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
The next reason to bet is for protection.
The next reason to bet is for protection. We learned that betting for value is the right play when you have 3-3 on an A-K-3 board. I purposely ignored one other major reason to bet, which is to protect your hand from a draw that you will be unable to see. If you check behind on the flop and a Q, J or 10 comes on the turn, you may be looking at a straight if your opponent is now willing to put a lot of money in the pot. But you never really know if he has a straight, plus your hand is basically the second nuts, which you usually shouldn’t fold. So, betting on the flop is not only for value, but also for protection. Another example of a protection bet is when you raise 6-5s with a 150BB stack and a player calls in the small blind. If the board comes 8-5-2, you should bet to protect your hand from the various overcards that will likely come on the turn.
If you bet and are raised,
If you bet and are raised, you can usually fold your hand except against the most aggressive players. If you check behind and the turn is an A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, or 7 and your opponent bets, you are now in a tricky situation where you basically have to call the turn and will be in a worse situation on the river, as another overcard will probably come. Because of this, betting the flop for protection, hopefully picking up the pot right there, is usually a good idea.