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
Tend to bet most turns with Q-J instead of 10-10 on this board,
Tend to bet most turns with Q-J instead of 10-10 on this board, as your opponent could have called the flop with just a 10. If you get lucky and river a king, you will win a lot of chips. Your opponent will have a decent hand if he calls on the flop and turn, and will pay off a large river bet. Occasionally he will be stubborn and show up with a 10. In these cases a queen or jack could bail you out, too. In general, bet your hand like you have the nuts even if you don’t. Some opponents may be tight enough to fold an ace to continued aggression.
One other prime spot to bet the turn
One other prime spot to bet the turn is when your opponent was the pre-flop aggressor, made a continuation bet, was called and now checks the turn. If he raises before the flop and you call with J-10 on the button, you should tend to call or raise his flop bet on an 8-7-6 board. If you just call his flop bet, you should usually bet if he checks to you on the turn unless it’s an ace, king or queen, as he is most likely giving up. Be quick to hit the brakes if he calls your turn bet, because he probably assumes you have a draw, in which case he will usually call the river. Unless your opponent is known for pot-control or tricky play, you should bet the turn and try to take down the pot any time he was the aggressor and then checks, especially if you have no showdown value.