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
Over Calling on the River
Over Calling on the River When there is a bet and a call on the river before the action gets to you, you need a much stronger hand to call than if you were against just one opponent. Suppose you raise 10-9 to 2.5bbs out of your 100BB stack from the button and both blinds call. The flop comes 10-5-2. Everyone checks to you and you bet 6BBs. Both players call. The turn is the 6. Everyone checks. The river is the 7. The small blind bets 16BBs and the big blind calls. You should almost always fold, even though you could have the best hand and there has been relatively little action. For you to have the best hand, the big blind has to be bluffing and the small blind has to call with a hand worse than yours, which won’t happen often.
If instead of 10-9 on the river you have 10-7,
If instead of 10-9 on the river you have 10-7, you should always call. Raising the river in this spot would be suicide, as you would usually be beat when called. Whenever you raise, always think about what your opponent can call with. If the answer is “not much,” you should shy away from raising.