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3.8 Betting on the Turn
After the Turn we can now see 6 cards (2 in our hand and 4 community cards). We should now have a pretty good idea of our opponents betting patterns, and should be aware of the texture of the community cards. With all this information we should be forming a decent picture of what kind of hands our opponent could have and deciding whether we are in the lead at this stage or not.
When we think we are in the lead
If you think you have the best hand at this stage, I would almost never give a free River card to your opponent. Either make your opponent pay to see the river, or make him fold and take the pot there and then.
Don’t play fancy tricks on the Turn, play it straight and be aggressive. Bet for value in an attempt to build the pot up.
With an extra card out on the board, there is more chance your opponent may be on a draw, so check the texture carefully and if any draws are on, make sure your opponent is made to pay above the odds if he wants to see another card.
When a Scare Card Hits
Scare cards can be scary – hence the name! Suddenly your not so sure anymore if you are in the lead, alarm bells start to ring and your pulse starts to rise. Well first thing is to remain calm and think rationally about what has just happened and how it affects you.
Remember a scare card can also be scary for your opponent. Think about the card that has just come, and work out whether you think it has helped your opponent, does it fit in with his betting patterns eg: An Ace comes on the Turn, which suddenly beats your pocket kings, your opponent raised before the flop and has continued to be aggressive – is he holding an ace – unfortunately there is a good chance he is holding an ace in his hand.
If I took the lead after the Flop – goal now is to keep the pot as low as possible from now on, so you should check or call reasonable bets, faced with a large bet you may have to consider folding if you think you may be beat.
If opponent took the lead after the Flop – chances are your opponent is worried about the Scare card also so I have the option now to try and re take the lead and try and force opponent out of pot by being aggressive (even if the scare card hasn’t helped me).
Taking Down a Large Pot
When pot is large and you feel you have the best hand it is quite often worth attempting to take the pot there and then without further risk from the river, so you would Overbet here in an attempt to put maximum pressure on your opponent and take the pot.
CONTINUE TO NEXT SECTION - 3.9
