Ten Common and Costly Hold'em Errors – Part III, Common errors on the turn in limit hold'em

This column will continue the discussion of my list of "Ten Common and Costly Limit Hold'em Errors." The box below summarizes them.

This column will focus on three errors on the turn.

6. Not betting/raising with the best hand: Let's start with a one-question quiz. You hold the K Q. After three limpers, you choose to limp in from the cutoff seat. The button raises, and all the limpers call, as does the big blind. On the flop of J 10 6, the big blind and first two limpers check, but the other limper bets. You decide to call, as does everyone else. The turn is the A, giving you the nut straight. Again, the first three players check, and the player to your right bets.

Should you:

a. Call because you want overcalls from the other players?

b. Call because you might not like the river card and want to wait until it is safe to raise?

c. Call because you always get rivered anyway, and might as well save a bet?

d. Raise because you want to charge possible draws the maximum or get them to fold?

e. Fold because you never win in situations like this?

Because you are an astute Card Player reader, and you observed the heading of this section, you correctly answered "d" (congratulations!) But we all have seen players call in this situation because of one of the reasons above.

Let's look at the pot odds. There are 12 small bets before the flop (plus the small blind, which I will ignore in order to keep the numbers simpler) and six more on the flop. That makes nine big bets and one more for the bet on the turn. Your call, therefore, would give the next player 11-1 odds. If he has two pair, like A-J, he has four outs to beat you and will be getting the right price without considering implied odds. Your call makes it correct for him to call to try to river you.

If you raise, there will be 12 bets in the pot, but he must call a double bet and will be getting only 6-1. He will either have to correctly fold, thus forfeiting his chances to river you, or incorrectly call, thus making you money in the long run.

Even if he has a flush draw (4-1) and will always call, your raise will charge him more, and you will profit from this, as well. And even if he is drawing nearly dead (with A-K, say), he might decide you have two pair (or are semibluff-raising with something like a pair and flush draw) and call anyway, hoping to catch his gutshot or make a second pair himself. In reality, he has at best three outs for half the pot, but he might not realize it. Raising is clearly the best option, protecting your equity in the pot and gaining you long-term bets when you are called. (By the way, if you answered "e" in the quiz, please e-mail me immediately and tell me when and where you play.)

So, you see, it is right to raise in this multiway example, but what about when heads up? You hold the A J and raise before the flop, with only the big blind calling. He bets on the flop of K 7 4, and you choose to call. He also bets when the 2 hits on the turn, giving you the nut flush. Many players call in this spot, not wanting to alert the opponent to the flush, but the reasons for raising are compelling. First, a fourth diamond might come on the river, frightening your opponent into checking and folding. Second, he might think you are bluffing (as you sometimes will be), or have a big hand himself and call or perhaps even reraise. He might believe you and be forced to fold a hand like two pair that could possibly river you. He might have a hand like the K Q and think the Q is an out if a diamond comes. And he just might be the type of player who never folds on a street once he has put money in the pot.

Acting aggressively is also important when you make your hand and are out of position. If you are first to act, you typically should bet rather than try for a check-raise opportunity that may never come. Frequently, your opponent will reason that if you really made the hand you are representing, you would go for the check-raise, and he will call or even raise you. If you do check-raise, he might choose to fold (see my column "Is Check-Raising Costing You Money?" in Vol. 17/No. 18 or on CardPlayer.com).

I have discussed only cases in which you have the nuts on the turn, but betting and raising on the turn is a powerful play in other cases, as well. Betting or raising when you make your hand on the turn usually makes you money or saves you from being rivered.

7. Calling raises with one pair: You hold A-K and raise preflop, with only the blinds calling. On the flop of K-6-5, both blinds check and call your bet. When a 9 hits on the turn, both blinds check again, but when you bet, the small blind folds and the big blind check-raises. Should you call or fold?

Unless your opponent is very tricky, you are beat. He might have a straight, set, or two pair, but in general, you are riding a dying or already dead horse, and should simply fold and wait for the next hand. I have repeatedly seen players call the turn and the river, see the winning hand tabled, and then show their own cards around looking for (nonexistent) sympathy. Do not tell people you are laying down a good hand. Sometimes you might even say, "If I only had a pair, I would call you down for sure," as you toss your top pair, top kicker into the muck.

In general, if a typical player raises you on the turn, and you have only one pair, you are in trouble. If the pot is small, you should almost always fold (call on rare occasions in games in which you see the same players over and over again, just so that people do not learn to bluff-raise you). In large pots, you might consider calling the turn in case you improve to a hand that counterfeits your opponent's two pair (if that's what he has), but fold on the river if you fail to improve. And if the pot is huge, you might have to call all the way on the slim chance that you have the best hand.

Most of the time, though, if you hold only one pair and are raised on the turn, calling is an error you can easily avoid.

8. Not taking the free card: Knowledgeable opponents do not let you use the free-card play very often these days, but it still works in games against timid opponents. You are in position and flop a draw. There is a bet and perhaps some callers. You now raise, hoping that everyone will check to you on the turn. Your plan is to check behind them on the turn if you miss your draw, thus paying two small bets on the flop instead of one small bet and then a big bet on the turn. You also are getting better odds on that bet than you will probably get on the turn bet.

But what actually happens on the turn? Everyone checks to you, and you start thinking, "Hey, this is cool. They are giving me all kinds of respect. If I bet now, they will probably all fold." So, you bet, they don't all fold, and you have cost yourself the extra big bet that you just went out of your way to save.

I know that it feels wimpy to check on the turn and fold on the river when you miss. Betting is more macho and aggressive. But the idea here was to save bets, and you cannot do that if you keep putting chips in the pot when you miss. Even when heads up, you should typically take the free card when you raised for it.

Follow the plan – take the free card.

Next time, we will look at some errors that players make on the river.

Barry offers poker lessons tailored to the specific strengths and weaknesses of the individual student. Parts I and II of this series can be found at www.CardPlayer.com.