In the Money

Playing the Turn

From In The Money: Strategies for Winning Texas Hold'em Cash Games
by Antonio "the Magician" Esfandiari

The turn is where we separate the men from the boys, the women from the girls, and the players from the pretenders. As I alluded to earlier, an inexperienced player may fire one bullet, but a real player will fire at least two. What do I mean by that? Say, for example, you raise in early position with A-Q suited preflop. You get two callers and the flop comes 10-7-2 rainbow. This looks like a flop that may not have helped anyone, so you lead out betting after the flop. You get one player to fold, but the other player calls. The turn brings a king. What do you do? It is usually correct to fire another bullet at the pot here. Make another bet, and don’t make it a wimpy one if you’re playing No Limit Hold ’Em. The turn is no place to show weakness. There will be times when you get burned by your aggression, but overall you will make money. That king can be a real scare card for someone playing a hand such as 9-10. Now, if in the example above a 4 came off the turn, it would probably be best to stop firing. If your opponent has a 10 in his hand, he is unlikely to fold to the nonscary 4.

The turn is where players’ hands really shape up. If you have been paying attention, you should have a fairly good idea as to the strength of their hands by now. If the board has not helped you by this point, you have to know if it has helped your opponent. If you think he has a hand, then it is time to put on the brakes and not commit any more chips to this pot. If you believe the board has not helped your opponent, then you should maneuver for the pot. If your opponent is a tight player, then you should bet out in order to induce him to fold. If he is an aggressive player that will use position to his advantage and knows the board did not help you, either, then now may be the perfect time to try a check-raise bluff. A check-raise bluff projects a stronger hand than just betting into the pot.

For example, say you open-raise in middle position with Ks-Qs.You get one caller in late position. The flop comes 10-9-3 rainbow.You bet and your opponent calls. The turn brings an off suit 4. At this point, the board does not look dangerous at all. You still have a gut-shot straight draw and two overcards. Your opponent’s call on the flop worries you, though. He may have a 10, a straight draw, or two overcards, or he may be setting you up to take the hand on the turn. Furthermore, your opponent is likely to know that this is not a good board for you as well. If you bet out, he may put you on a steal and raise. If you check, he may bet out to try to take the pot. If he does, then you can check-raise bluff, which will really put him on the defensive. At that point,he has to give you credit for a hand. If he calls, you know he has something. You still have outs, though, so the move is not a complete loss for you. Your hand could improve to a winner on the river.

The turn is where the price of poker gets more expensive. In limit play, the bets double. In no-limit play, the pot is usually larger, and this is when players want to put the squeeze on their opponents. Drawing hands have to be carefully evaluated. On the flop with two cards to come, your chances of hitting are greater. If you do not hit that card on the turn, however, your odds of making your hand decrease dramatically. Reevaluate your pot odds. Just because you chased the turn does not mean that you have to chase the river. Conversely, make your opponents pay if they want to continue drawing. Put pressure on them. Knowing your opponents, being aggressive, and using position are all still important on the turn. Let me describe a real-life example of a hand I recently played that illustrates how all of these elements come together on the turn.

I was playing $10–$20 No Limit Hold ’Em. A player in early position open-raised for three times the amount of the big blind. I called from late position with 7s-8s. My opponent was not very experienced, and I wanted to take advantage of my position. Suited connectors are a good hand to play in No Limit Hold ’Em from late position. We took the flop heads-up, and it came down 9d-8c-4c.My opponent checked and I made a pot-sized bet with middle pair. He called. Now, at this point I believed I had the best hand. I thought he most likely had a flush draw with two clubs. There was a chance, though, that he had a 9. The turn brings the 10s. Again my opponent checks. At this point, the pot is now big enough to win right here. If he is drawing, I am going to make him pay for it. If he was playing a 9, I want to scare him off by betting the 10. If I’m completely wrong and he is playing something like pocket queens and he calls me, I still have outs now that I have an open-end straight draw.

I easily had my opponent covered, so I decided to apply maximum pressure and bet enough to put him all-in. He called, and sure enough turned over Ac-Jc. The river brought the Js, giving him top pair but filling my straight, and I scooped a big pot. Here, I made him pay for his flush draw.He was not getting correct pot odds to chase his flush draw. If you force opponents to make those kinds of mistakes, then you will be a successful poker player. Do not worry about them drawing out on you. That will happen. In the long run, you will make money.

Let’s look at another possibility with the same beginning hands above. That is, my opponent raises with Ac-Jc and I call preflop with 7s-8s. This time the flop comes Qd-9d-4s. My opponent, as his custom, automatically bets the flop after he raises preflop. I call, looking for an opportunity to take the hand on the turn. The turn brings the 2d. Again, my opponent bets. Now, I would raise here. Even if my opponent is playing a hand like A-Q, he is going to have a hard time calling with the diamond flush on board. That is the value of position. By calling on the flop,my opponent can easily put me on a flush draw. When the flush hits on the turn, I can try to steal the pot with a big raise, even though that card does not help me. In no-limit play, knowing your opponent and using position can make you a lot of money.

Now let’s add another twist to the previous example. Let’s take the exact same hand above, yet this time the turn brings the 2s instead of the 2d. I now have a legitimate flush draw with two spades on board. However, my bluffing potential has gone way down since I can no longer represent the diamond flush. Here, the analysis becomes more straightforward. My opponent has to feel good about his A-Q since he has top pair with top kicker. If he is smart, he will bet out, and bet enough to force me to fold any drawing hand I have. That is, he should bet enough so that I am not getting the correct pot odds to call. He should make me pay to try to draw out. If he does do that, then I fold. The only time I would not is if I believe I could win a lot of money from him on the river if I do hit my flush. This is where you have to know your opponent—especially in No Limit Hold ’Em. If he is inexperienced and will call a big bet on the river with this top pair when I make my flush, then it may be worth calling here. Up against a good player who will not pay you off, you should always fold. Now let’s say my opponent does not bet out. Instead, he checks the turn here. What’s my move? I check and take the free card to see if I can hit my flush. There is not a lot to be gained by betting here, and there is a lot to lose. If I bet, I invite a checkraise, in which case I cost myself money, and if he raises enough, I do not even get to see the last card.

In No Limit Hold ’Em, you have to always be careful of opening the door and inviting a raise.There are times to bluff and semi-bluff. Then there are times to take a free card. Whenever you bet or raise, you run the risk that an opponent will raise you back, and raise enough to force you out of the hand. Before you make a bet or raise, always think about what you are trying to accomplish. Looking at the last two examples should help clarify what I am talking about. In the first example, I am willing to bluff the turn when I can represent a diamond flush. I am trying to win the pot right there. It will either work or it will not. If I get raised back, I can throw the hand away no problem. The river is not going to help me anyway. In the second example, I want to see the river. Since the board is not nearly as scary to my opponent, it will be hard to chase him off the hand anyway. In this case, my goal is to see the river as cheaply as possible. A bet or raise on my part would not serve any purpose and could cost me the opportunity to make my hand if my opponent raises me.