LESSON 4: PLAY ON THE TURN

The turn is generally thought of as the most complex of the 3 betting rounds, because in nearly all limit hold'em games, the size of the bet doubles (to $4 from $2 in our $2/$4 game).

As a result, players who flop monster hands like a set or a flush will often wait for the turn to raise, hoping to extract double-sized bets from all remaining opponents. As a result, turn-raises must be given a certain degree of respect, and you will frequently have to fold reasonably strong hands when faced with turn aggression. Consider the following illustrative examples: You hold



in middle position, and the flop comes



You have top pair, although your 7 kicker isn't particularly appealing. Nonetheless, you should bet the flop with your relatively strong hand. You bet, and get two late position callers and the turn brings the Jh. You are first to act and bet again. The first opponent again calls, but the second caller now raises. You should be concerned.

You still hold top pair, but the raiser is usually telling you with a raise on the turn that he thinks he can beat a single pair. He very easily could have Ace-9, Ace-Ten, Ace-Jack, or even worse: King-Queen, against which no river card could help you. You should fold. Top pair is a reasonably strong hand, but all indications here are that you are beaten.

One more example: you're in early position and look down to see



You raise to $4 preflop, and get two late position callers. The big blind also calls, and 4 of you see the flop, which comes



This is a decent flop for you, and there's no reason to think you don't have the best hand. You bet, and all 3 opponents call. The turn brings the



You again bet, the first late-position opponent calls your $4, the second late-position opponent raises to $8, and to your surprise, the big blind re-raises to $12! Things don't look good, and you should sadly fold your aces that had initially looked so promising. There are 3 cards to a flush on the board, and a pair of threes, meaning you are in very bad shape against a player with two spades or a three in their hand.

The first raise was a definite cause for concern, while the second raise by the big blind should have set off alarm bells. It's a near certainty in this situation that you are beaten by at least one if not two opponents. While it's true that you could still catch one of the two remaining aces on the river to give you a full house, the odds of this happening are quite slim, and you should fold your hand.

Later in this strategy section we discuss pot odds, which dictate when you should call even with a hand you think is currently beaten, but this is not one of those situations, and you should fold. Don't make the rookie mistake of ‘falling in love' with hands like aces or Kings, when evidence gathered from your opponents' betting strongly suggests you are beaten.

Advanced topic: Semi-bluffing

Because the bet size doubles on the turn, many players use this round of betting as an opportunity to make calculated bluffs with drawing hands that, while still weak, have a good chance of improving on the river. Let's say you hold the


in middle position and the flop comes



You have two overcards and a flush draw, certainly a respectable holding. A player in early position bets, and you call. Only the two of you see the turn, which is the



The player in early position again bets. You have an interesting decision to make. While you still haven't made so much as a pair, you nonetheless have a strong flush draw (and have picked up a gutshot straight draw with any Jack). You should strongly consider raising here. If the early position bettor was betting a pair of tens on the flop, you can often make him fold his hand with a raise on the turn, representing an Ace.

Note, however, that even if he calls your turn raise, you still have an excellent shot of making one of your draws on the river. This is the beauty of the semi-bluff: even when you don't succeed in getting your opponent to fold, you still have an opportunity to improve to a very strong hand. In essence, the semi-bluff gives you two different opportunities to win the hand, and is a tool that every poker player should have in his repertoire.

Next Lesson: Play on the River>>