Free Cards in Limit Hold'em - Part V

Thus far, I have discussed times that you are trying to get a free card, and times that you are trying to stop an opponent from getting one. While you generally want to avoid giving free cards, giving a free card is occasionally a strategically sound play.

Here are the instances that we will explore:

1. You flop (or turn) an unbeatable hand.
2. The pot is very small.
3. You have a vulnerable hand that can improve.
4. Your opponent is a frequent bluffer.
5. 5. You are in a way-ahead/way-behind scenario.

You flop (or turn) an unbeatable hand: This is the most commonly recognized time to give a free card. The following situation happened to me recently: I was on the button in a game that played fairly tight after the flop. There were three limpers to me, and I called with the J 9. The blinds called, and the flop was J J 9. Surprisingly, everyone checked to me, and despite the drawish nature of the board, no one looked interested. I checked, as well, hoping the turn would bring some action. The turn was perfect - the Q. Everyone checked again. Now, I bet, expecting action from anyone with a pair, a 10, or a fairly high spade. Alas, it was not to be, as everyone folded. Despite my disappointment, I thought checking the flop was a reasonable shot at inducing action on the turn and potentially winning a large pot.

Please be warned, however, that many players abuse this play considerably. For example, I remember back in my $6-$12 days (I think it was in the Hoover administration), I was on the button in a very loose game with some useless hand. The flop hit 6-4-4 and everyone checked to me. I like to bet, but I had nothing, and there were far too many players to expect that I could steal successfully, so I checked. The turn was a 9, and everyone checked again. This was more tempting than before, but I still held no hand and no hope, and passed again. Now, a deuce came on the river, and everyone checked. OK, I could not win, and I checked. The big blind now tabled pocket fours, showing flopped quads, and took the tiny pot. As he did after almost every hand, he then treated us to a lecture about the fact that this was the only possible way to play his hand.

Obviously, it was not. This was a loose game, and had he just bet his hand on the flop, he doubtless would have collected some weak calls from overcards or optimistic players. Like many players, his knowledge of the strength of his hand paralyzed him.

If you are in a game in which people make liberal calls after the flop, bet your huge hand every time. Likewise, if you flop a good hand, bet and get some calls, and if you turn a full house or better, bet if the board presents draws. You do not want to give a free card to a player who would call the turn but fold the river if he misses. Collect those calls.

But if your game is tight, or if there are few players in the pot, go ahead and check your monster, allowing your opponents a chance to catch up enough to pay you off, or perhaps even become emboldened by your check and try a bluff.

The pot is very small: Sometimes you do not need a huge hand to make it worthwhile to give a free card. When the pot is quite small, the value of future bets may be greater than the value of winning the pot right now, even if you may lose sometimes by giving the free card. I gave an example in my column "I Manipulated My Opponent Into Winning" (Card Player, May 3, 2005, available at www.CardPlayer.com, as are all of the previous columns in this series), but let's look at another one.

You hold the K Q on the button in a $20-$40 game, and everyone folds to you. You raise, and only the big blind calls. You see a flop of K 8 4, and your opponent checks. You may be behind, of course, but almost all of the time, you will be ahead. And, your opponent will have missed. There are no flush draws or open-end straight draws possible, though he could possibly hold a gutshot. But the pot holds only $90, and if you can induce a $40 bet by your trailing opponent on the turn, he will be getting 2.25-1. It is unlikely that, if he is behind, any hand he bets will be anywhere close to that price, so he will be betting as a huge underdog.

If he has flopped a pair, he will not fold if you bet, so giving him a free card costs you only a fraction of a bet. If he would fold an ace, your free-card play will cost you if an ace comes, but that is a parlay that you should be willing to accept for the increased profit you will make in the other cases.

To pick an example, let's assume he called you with the J 10. If you bet, he will fold. But if you check and he hits a jack or 10, he will bet when having only five outs. He is thus an 8-1 underdog to beat you on the river, but he is getting only 2.25-1, a huge advantage for you. Yes, sometimes he will now win a pot that he would have folded, but in the long run, you will show a big profit.

What if a diamond comes? Now, he has a flush draw, and since you checked, he may well bet it as a semibluff. But we know that you will not fold, so he is really betting his draw as a 4-1 dog, again getting only 2.25-1 on his money. Even if he makes his flush and you pay him off (which you will), he is still losing on the long-term proposition. Even better, he may continue his bluff if he misses, or hit a jack or 10 on the river and make what he thinks is a value-bet. All of these actions mean extra profit for you.

Note that the math works in your favor only because of the size of the future bets compared to the small original pot. If the pot held a few more bets, you would be far better off winning it immediately, or at least trying to, than attempting to coax an extra bet or two out of your opponent.

I will resume in the next issue with the additional cases of when you may be willing to give your opponent a free card.

Barry Tanenbaum is the author of Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy, and collaborator on Limit Hold'em: Winning Short-Handed Strategies, both available at www.CardPlayer.com. Barry offers private lessons tailored to the individual student. Please see his website, www.barrytanenbaum.com, or write to him at [email protected].