“As players improve, they inevitably see more opportunities for profit, and thus, see potential in a greater number of hands.”

I play in some of the biggest cash games in the world. Usually, these games are loaded with pros – folks who know the intricacies and advanced strategies of pretty much every poker game. We normally play a mix of games that can include Hold ‘em, 7-Stud, Omaha, and one or more of the Hi/Lo variations. Most of the time, we play with a fixed-limit betting structure.

In a recent session, I had a stretch where I was pretty card dead, so I spent most of my time folding. To my knowledgeable opponents, it must have appeared that I was playing especially tight. Then in a game of 7-Stud, I was dealt an Ace as my up-card.

The bring-in bet had been raised and I re-raised. Then, two top-rate pros with no more than their antes in the pot called my re-raise. There are only a couple of hands that might justify their calls. However, as the hand proceeded with me as the aggressor, it became clear that the callers of my third-street re-raise didn’t have much at all. One held three unconnected hearts, the other had a middle pair with no kicker.

What were these guys thinking? It’s hard to know, but my guess is that one of them let his desire to gamble get the better of him. Though that can pay dividends in well-chosen spots, this wasn’t one of them. The other might have thought he could outplay me later in the hand.

In the end, neither of their strategies makes much sense. I made it expensive enough that it was a lousy spot to gamble, and given that I’ve declared that I have a pair of aces, there’s little chance that I’m going to get bluffed out of the pot.

I think this hand highlights a couple of the mental traps that sometimes snag advanced players. As players improve, they inevitably see more opportunities for profit, and thus, see potential in a greater number of hands. But it’s a slippery slope, and a player can easily lose the long view and convince himself that he can make any starting hand work out.

This just isn’t the case – especially when playing fixed-limit games. Even at the highest levels, profitability in limit poker is largely determined by a player’s ability to choose the right starting hands. If you fail in this regard or somehow lose your discipline, it’s nearly impossible to recover. Fancy plays and good decisions on later streets cannot overcome early-hand mistakes. If you’re throwing money into a pot when you shouldn’t, you’re going to lose money. There’s no way around it.

If you find yourself in a stretch where things aren’t going especially well, take a step back and make sure your hand selection is all it ought to be.

Always remember that in limit poker, hand selection is the foundation for your entire game. You can’t build a solid game on a weak foundation.

David Grey

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“If you had the nuts, he’d reason, you’d bet smaller, trying to get some value.”

Deception is a vital tactic in poker. Usually, when a player talks about a deceptive play, he’s referring to a bluff – a time when he represented a hand of greater value than the one he held. But this isn’t the only deception available in poker – not by a long shot. If you study your opportunities thoroughly, you can use the threat of a bluff to engage in another type of deception, one in which you’re trying to convince an opponent that you are bluffing when, in fact, you have a great hand.

Say you’re playing in a No-Limit cash game and things are going well. You’ve been playing actively and aggressively. You’ve been firing at a lot of pots, using a combination of good cards and well-timed small bluffs to pick up a number of them.

To your tablemates, it seems as if you’re trying to capture every chip on the table. They’re starting to grow suspicious and feel you’re getting greedy. With the table in this mindset, you call a middle position raise from the big blind.

You’re holding modest cards – 6d-8d. The flop comes 7c-4h-Qs. You now have a gutshot straight draw and check. You’re opponent bets half the pot and you call, feeling that if you hit, you can win a big pot. The turn is the Tc. Now you have a double gutshot draw – any 5 or 9 will make a straight.

At this point, put out a large bet. If your opponent holds Jacks or Ace-King, he’ll likely fold. If he’s got Aces or Kings, he’ll probably call. And, if so, you’ll know he holds a good hand that he’s willing to defend.

The river brings a 9, completing your straight. Now you can use you’re aggressive image to your advantage. Move all-in, even if the bet is two, three or four times the size of the pot. To your opponent, it’s bound to look like a bluff. Your bet will seem ridiculously large and impulsive. If you had the nuts, he’d reason, you’d bet smaller, trying to get some value. He’ll look at his big pocket pair, feeling that he needs to make a stand against your relentless play. This deceptive play where you’re actually representing a bluff will give you a chance to win a huge pot.

