Tournament Strategies
After receiving pocket cards, you are immediately faced with a choice: play your cards and either raise or call the blinds, or fold.
Practice Matters
Playing the Turn
Playing the Turn Once you get to the turn, you should hopefully have a decent idea of where your opponent stands while giving him scant information about your hand. If you make a point to play in position, by the time you get to the turn you should have determined if you can get your opponent to fold, or if he plans on going all the way. The turn is where you will make a lot of your profit, and it is where most players make some of their largest blunders. In this chapter I will help you navigate this tough street.
Bet When they Check
Bet When they Check If your opponent checks to you on the turn, you should usually bet if you don’t have decent showdown value, like with a weak top pair or strong middle pair. This looks very generic, but in general, it is tough to go wrong by betting when you have a monster hand. Firing two barrels as a bluff is also a great strategy, as most opponents will be calling with weak holdings if you continuation-bet as much as I suggest. Betting the turn is usually a great thing, as long as you have a plan for the situation when your opponent sticks around. Suppose you raise 10-10 from middle position and the big blind calls. The flop comes A-10-2. If your opponent checks to you, make a normal continuation bet. This is not a spot to slow-play, as your opponent could have a strong hand, such as an ace, you are susceptible to losing to draws like K-Q, K-J, and Q-J, and if your opponent has a hand like Q-J and catches a queen or jack, he is unlikely to pay you off well. So, you make a normal bet. If your opponent calls, bet the turn every time, as he probably holds an ace. In this situation you can take a 10 out of his range because you have two of them and one is on the board. You needn’t fear a king, queen or jack on the turn because most opponents will fold gutshots with no overcards to your flop bet. If the turn is a king, queen or jack and your opponent check-raises, you should usually call, and call again on most rivers. If he did hit a gutshot, you simply got unlucky. You are betting this turn primarily because your opponent’s range is made up mostly of aces and he will usually go into call-down mode, gaining you a lot of chips.