Free your mind

In hold’em, aggression is usually rewarded, and a free card is sometimes part of that reward. In this month’s article, we will explore the advantages and disadvantages of getting and giving free cards post-flop. But first, let’s start with how to get free cards.

You have J♣-10♣ and a weak player from mid-position bets out pre-flop. You have position over him and decide to raise. He calls. The flop comes 3♣-6♦-7♠ – a harmless flop and one that certainly does not help you much. Your pre-flop aggression may be rewarded here, as a weak opponent would yield to the pre- flop aggressor and check to you, thus giving you a free card.

Now, you could fire out and try to take the pot down and hope you don’t get called. Or, as I would advise, you take the free card. With two overcards, a Jack or 10 may give you the winning hand. A club would not hurt in the least, as it would give you a flush draw in addition to your other draws.

FREE RIDE

Let’s take another example, using the same situation as above. This time, when the weak player bets out from middle position you decide to just call. The flop is 3♣-6♦-7♠, and your opponent puts out a continuation bet. You choose to raise.

A raise here accomplishes several things. One is that it immediately tells you where you stand in the hand. A continuation bet from your opponent tells you nothing. This flop missed you and could easily have missed him. In fact, there are very few hands a weak player would have bet out with that this flop has helped. He is either holding a monster or not much of a hand at this point.

His reaction to the raise is crucial, as it will define the likelihood of winning the hand. If he folds, he is probably on two overcards. If he raises, you are done with the hand. If he calls, however, he clearly has a hand, but is proceeding cautiously. In this case your opponent does call.

The turn is a 5♦. Your opponent does not seem to like this card, as he checks. This time, your post-flop aggression has bagged you a free card. If you were drawing to a straight, you may have just hit it. Now you have two options: you could take another free card and see what the river brings without any further investment in the hand, or you could fire out a pot-sized or 3/4 pot-sized bet and hope to take it down.

KEY POINT

Free cards don’t appear out of nowhere. You need to show either pre-flop or post- flop aggression, preferably from position against a weaker player. If your opponent puts in a continuation bet, a raise will also help define your opponent’s hand

GIVING FREE CARDS

As great as it is to get a free card, it is extremely dangerous to give them (see ‘Hand of the Month’ opposite to see what can happen). I know we all like to get creative and love to slow-play big hands. That’s fine, if you are an extremely skilled player and are willing to sacrifice that monster at the first sign of being behind in the hand.

Novice players often have a habit of checking to someone who raised pre-flop. They are afraid to bet out and see where they stand, even if they hit the flop.

Let’s say a novice is in first position with 10♦-10♣. He raises pre-flop and is called by a player in late position. The flop comes K♥-Q♦-2♣. With two overcards on the board, the pre-flop aggressor is afraid to bet out and see where he stands, so he chooses to check. His opponent is playing J♥-10♥.

Open- ended, he now has two options. He can fire out and try to take the pot down there and then, or he can simply take the free card that the pre-flop aggressor has so graciously offered, looking to improve. Either way, it is not a good situation for our friend with the pocket pair. By not betting on the flop he has put himself in a very difficult situation. He could have fired out to see where he stood and, at the same time, priced his opponent out of continuing with any draws.

Now, unless he himself improves significantly on the turn, it will be very difficult for him to call a bet from his opponent – and he certainly cannot call a raise if he chooses to lead out. So, for all intents and purposes, the novice player has surrendered the hand by giving his opponent a free card.

However, a good example of when you might consider giving a free card would be when you hit the hell out of the flop. For example, you are playing J-10. The flop is 7-8-9 rainbow. This is a great flop to slow-play because there is not much danger, and you might get someone to fire at the pot. Another example would be when you are playing K-K. The flop is K-2-9 rainbow and your trips are perfect to check when out of position.

The same does not hold true if you are playing K-K and the flop is 8♣-9♣-2♠. You may have an overpair to the board, but the 8-9 gives a very playable hand like J-10 an open- ended straight draw, and the two clubs could have hit your opponent playing two high clubs. In this case, you cannot afford to give a free card.

These are the types of situations where people slow-playing overpairs on the flop get crucified, as they allow others to draw to a better hand, and then prove reluctant to lay down the overpair when facing resistance in later rounds. It’s a calculated risk you need to clearly assess prior to getting involved in the hand.

Your reading ability is also key in making these types of decisions. Putting your opponent on a hand is critical, as is being right about the hand you put him on. You need to have a defined, confident read to play this way, otherwise you should just bet out your hand and avoid giving any free cards.