If your opponent folds, you’ll want to make a note. You’ll know he folded a big hand and might be willing to make other lay downs in the future. But, you don’t want to push this guy too hard. If you force him to make two or three big lay downs, he’s sure to call you down later. When he’s reached that state of mind, make sure you have a big hand the next time you play a pot together.

No-Limit poker offers some great opportunities for deception. As you develop your game, look for spots where bluffs and the threat of bluffs can win you big pots.

Huckleberry Seed

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Alan asked:

I have a question about middle pocket pairs in a No Limit Hold’em ring game. For example if I were dealt 99, would it be better for me to make a standard raise of about 4 times the big blind to limit the competition or would it be better for me to limp in and hope to spike a set?

Now lets assume there are three people in the pot with me and there is only one overcard. Should I bet 3/4 the pot for information or should I check and fold to any bet. With only one overcard, there is still a reasonable chance I could have the best hand, but I can’t take much heat with only a pair of 9s.

Another thing that is troublesome is the mini-raise. Lets say I have top-pair, top-kicker and bet 3/4 the pot against two opponents; one folds, and the other opponent raises the minimum amount. I am now getting 4.33 to 1 pot odds. From my experience, mini-raises are a sign of a strong hand that would have top pair dominated, and my opponent will most likely continue firing if I call a mini-raise. If I fold to a mini-raise, the table will notice that I folded to a mini-raise, and some players may be tempted to use the mini-raise as a bluffing tool. The player would be making money if his mini-raise bluff was successful more than 20 percent of the time. I do not want to portrayed as a player that is easy to push.

In this situation where I bet 3/4 the pot and face a mini-raise on my top pair, is it better for me to call the mini-raise to send a message that I can’t be bluffed cheaply or is it better to fold since I have information that my opponent most likely has me beat?

Hi Alan, thanks for the question!

Concerning the middle pocket pairs, it depends on a number of factors. If you’re under the gun and your table is not extremely tight preflop, raising 99 is probably a bad idea, especially if there is a good chance you’ll be re-raised.

However, if you’re in middle or late position and have a good chance to steal the blinds (and a lower chance to be reraised because fewer players are behind you yet to open) I like raising hands like 99 in the standard amount. You’ll want to do this not only because pocket pairs like 99 are strong enough to sometimes win unimproved in a shorthanded pot, but also because it adds a lot of deception to your opening range (people won’t be able to put you on a monster if you raise preflop with a variety of hands, and by raising 99, you might get more action on AA/KK later on).

Generally, deciding when to raise a middle pocket pair requires that you look at your position, whether your table is tight/aggressive, loose/passive, tight/passive, loose/aggressive etc., because you won’t want to be reraised very often, and you also need to check whether others have limped in front of you, as you’ll often prefer to raise 99 preflop only when it’s likely to be a shorthanded pot (although, that’s not a hard and fast rule – just something to consider).

When deciding whether to continue betting on the flop, you need to think about how many people you’re against (3 means it’s likely, but by no means certain, that someone has hit something better, 1 or 2 is much less likely, 4 or more is highly likely) and how likely it is that a limping player holds that overcard. If the overcard is the ten, you’re more likely ahead of the field than if it’s an ace (because fewer people limp/call with Tx than with Ax). Sometimes, you’ll also have to check for other considerations like possible draws – if there are a lot of draws out there, your 99 may be the best hand now but still a dog to be the best hand at the showdown, meaning you’re better off checking the flop and not committing a lot of chips in a poor spot.

Concerning the miniraise, you will have to try to think about what it could mean. Someone who miniraises could have two pair or a set, so think about all the combinations thereof and whether any of them make sense for your opponent to have given how things have gone so far. Also, consider whether they might be betting with a draw (so in other words, if there’s no draw, they’re either making a ridiculous bluff or they have a made hand). Usually you’ll be required to call a miniraise by the odds, but not if you think your opponent is more likely to have a set than two pair. Two pair you’ll have a lot more outs against than a set, where you’re drawing very slim. Don’t just look at the odds, think about what they might have, and then figure out (on average, if possible) how hard it will be to improve.

