Strategy on the Turn
You have advanced beyond the flop and thus will have to handle the turn card. The turn card is every bit as significant as any other time to make a bet and also necessitates a carefully deliberated strategy in realizing the best results. There are numerous aspects to take into account that will enable you to increase profit potential whenever betting on the turn. Your time and energy to help with making the appropriate choice ought to emulate that of the process used with the flop. It is extremely important to evaluate the prevailing conditions and contemplate the impact of the turn card on your own position and that of your opponents.
An excellent place to begin should be to think through several issues regarding the turn card. Precisely what are the opponents thinking with regards to the turn? Is the card more likely to have helped him, or you, based on how you have acted will your opponents feel that the turn benefited your own hand?
If you happen to be the first to act and are positive that your own hand is winning, you will no doubt be putting in chips. Your ultimate goal should be to grow the pot as well as provide the other players with insufficient odds to continue. The amount of chips you put in needs to be an amount that will allow this to happen. In the event that you are the first to bet and feel that your cards are not the top hand, you should mostly check and see whether someone else bets. But let’s say you decided to fire a continuation bet following the flop but believe you might have the worst cards, it could be enticing to try again on the turn also. But if you do not understand the behavior of your current challenger and you are not fairly certain that this kind of move will probably be victorious, checking is far more sensible.
In the event that you’re in the first position while having draw opportunities as well as being the person to bet first on the flop, then simply betting once again is the most effective choice in the majority of cases. Nevertheless, you must do this with the thought in mind that any opposition will fold or call your bet, in the event that he raises to your bet, you need to think about getting off your draw depending on the amount of the bet. Assuming you have a drawing hand and you are in the first place to respond, however, were not the initial person to bet after the flop, firing a bet now may seem suspect. The appropriate action in this kind of situation would be to check and then consider calling – if you get the right odds.
Let us evaluate how to proceed on the turn if you happen to be in position, meaning last to act. In the event you are fairly certain your cards are the best, this is a no-brainer, raise if the other players bet and bet if the other players check. This is the time to make sure you get as much money into the pot as possible because if your opponents don’t catch any improving cards on later streets, you will not be getting any additional money from them. If you are the last to act, yet feel your hand may not be the best you need to proceed a little more cautious. In the event the opposing player makes a bet, you are probably best off to muck your cards, yet if they check you might have a chance to get to see the river card free of charge. There is always a possible strategy of raising the bet in the hopes they will fold to you. In doing so you need to make sure you know your opponent because they very well could call and you are just throwing away some money.
A general rule of thumb is when you do not bet the flop is usually best to check on the turn as well, however all that can change if you have a good knowledge of your opponent’s style of play. If you did bet after the flop, it would be a good idea to continue showing your hand is strong in hope that your opponent will either fold or call. Being last to act after the turn will give you the ability to either try and get some more money out of your opponents or at least see another card without having to pay for it.
When sitting at the poker table there are always many factors that go into making your decisions. In general, if you feel you have the cards that put you in the top position is usually best to play aggressively. Many players try to be strategic to suck additional money out of their opponents, yet this can prove to be a disaster by allowing other players to see additional cards without having to pay for them. You generally want to make your bets strong enough to deter players looking to draw, yet not so strong as to eliminate those who may be willing to put additional money into the pot with worse hands. As with every other round, it is important to evaluate the potential of your hand and those of the other players remaining in the pot.