Betting the Turn From Out of Position - Part II

I continue this series on betting the turn from out of position by looking at the times you checked the flop and then raised. At first glance, this seems like a no-brainer. You check-raised, and now it's your turn again. Surely, you will just bet.



Most of the time you will, but there are a few cases when you may want to check, instead.



• You were semibluffing and missed.

• You raised for value with a draw and missed.

• You were semibluffing, or raising for value, and hit.

• Your big hand became bigger.

• You thought you had the best hand, but a bad card for you came.

• Nothing happened, and you think you still have the best hand.



You were semibluffing and missed: Typically, this happens when you become heads up after the flop. Let's say a late-position player raises and you call from the big blind with the 10 8 after the small blind calls. The flop is A 9 7, so you have an open-end straight draw. The small blind and you check to the raiser, who bets. The small blind folds and you raise, representing an ace, hoping the late-position raiser has a hand like J-10, Q-J, or 5-5 and decides to give up. He calls, though, and now you miss the turn.



Some players check here, hoping for the "inverse free-card play," when your opponent checks behind you, fearing you are tricking him into betting again so that you can check-raise one more time. Many timid opponents will actually give you a free card here with a hand like J-J or Q-Q, hoping to get to a one-bet showdown. I am not a fan of the inverse free-card play, as I prefer to put pressure on opponents who have J-J in this situation, but there are many opponents who will never release a pair. So, when should you check?



• You are viewed as a tricky player, so your opponent will call you down with anything decent, but may distrust your check.

• You are up against a timid calling station who will check behind you but never fold a good hand.

• Your opponent is a tricky, aggressive player who may be waiting to raise you (then maybe your semibluff was not such a good idea).



Checking violates the principle that if you are going to call, you are generally better off betting. However, you should check if one (or more) of the three exceptions above exists.



You raised for value with a draw and missed: Again, you are in the blind, this time with the A 2♥. You call an early-position raise after four other callers, so six of you see the flop, which comes K 8 7. You check, the original raiser bets, three players call, and you raise for value, since you will make the nuts nearly one-third of the time and are getting at least 2-1 and possibly 4-1 on your raise (unless the raiser three-bets and everyone folds). Now, the turn is the 6. Should you bet here?



I don't see why. Assuming that your raise got a few callers, you can't possibly win the pot with a bet. After you miss the turn, you are a 4-1 dog to make your hand, so unless you will get four-way action, every incremental bet you put in will have a negative expected value. You will need to put them in due to pot odds, but you would rather put in no bets or one, and the best way to accomplish that is to check.



You were semibluffing, or raising for value, and hit: This is the same as the cases above, except that you made your hand. You will generally bet here, but are there exceptions?



If your hand is well-hidden and your opponent is very aggressive, it may pay to check and call on the turn and check-raise the river on occasion, just to slow him down. In Internet play, this works well against auto-bettors.



Your big hand became bigger: Sometimes you check-raise with a hand like two pair or a set, and your hand improves to a full house or better. When should you slow-play?



The answer depends on the number of opponents, how loose they are, your image, and the number of draws on the board. Here are some cases:



1. With one timid opponent, you want to make sure you get at least one big bet. If he tends to respect your check-raise on the flop and will fold to your bet unless he has a decent hand, you need to be careful. If there are few draws on the board, check, hoping your broken-wing act will gain you a crying call on the river. If draws are present, bet and hope that he has one that will keep him playing.



2. With one aggressive opponent who will almost always bet if you check, go ahead and let him.



3. With more than one opponent, you should bet even without draws present, because chances are that one of them will have enough of a hand to call you down.



You thought you had the best hand, but a bad card for you came: This time, you are the big blind with the J 9. After two limpers, the button raises and you call, as do the limpers. The flop is 9 6 3, and you check to the raiser, who bets. You raise to protect your vulnerable hand, and the limper folds. The button calls. Now, the turn is the K. This can't make you happy, but should you bet or check?



In general, bet. Your opponent can have a king, but he also can have many hands that do not contain one, such as A-Q, A-J, A-10, Q-J, J-10, 8-8, and 7-7. If you check and he checks, you have given a free card to all of those hands. If you check and he bets, you can't be sure that he has a king, because he may bet just because you checked.



If your opponent is straightforward, you can bet and fold if he raises. The real problem comes against clever, aggressive opponents who will decide to represent a king whether they have one or not. These opponents are tough to play against from out of position, but most of them will also bet automatically if you check. The odds favor checking and calling the turn, hoping that this is one of the times he does not hold a king or that you will draw out.



In my column titled "A Strange Sequence," I discussed another hand in which a bad turn card came after I check-raised the flop (check-reraised, actually). It was so bad that I checked and folded, correctly assuming that I had no outs. The column is available at www.CardPlayer.com.



That column's lesson was that if the card that comes off is terrible, don't be afraid to give up. Just because you check-raised the flop does not mean you must bet or even continue to play.



Nothing happened and you think you still have the best hand: Sometimes you check-raise, believing you have the best hand, and nothing much happens to change your conviction. Is there a time you should check?



Though rare, the answer is yes. Once again, you need an aggressive opponent and something on the board that they can represent.



Here is a quick example: I held J-J in the big blind. After one limper, a very aggressive player raised. I called because I did not think I could get the limper to fold if I three-bet. The flop was 9-9-4 and I check-raised the raiser. The limper folded, and the raiser called. A 3 came on the turn. I believed that the raiser had very little, as he was raising with great frequency, although he could have me beat. I was sure that he would bet if I checked, and was afraid that he would fold if I bet.



I check-called the turn, and check-called the river when a deuce came. He showed down A-2, so I took the pot, which included the two extra big bets he donated as a result of my turn check.



You need to be aware of opportunities like this in order to score extra bets from frequent bluffers.



This column has demonstrated that check-raising the flop does not mean that you must bet the turn. If you analyze each situation and vary your play among betting, check-raising, check-calling, and even check-folding, you will show more profit and keep your opponents off balance when you do check.



This series will continue 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].