And as you said, they usually bet hard on the turn if they miniraise the flop. This alone should make you fold to a miniraise unless you are strongly inclined to believe it’s a draw raise, because despite your good odds on the flop, you’re looking at a bad spot most of the time on the turn. Depending on the situation, you’ll often end up calling the miniraise on the flop and folding on the turn when you don’t improve, and often that’s not a bad thing unless you can’t lay down your hand on the turn, in which case, you’re going to need to develop discipline or just fold to all flop miniraises.

If you’re against observant opponents they may miniraise to bluff you in future, so that is why it’s often good to call the flop and then re-evaluate on the turn, especially given the odds you’re getting against a two pair hand. And that will make you less likely to be pushed around. It also allows you to catch miniraise semi-bluffers, since they often have a hard time pulling the trigger on the turn and will show their weakness. Usually, whether they’re strong or weak, you’ll know by the turn, and you can re-evaluate there (and save yourself a bunch of chips if you’re way behind).

I guess the best advice is to mix it up. Be more inclined to call the miniraise when there is a range of possible two pair hands your opponent could have, or a possible semi-bluff on a draw, and fold when it’s only reasonable to put your opponent on a set. A hand like that would be something in the line of K23r and you have raised AK preflop – I wouldn’t expect K2 or K3 or 23 or a draw here, as much as I would expect 22 or 33, and so if miniraised, that’s a good time to fold. K98 might yield more two pairs that you can outdraw, and they might have some other draws, and so you might just call and see what happens on the turn.

There is no perfect formula for dealing with small raises, but usually they give away enough information for you to make a smart play.

Good luck at the tables!

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“Omaha is a game where what you catch with the community cards is usually more important than what you start with.”

Players who are new to Pot-Limit Omaha tend to make more mistakes with Aces than with any other hand. They get themselves into really tough situations – ones where they can lose a lot of money. Avoiding these spots is one of the keys to playing PLO profitably.

Here’s the kind of situation that newer PLO players sometimes find themselves in. Say it’s a $2/$5 game where all the players have about $500 in front of them. There’s an early position raise to $15 and a player in middle position with A-A-x-x re-raises to $50. Four players call the $50. Now the flop comes down J-7-2, rainbow.

The Aces might be good here, or they might not. It’s very hard to know. This is the kind of spot where it’s very easy to make a big mistake – either by putting in a lot of money while a huge underdog, or by folding the best hand.

Novice PLO players get in this sort of trouble because they don’t really understand how Omaha differs from Hold ’em. In Hold ’em, if you start with a big pair like Kings or Aces, you know you’re a big favorite before the flop. But this isn’t the case with Omaha. For example, pre-flop, Ac-Ad-4s-7h will win only 51 percent of the time when heads up against Js-Ts-9h-8h. Throw a couple of other hands in the mix, and Aces become extremely vulnerable.

Because so many hands are so evenly matched, Omaha is a game where what you catch with the community cards is usually more important than what you start with. You’re looking to make big hands – nut straights, nut flushes, and big sets.

Still, hands that contain Aces are usually a decent favorite when played heads up. And, with Aces, you always have the opportunity to make top set or, if you’re suited, a nut flush. So you’re going to want to play these hands, but you often want to be more cautious pre-flop.

If there’s a raise in early position, you don’t have to re-raise with A-A-x-x, especially if that re-raise would commit you for only a small portion of your stack. When all the players have deep stacks, a few will be happy to call your bet and see a flop. Then you’re likely to find yourself in the sort of situation described at the beginning of this tip. You won’t know if your hand has held up on most flops. And when you do hit your set of Aces, you’re not likely to get a lot of action, as your opponents won’t have much difficulty putting you on a hand.

