Baby
No Limit, Turn And River Play:
Part III: Close Calls
BY:
Ashley Adams
Contact at: (Asha34@aol.com)
Author of Winning 7-Card Stud
Let's
say, for example, that you have amassed
a few hundred dollars in this Baby No
Limit game. Maybe it's well into the evening
or maybe you've just been uncannily lucky
early on and have doubled up a few times.
For whatever reason, you have $300 or
so let's say. Similarly, your opponent
has been a chip magnet as well. He has
a stack nearly as big.
You
were dealt the same A-Q suited in late
position. The $2 large blind wasn't raised
until it came to you. Two callers. You
raise it to $10, a standard raise in this
game. You get two callers, including the
other mammoth stack.
The
flop is as it was described earlier. An
Ace, a suited card, and a blank. Your
opponent checks. The pot has about $35
in it. You bet $35, doubting that anyone
is playing A-K or has trips or two pair,
since they checked to you. The first player
folds. The other player calls you.
The turn is a Queen. Only this time, it's
suited to the other two suited cards on
board, making a Flush possible. Your opponent
checks. Now had either you or your opponent
only had $40 or so you would have just
thrown in whatever remaining chips you
had after he checked, not giving much
credit for the Flush and not wanting him
to draw another flush card cheaply. But
seeing as you have an enormous stack that
he can call you with if he actually is
slowplaying the made flush (or Trips for
that matter), you don't want to be so
cavalier as to put all of your chips at
risk. So in this situation, since you
are both still very deep, just bet the
size of the pot or so, now at a little
over a $100. If he has Trips or the Flush
he'll most likely raise you all in - and
you'll have a tough decision to make based
on the type of player he is and what type
of player he thinks you are (the type
of decisions that are often made in the
higher limit games with better players).
If he just calls your bet you can see
the River. If he bets all in when a Flush
card hits you'll have to size him up and
decide whether he's bluffing. Similarly,
if he checks you'll have to decide whether
he's trying to induce you to bet a losing
hand. If you think he may be you can check
behind him and showdown with your top
two pair.
Position
is critically important precisely because
of close calls like this on the Turn and
on the River. Consider a similar hand
when you are in early position. With that
A-Q up front your decisions are much tougher.
First of all, when the action comes to
you - let's say you're in the four seat-you'll
have to worry about what action all of
the players will take after you. So though
you may bet the pot on the Turn after
having raised and gotten called pre-flop,
it is a tougher decision to make because
you may be raised by someone who hit the
hand more strongly than you. Though your
two pair on the Turn is still a large
hand, without your opponents acting before
you with a check, there is a greater chance
that they have a stronger hand. Your bet
is riskier.
Here's
a different hand to consider. Let's say
you are in early position with a pair
of 9s. You raised pre-flop in mid-position
after a couple of players called the $2
big blind. Let's say you raised to $10.
You got a caller after you and a caller
in front of you (a frequent situation
in these games). The flop came 2-7-10
rainbow. The player before you checked.
You bet $30. The player after you thought
long and hard and then called. The player
in front of you folded.
Now
it's the turn. The card is a Q. What do
you do?
This
is tougher than being in late position
because you don't have the advantage of
seeing how your opponent bets his hand
before you act. You have to either push
a hand that may well be second best or
show weakness by checking which may well
induce him to bet even if he doesn't have
a hand.
My
suggestion is to avoid the temptation
to bet for information - something many
players recommend. I tend to follow the
more conservative route in these low limit
games - trying to get my reads from the
action of my opponent without committing
money to the pot. I would check this hand
unless my opponent was showing great weakness
and I was fairly sure a large bet would
get him to fold.
As
you can see by this exception, when there's
serious money at risk on the Turn or the
River you have to take your betting actions
more seriously. But most of the time,
in these low limit games, when you believe
you are in the lead you'll make the most
money by betting whatever you or your
opponent has left in front of you.
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