Baby No Limit, Turn And River Play:
Part II: Saving Bets

BY: Ashley Adams
Contact at: (Asha34@aol.com)
Author of Winning 7-Card Stud

In Baby No Limit, with the small initial stack sizes, you will often find that after your pre-flop and flop bets, you have gone through much of your stack or your opponent's stack. Correct play on the Turn and on the River will often be fairly straightforward.

As I explained in my last article entitled Making Money, it is the obvious play that usually gets the cash. When you're ahead you generally want to get all the money in the pot so you can double up or knock out your opponent by getting him to go all-in or fold. While it's tempting sometimes to go for that fancy play that will blind your opponents with brilliance, the way to make money is usually to bet strongly when you're ahead after the flop.

The flip side of this equation comes by recognizing those situations when you're behind and should not initiate a bet as a bluff or call your opponent's bet. It is often tempting, however, in these low limit no limit games to either bet as a bluff, in a desperate attempt to get your opponent to fold a hand that you believe to be ahead of yours; or to call an all-in bet in a desperate attempt to out draw an opponent whom you estimate to be far ahead of you. But if you can learn to recognize those situations when bluffing or calling with these hands is a mistake, you will save a significant sum of money in the long run. Here are some examples of those plays when you can save money.

Assume that you started with $100. You are in late position with Jh-Jc. Three players call the $2 Big Blind. You raise to $15. Hey, it's not every hand you get a premium pair. Make them pay or fold, right! You get one caller in early position. You don't know much about him. He seems to be relatively inexperienced and passive. He has slightly more chips than you.

The flop is Kh, 9h, 6h. Your opponent checks. You do not think he is slow-playing a monster, but you're not certain. You figure that you must still be ahead. If he had a Flush you figure he'd bet it. If he had a pair of Kings you figure he might well fold to your bet. You don't want to give him a free card that can beat you if he's sitting with one heart or a pair lower than Jacks.

You bet $45, about the size of the pot, which leaves you with about $40. Your opponent pauses for a short while and then calls your $45.

The Turn is the As. It's just about the worst card you could see. Your opponent bets $100. Calling him would put you all in for your last $45. What do you do?

Intellectually, you know you are probably beaten. You doubt he would have called your last bet without a Flush draw. But, on the other hand, it is tempting to call. A pair of Jacks is a decent hand - at least in the abstract. You have a draw to a Jack high Flush - the third nut flush. You've already put in $60. It's only $40 more to call. Maybe your opponent is bluffing. Maybe he just has a pocket pair and is trying to blow your off your hand. Bad players overplay their hands sometimes. Maybe he's making a desperation bluff like you used to do. You're getting about $140 for your call of $40. What the Hell you think. Might as well call.

Don't! Don't just toss in your remaining $40 in chips. You must think about why he is betting. Could he really be doing this as a bluff? Sure, part of you wants to believe that, but is there more than the thinnest chance that he's going to bet into someone who bet the flop if he didn't at least make his Flush - especially when you're down to your last $40 and might well just toss in your chips to call? You're probably drawing dead. You're at least against a pair of Aces. You have little or no chance. You should save the $40 for another hand. Don't give in to the temptation to call. Save the money!

Here's another one. You start with $100 again. You were in early position with Ad-Kd. You raised the $2 blind to $10 after the player in front of you folded. You got one caller who started with $60. The flop was Jc 7c 2d. You bet $30 as a risky semi-bluff hoping that your opponent would fold, but leaving yourself with six outs that would give you a good hand. Unfortunately, your opponent called your semi-bluff. You have $60. Your opponent has $20. The Turn is the Qs. You're tempted to shove all-in to try to get your opponent to fold.

Don't waste the money. You have nothing. Your opponent is getting good pot odds and will surely call if he's on a Flush draw or has any kind of hand at all. Save the money and check. If your opponent throws in $20 go ahead and call. He might be bluffing with nothing too. If an Ace or a King hits on the River go ahead and bet the River. But don't bet as a bluff for $20. Save the money!

Finally, you are in middle position with $160. You have Jh-Th. Someone in early position makes it $5.00. There is a caller to you. You call, hoping to see the flop cheaply with your drawing hand. Two other players call. Five of you see the flop - two in front and two behind you.

The flop comes Td, 7h, 6s. You've made top pair with a middling kicker and a backdoor flush draw. The early position player checks. The next player, in front of you and with a large stack, bets $10 - a weak bet given that the pot is a little over $25.00. You reluctantly call hoping that the pot isn't raised. You don't want to be in against a raiser who might well have you out-kicked. Maybe you should have raised. But you call. One player after you calls the $10. He has a large stack. You have $145 after your call. The pot is now a little over $55.00.

The turn is a 6h, pairing the Board, giving you two pair and giving you a flush draw. Early position checks. There is $45 in the pot. You decide that you have the best hand and should get anyone left in the hand to put in their money or pay to catch a winning card on the River. You bet $50. The player after you goes all in. He has you slightly outstacked. The early position player folds. You will have to go all-in with your remaining $95 to call the raiser.

Once again, you know that you're probably beaten. Somehow this lucky bozo probably caught trip 6s. Of course, he could just be bluffing, trying to blow you out of the water with a large raise. But few players at this level do that - they're generally too timid for such a play. And it's true that you have that Flush draw and a draw to a Full House. This is a closer call than the other examples, to be sure. But, when you do the math it isn't really all that close. The pot is $240. Your call is for $95. You're getting about 5:2 on a long shot draw of worse than 11:1 for your Full House and 7:2 that you make at least a Flush. And neither the Flush nor the Full house would be the nut hand if you made them.

As much as you want to believe this guy is bluffing, you accept the fact that you are far behind and not likely enough to improve to the best hand. Don't call the bet. Fold to the re-raise. Save the money!

Next time, close calls and how to sort them out.

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