However, there are some occasions when you want to play Aces aggressively pre-flop. When there’s been a lot of action and a raise will allow you to get about three-quarters of your stack in before the flop, go ahead and make that big bet. At that point, you’re looking to force some folds and, hopefully, play heads up. With that much money committed, you know the rest of your stack will be going in on the flop no matter what comes.

Of course, once you’re in the hand, your Aces can lead to some very profitable post-flop situations. You might catch top set while an opponent makes a lower one or your nut flush might take a big pot from someone who made a lower flush.

So slow down with your Aces pre-flop in PLO. Your deceptive play will win you some big pots when you make a big hand. Plus, you’ll avoid losing a lot when the board doesn’t fall your way.

Andrew Black

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“It’s tough to go back to any one game once you start playing mixed games.”

Despite what you see on TV, there’s much more to poker than just Hold ’em. The great players are judged by how they play all the games. In the big cash games at the Bellagio, we play an assortment of games every night and at the World Series of Poker, they’ve introduced a $50,000 buy-in HORSE tournament that attracts many of the world’s top professionals.

One of the hardest things for new mixed games players to become comfortable with is the flow of play. With games switching every 10 hands, it can be difficult to instantly adjust your thinking in order to concentrate fully on the game at hand. It will take some time and experience, but eventually, you’ll be able to go from Omaha Hi/Lo to Razz and be ready to play your best as soon as the games switch.

Until you’re comfortable with the game flow, here are some pointers that can help make the switch to mixed games a little easier:

Be sure you’re playing the right game! I play a lot of HORSE Sit & Gos at Full Tilt Poker and, in almost every one, there’s a player or two who makes the mistake of playing Razz when the game is Stud, or vice-versa. Even in the big game at the Bellagio, this sort of mix-up happens all the time.

Work on your weakest games. If you find that your Stud Hi/Lo game isn’t as strong as it could be, spend some time at the Stud Hi/Lo tables and work on improving your skills. Put in enough hours at each individual game so that you’re grasping the subtleties of all of them when you play a mixed game.

Play stronger in your best games than in your weaker games. You may be a master at Stud and feel you can play a lot of different hands well in that game. But if your Omaha Hi/Lo is relatively weak, you’ll need to tighten up in that game and play only premium starting hands. Look for starting hands like A-A-2-3 suited or A-2-K-Q that offer the potential to make both the nut high and nut low, allowing you to scoop as many pots as possible. Or in Razz, for example, stick to starting hands with three cards of 8 or less – if that game isn’t your strength.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll find that it’s tough to go back to any one game once you start playing mixed games. You’ll miss the mental challenge and fun that comes from this type of poker.

Jennifer Harman

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“If you’re playing a multi-way pot, you need a very strong hand going one way or the other.”

In 2006, I cashed in the $2,000 Omaha Hi/Lo event at the World Series of Poker. I enjoyed the tournament; it was great to spend some time playing a game other than hold ’em. One thing that surprised me about the tournament, however, was that the quality of play was quite poor. Some players didn’t even know the very basics, like starting hand values. I was amazed that so many people would put $2,000 into a tournament where they didn’t understand even the most rudimentary elements of the game’s strategy.

For this article, I want to discuss how the quality of your Omaha Hi/Lo hand relates to the number of people in a pot. If you’re playing a multi-way pot, you need a very strong hand going one way or the other. The nuts or a draw to the nuts is preferable. Absent that, in multi-way pots, you want to have strong draws in both directions.

In heads-up play, however, you can continue with far weaker hands if your opponent is going to need to play all four of his cards in order to scoop the pot. An example should clarify what I mean.

Let’s say you have 2-3-4-7 in the big blind and call a late-position raise. The flop comes K-Q-7 and you both check. The turn, a 3, gives you two pair and a low draw. You check again and your opponent bets. You’d absolutely want to call. Your two pair may very well be good and, if it’s not, there’s a chance your low draw will get there. Should the river bring an 8, you’d definitely want to call a bet and showdown the hand.

