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.

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In The Money