would. So, your bet has very little credibility, and many aggressive players will tend to raise you on general principles when you make this bet, particularly with an overpair.
Now you have the dilemma of calling and demonstrating that you have a big draw, or risking even more money with a brave three-bet that still has only a small chance of succeeding.
Straightforward play would be to check and call, and there is no shame in playing that way most of the time. An alternative would be a bluff check-raise, which would be consistent with the hidden two-pair play. Before trying this expensive play, be sure that your opponent can lay down a hand when he thinks he is beat.
You think the turn card did not help your opponent, and you wish to bluff. This case is closely related to the last one, in that you will be bluffing. The difference is that you have not improved and your best chance to win is to bet and hope that your opponent folds. I say "opponent" because if there is more than one, you should very rarely try a naked bluff.
Of course, this is still probably a semibluff, because you would not have called the flop bet with nothing at all. But it probably is a hand that you will have to fold if you check and there is a bet.
For this play to work, not only does the turn card have to miss your opponent, but it also has to make a possible hand for you to represent. Some players think that a third flush card would work here, but unless you have a lot of credibility, your opponent could easily put you on a flush draw, perhaps with a pair.
The most typical situation for this would be a four-straight or four-flush on the board, with the straight being the most common, because you are better able to judge that your opponent would not have been helped. For example, you call a preflop raise from the big blind with the J
10
. The flop is 7
5
4
. You check and call. The turn is the 6
, which almost certainly does not help your opponent. It doesn't help you, either, but it could have. So, a bet here forces your opponent, even with a big pair, to realize that he will have to call two more big bets while possibly drawing dead. He could easily give up.
We will continue this series in the next issue.
Barry offers poker lessons tailored to the specific strengths and weaknesses of the individual student. Please visit his web site at www.barrytanenbaum.com or e-mail him at [email protected].