In this situation, in order to scoop the pot, your opponent would need to have something like a better two pair and A-2 or A-4. All four of his cards would need to be involved in the hand. This is unlikely enough that you should call his bet.

If you had the same hand, but were playing a four-way pot, you probably wouldn’t want to call any bets. Say you make your same two-pair and low draw on the turn but, this time, after you check there’s a bet and two calls. It’s likely that you’re not going to get either part of the pot as someone probably has a stronger high while someone else holds a better low draw.

This is only one important aspect of Omaha Hi/Lo. If you spend some time polishing your game, you can make some good money in cash games and get great value in tournaments since so many players are just starting to learn the game.

What’s more, you might also find that you enjoy taking a break from hold ’em once in awhile.

Andy Bloch

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“By the river in Limit Hold ’em, you’re often getting odds of 9, 10, or 11 to 1 to make a call.”

Until a few years ago, players interested in learning poker would start out by playing in fixed-limit games. Most casinos and card rooms only offered Limit Hold ’em or Limit Stud, so players had to get used to the dynamics of structured betting. But now, many players are jumping directly into No-Limit. There’s nothing wrong with this approach, but lately, I’ve seen a lot of players at the Limit tables who are applying big-bet principles to fixed-limit games. They’re making big mistakes that reflect their inexperience with limit betting.

In No-Limit, the biggest mistake you can make is putting money in a pot when drawing dead or very slim. Usually, by the turn or river, you’ll face large bets that threaten your entire stack, so calling on a second-best hand is a huge error. In Limit Hold ’em, however, the biggest mistake you can make is folding the best hand on the river. By the river in Limit Hold ’em, you’re often getting odds of 9, 10, or 11 to 1 to make a call. Given these odds, it’s often proper to call on the river with some very modest holdings, even if there’s only a small chance that you can pick off a bluff and win the pot at showdown.

For example, say you’re playing in a short-handed Limit Hold ’em game and you raise on the button with As-7s. A very aggressive opponent in the big blind calls. The flop comes Jd-8d-7c, giving you bottom pair. The big blind checks, you bet, and are check-raised. On this board, there are a variety of straight draws and flush draws. An aggressive opponent could be raising on any number of hands, so you’d need to call this raise or even consider three-betting.

If the turn brings a scary card, say the Td, you can fold, as there are very few hands you can now beat. However, if the turn is a blank, like the 2c, you’re probably going to be in a position where you’d need to call your opponent down. Third pair isn’t much, but it will win at showdown enough of the time to make the call worthwhile.

In No-Limit, you’d probably want to fold if you were check-raised while holding bottom pair. It would cost too much to figure out whether or not you were ahead. But in Limit, your total liability in the hand is only two more big bets, making the call worthwhile.

The other major error I see from No-Limit players who move to Limit is that they fail to play enough hands from the big blind. In a recent tip, Jennifer Harman discussed big blind play in Limit Hold ’em in some detail. She suggested playing a lot of hands from the big blind, including any two cards that can make a straight. Jennifer’s an expert player, and you might be better off being a little more selective than she is. But still, you should be playing a lot more hands from the blinds in Limit than you would in No-Limit.

Think of it in terms of odds. In a Limit game, you’ll be getting 3.5 to 1 to call a single raise from the big blind (two small bets from the raiser, your big blind, and the small blind). Plus, in many games, you can count on the pre-flop raiser to follow up with a bet on the flop, whether he hit or not. That gives you odds of 4.5 to 1. If the raiser is an aggressive player in late position, you can’t give him credit for much of hand to start with, so, even a hand like 5-6 off-suit is often good enough to play from the big blind.

In No-Limit, you probably want to fold the same hand and wait for a better spot. But this is the type of adaptation you’ll need to make if you want to master all forms of poker, including Limit and No-Limit. If you’re moving from No-Limit poker to Limit, keep in mind that you’re going to be calling opponents down more often and that you’re going to want to play many more hands from the big blind.

