Turn aggression

Most modern no-limit hold’em players, particularly those schooled online, are familiar with lines like three-betting light and continuation betting. These strategies are especially prevalent when playing in aggressive six-max online games, and especially short-handed or heads-up games. Three-betting frequently provides an adjustment against players who open with a wide range, and continuation betting is an obvious way of taking down pots when you have momentum and it is likely you have hit or your opponent has missed.

However, as you move up in stakes most players not only use these lines, but also have counter-measures to exploit them. For example, it has become common to four-bet light and play back at players who often continuation bet by raising light or floating on the flop. For this reason, you should not be continuation betting every flop against intelligent opponents, but neither should you be regularly checking and giving up.

In order to keep taking pots down and making things difficult for opponents, you will need to continue applying aggression on the turn after being strong on the flop. This means following through on bluffs and semi-bluffs against players who are likely to float you, or check-raising against players who like to try to take pots away on the turn. It also means betting thinly for value in situations where you have an aggressive dynamic with another player. All this will give you a balanced game and make you difficult to play against. But poker isn’t a simple game with one-stop solutions, and you should consider some of the different scenarios you might find yourself in and how you might choose to play based on the different variables.

KEY POINT

Being aggressive on the turn is vital in short-handed no-limit cash games, as there has been a big rise in pre-flop and flop aggression with far more players ‘playing back’ at the pre-flop aggressor

POSITION IS KEY

The most common situation is that you raise before the flop and are called by another player both pre-flop and on the flop. At this point, you need to consider your position – both at the table and relative to the other player, the texture of the flop and turn card and your opponent’s tendencies. If you have raised in early position then obviously you are capable of having a strong hand in this spot and this should dictate your actions.

If the board is high or uncoordinated then you should bet both flop and turn in many situations. But if it is low or draw-heavy you may elect to just give up after one bet (or not even bet the flop at all). You should also be more inclined to bluff when you are in position or scare cards come on the turn, as both factors are in your favour and make it more likely you can take the pot down.

However, if you have raised in late position and are called on the flop, your position relative to the caller is very important. Few players will float you out of position on the flop with no hand when you act last and therefore if they call, they are likely to have some part of it.

But you should bear in mind that many players will call pre-flop and on the flop with hands like medium pairs when the board is low or there is only one overcard. You should therefore be very willing to double and even triple barrel against these players when bad cards come.

If, however, you are out of position post-flop having raised in late position, your play becomes much more opponent-dependent as players at all levels have widely varying post-flop strategies.

At higher stakes and against stronger opposition you should assume that you will not be able to get away with taking down a lot of pots with frequent continuation betting. You will often find yourself in tough spots on the turn against players who are likely to call continuation bets in position with a wide range, which may include monsters, draws, marginal hands and floats.

Therefore, your turn strategy needs to be equally balanced if you are out of position, and you need to be very aware of your image and your opponents’ tendencies. When you raise in mid or late position you do not necessarily have a strong hand and because of this – and because your opponent has a wide range too – board texture becomes less important. Your strategy should be to vary between double barrelling, betting thinly for value and check-raising in order to keep your opponents from betting whenever you check with different parts of your range. If your opponents are not able to predict how you will play they will not easily be able to exploit you.

KEY POINT

It is very important to have a different approach based on your position and the board texture before making a decision on the turn. Out of position your play becomes much more opponent- dependent

PLAYING RE-RAISED POTS

Another situation where intermediate players get into trouble is in re-raised pots when their continuation bets have been called on the flop. Again it is important to have balanced ranges for these actions and many players continuation bet too often in re-raised pots hoping to take them down.

However, intelligent players will recognise those who have a wide three-betting range and continuation bet too often and so you need to deceive them by occasionally checking on the flop. This is a fine play anyway since your range will be stronger than in a single-raised pot.

On the turn you need to either begin the aggression with a delayed continuation bet, if you checked the flop, or consider your options if you bet and get called. Obviously, in the latter scenario stack sizes are going to be important as you may be committing a significant portion of your stack with a turn bet. You want to be able to make bets that can set you up to move all-in on the river without committing you to calling all-in on the turn.

You should look for good situations to do this if you are going to bluff, such as dry, paired or Ace-high boards, where is it unlikely you can have a draw yourself if you get played back at. You should not bet in situations where you are unlikely to get a fold, such as where the board is very co-ordinated or the turn card is likely to have improved some marginal hands by giving them gut-shots or other outs.

Obviously your opponents in higher stakes games are likely to use similar tactics against you and therefore you will also need to adjust to them. You can do this by folding marginal hands out of position on the flop, which cannot stand turn aggression or may face many bad cards. You can also call down lighter in position against players who like to double barrel bluff or bet scare cards too often. You should also be prepared to make large or all-in raises on the turn with draws in situations where your opponent is likely to bet-fold a good portion of his range. Remember, turn aggression is a valuable tool and you want to be on the right side of it.

KEY POINT

In re-raised pots you have to mix up your play and sometimes check for deception, as continuation betting too frequently will get you into some tricky spots