Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Volume 1 (39 page)

Take a different line if you raise the same 5
-4
in middle position, the button calls and the flop comes Q
-5
-4
. Here you will bet the flop, like always. The turn is the K
. You bet again and your opponent calls. The river is the A
. In this spot your opponent will have a tough time calling without a hand that beats you. He probably didn’t call down with ace-high. In most cases he’ll either have something like Q-J or Q-10, which he’ll fold to multiple streets of aggression, or a hand like A-K, A-Q, or K-Q, with which he’ll call or raise. So, checking on this river is good because your opponent may bluff with a weak hand, or he could value-bet with a hand like K-J, as your hand is under-represented due to your check.

Notice that you are not giving up on your hand by checking this river. You are playing pot-control and turning your hand into a bluff catcher, which is what these medium-strength hands are.

If you are in position with a weak made hand, assuming at least one earlier street was checked, feel free to value-bet the river relentlessly, as your hand is under-represented. If your opponent checked and called your flop and turn bets, assuming you have a hand like Q-J on a J-6-5-3-8 board, it’s usually best to check behind on the river as most players will not call a bet on every street with a worse hand. You almost certainly have the best hand on the river, but your opponent’s calling range probably consists mostly of hands that can beat Q-J.

If you have a strong hand out of position, like the near nuts, you should usually go ahead and bet the river. Some players opt to check-raise on the river; I will later show why this is usually a poor line.

Say you raise 8
-7
from middle position and the button calls. The flop comes 6
-5
-2
. You make a standard continuation bet and your opponent calls. The turn is the 9
.