Richard Brodie

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Solly asks:

I had about 1900 in chips at a STT. There were 3 other players left; one large stack and two others similar to mine. 1st and 2nd place were to be paid. Blinds were 200/400 and soon to be 400/800. I went out on this hand and wonder if I made a mistake. I was the SB. EP folded, Button called, I called (KT off) and Big Stack raised to 1200. I sensed he wasn’t that strong and might be bluffing as he had done so earlier. I figured he had something but that my hand was better so I called. Button folded.

Big stack says, “I’m all in before the flop.”

It’s something like 3 6 9. I didn’t feel it helped him and I was pot committed so I threw in my last 700. He had A-7 off. The turn and the river were no help and he won with A high.

What did I do wrong?

Coach:

I think your biggest mistake was calling from the SB and then (just) calling his raise – either you should have pushed all-in yourself to try to pick up the chips in the pot, or if you called, you should either fold or push yourself in response to the raise. You can’t afford to call the extra 800 before the flop and then leave yourself with only 700 behind.

Note how you said you were committed for your last 700, even though you totally missed the flop. You’re quite correct you were committed to put the 700 in on the flop, but really, your commitment was due to your preflop play and you should have been all-in before seeing the flop. Never leave yourself fewer chips than the preflop bet! Usually I don’t like to leave less than 3x behind, but less than 1x is just pointless – you might as well put it in preflop because it’s going in regardless of the flop!

So, here’s how I would rank your possible choices from best to worst:

• Best – Push all-in with the KT to try to steal the big blind and the call without having to make a hand.
• 2nd best – Call the SB and then fold to the bb’s raise (I say this, because even if he’s weak, he may still have you beat, and he’s committed to playing – if you fold you leave yourself with 1500 and you can push any two cards on the button next hand).
• 3rd best – Call the SB and then push all-in to the Big Stack’s raise (because you sensed weakness). I should point out, however, that the big blind will call you with anything here, because they are as committed to the hand as you are. Worst – Play it the way you did.

I should point out that you probably would have lost the hand even if you had played it the ‘best’ way. Your mistake didn’t cost you the tournament; it was just in how you played the actual hand. Never call off half your stack preflop, if you’re going to do that, just push. Even better, if you think that you’ll be committed to playing because you called the small blind, then you need to just push in the first place. If you pushed from the SB, at the very least you would have had a chance to get the big blind to fold (not saying he necessarily would have here, but you never know). As it is, you forced yourself to have to make the best hand to win chips.

I hope that wasn’t too harsh – I figure you lose all your chips on this hand no matter what so don’t kick yourself over what happened. Just remember the better play here is to shove all-in yourself before the Big Stack gets a chance to raise.

Good luck at the tables!

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“Some of the tougher decisions on seventh street arise when you’re holding one pair.”

In yesterday’s blog, I offered some pointers for playing fourth steet in Limit Seven-Card Stud. For this tip, I’m going and show how you might improve your play on seventh street.

My first suggestion for playing on seventh street is that you need to look at your pot odds when facing a final bet. When playing $5-$10 Stud, for example, you’ll often need to call a $10 river bet while looking at a pot of $70. In this spot, where you’re getting 7:1, if you have any suspicion that your hand is good, you really ought to call.

The odds are so favorable that throwing away a lot of marginal hands would be a mistake. This is very different from no-limit poker, where you’ll need to make some big laydowns late in a hand. If you’re making the transition from No-Limit Hold ’em to Limit Stud, keep this very important point in mind.

Some of the tougher decisions on seventh street arise when you’re holding one pair.

Let’s say you start with a pair of 6s and your opponent open-raises with a King as his door card. He bet all the way, representing a pair of Kings, and you called. Neither of you seemed to improve on fourth, fifth or sixth streets, and he bet out on the river.

At this point, you can be fairly certain that he doesn’t have a pair of Kings. Most people don’t have the heart to bet one pair on the river. So, in this case, you’re likely up against something like Kings up, some sort of hidden hand, or a total bluff. Given this range of hands – and knowing that a bluff is a possibility – you should make the final call. You’ll pick off a bluff enough of the time to make the call profitable.

I want to point out here that, since it’s proper to call with a lot of marginal hands, betting with one solid pair on the river is often a good idea. If you start with something like a pair of Kings and your opponent doesn’t seem to catch anything, don’t be timid on the river. Oftentimes, you should bet, knowing that a lesser hand is likely to call.

Now, let’s look at another river situation. Let’s say that after the river has been dealt, you have Q 10 9 8 with three clubs showing. You made a straight on the river after your opponent has been aggressively betting his hand the entire way, showing Ad Kd 9s 6h.

After betting into your hand on sixth street, he again bets into your hand on seventh street. In this situation, you have to think about what your opponent is betting into.

Most players will not bet into such a scary board with one pair or even two pair.

We have to assume that our opponent is either bluffing with a weak hand and is unconcerned with our hand, or has a huge hidden hand and is hoping to get three bets on the river. This could be a situation where you might just call, especially if there is a third hand behind you who might over-call with a marginal hand that he would fold if you had raised.

When playing Limit Stud, be sure that you’re making enough value bets and crying calls on the river. Keep the pot odds in mind and you’re likely to make the right play.

Keith Sexton

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“If fourth street builds straight or flush possibilities for my opponent, I’m likely to muck a lot of hands; if it appears to be a complete blank, I’ll usually continue.”

Remember, it’s not all about Hold’em and mixing your games can keep you with an edge on your opposition as long as you keep your wits about you.

When playing Stud, fourth street is the last of the smaller betting rounds. On fifth street, the bets double, so if you decide to play beyond fourth street, your investment in the hand is going to be hefty.

On fourth street, I look to see if an opponent has picked up a card that has a relation to the door card (the first up card). If fourth street builds straight or flush possibilities for my opponent, I’m likely to muck a lot of hands; if it appears to be a complete blank, I’ll usually continue.

For example, say one player open-raised with the Qd as a door card, and I called with split 8s and a suited 6. If he catches a total blank (something like the 2c) on fourth street and bets, I’m likely to continue and see if fifth street brings either of us any help. On the other hand, I will probably dump the hand if my opponent catches anything between a Ten and an Ace, and I don’t improve.

I won’t know for sure if a Ten, Jack, King or Ace helps my opponent’s hand, but at that point, his board presents too many warning signs for me to continue. Many players will enter pots when they start with three big cards, so any high card on fourth street has the potential to make my opponent a big pair or get him closer to a straight. Either way, my eights are pretty flimsy.

Another sort of situation develops when I catch two-pair on the turn. Say that I started with a split pair of 8s and a 6. My opponent open-raised with the Qd and I called. The turn brings me another 6, giving me two pair. My opponent catches a blank and bets.

In a spot like this, I think raising is a big mistake because the two-pair is well hidden. If I raise on fourth street and happen to catch a boat on fifth or sixth street, it will be almost impossible for my opponent to continue with the hand after my show of strength. He’ll have to assume that I’ve hit and he’ll fold to a bet. If, however, I just call on the turn and then hit a 6 later in that hand, my opponent may continue with his pair of Queens.

Moving on to a third example, say I have Kings in the hole with the 6d as my door card. Again, assume my opponent open-raised while showing Qd on third street. In this spot I’m likely to just call my opponent’s raise on third street. If I were to re-raise with a 6 as my door card, I’d be announcing that I held a big pocket pair. My opponent would probably fold and I wouldn’t get any value out of a nice hand.

After I call the third-street raise, I’m hoping that the turn brings a card like the 8d. If my opponent then leads at the pot, I’ll raise, hoping to give the impression that I’m on a draw. Once my opponent has that impression, he’ll probably call my raise on fourth street. If fifth street appears to be a blank, he’ll probably call a bet there as well. I’ll be building a nice pot while holding a strong hand.

These are just a few situations you might run into on fourth street. If you play your hand correctly at this point, you stand to pick up some big bets on later streets when things go well, and save some bets when things go south.

Keith Sexton

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