If you plan on calling a bet then, in most cases, you should initiate one rather than checking and calling. Your bet may cause other players to fold. By betting you are also making them wonder about the strength of your hand. If you check and then call you are telling your opponents that your hand is not very strong or you are on a draw.

When you have top pair, trips, or another hand that you think is best at the time but could be beaten, then you should bet. You don't want to give anyone a free card to possibly draw you out on the river. Make them pay to continue with the hand if they are on a draw.
When you have the nuts or a very strong hand, you want to get as much money in the pot as possible. You may be tempted to try for a check-raise. Unless you are certain that an opponent will bet, you are better off betting your hand outright. When you bet your hand on the turn, you will get other players with drawing hands to call you because they are hoping to make their hand on the river. If you check and everyone else checks, you have missed an opportunity to get their money in the pot. If you bet and they fold, so be it. If you check and then bet the river, these same players will fold anyway if they did not make their hand, and you have lost a bet they would have put in on the turn.

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If you have an open-ended straight or flush draw, you want to see the river as cheaply as possible. In this instance it is usually best to check. If someone bets, and it is raised, you can get out without putting any money in the pot. If there is no raise and there are three or more players, you can call the bet because you should be getting correct odds to do so.

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The turn is appropriately named. It is the turning point of the betting rounds when the price of a bet doubles. This is the time to separate the pretenders from the contenders. It is the time to get out if you hold only a marginal hand. After the turn you have a hand that is 86 percent complete.

Since the betting limits double on the turn, the pot odds are now cut in half. In a $3/$6 game if there were $30 in the pot you would be getting 10:1 odds on a $3 bet. Now that the bets are $6 you are only getting 5:1. You might not be getting the correct odds to stay in with a drawing hand. For example, after seeing the turn, if you are trying to draw to an inside straight you only have four outs. The odds are 10.5 against you. If you are only getting 5:1 in pot odds and you should give it up.

In the simulations I ran to determine how often the best hand would win after the flop, I also checked how often the best hand would win after the turn. Using the low-limit profiles, in a field of ten players, the best hand after the turn held up 79 percent of the time. Against a field of average players, the best hand on the turn went on to win 82 percent of the time.

With the addition of the turn card, there are more possible hands that can be made by the cards on the board. Keep in mind that if you are playing correctly, you will only see the turn if you have a good hand or a strong draw. Most of the time you will have folded after the flop. If you have come this far, you should be aware that many times the turn card will not improve your hand. It is now up to you to decide to continue or not. The betting limits have just doubled. It's not too late to get out fairly cheaply if you don't have a good chance of winning or are not getting correct odds to continue. Here are a few general guidelines for playing your hand on the turn.

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Straight draws are some of the most deceptive hands to read. An innocent looking flop can spell potential disaster if you are not paying close attention to the board. In low-limit games players love to play any connectors and sometimes gapped cards. If you see three cards in sequence and there is action, it is easy to determine that someone has made a straight. But you also need to give the board a closer look to determine if there is any inside straight draws possible. There are several different types of straight draws you can have.

Straights can be a profitable hand but they can also be easily compromised and beaten by bigger hands. Before you continue drawing to a straight you must be fairly sure that it will win if you make it. If the flop brings two suited cards, or a pair, you may be drawing dead to a flush or full house. If you do make your straight, you want to play it fast and aggressively. If you are certain of a bet, you can check-raise, but don't slow pay this hand. Don't give anyone a free card in case the board pairs or a flush card falls giving someone the potential cards to beat you.

With all drawing hands you want to make sure that you are getting proper pot odds for your draw. This means that you want to have many people involved in the hand. This is usually the case in most low-limit games. Four or more players seeing the flop and continuing on should afford you the proper money in the pot to continue with a straight draw.

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Semi-Bluffing
If I'm in late position and I have a four flush, and I am holding the Ace, which will give me the nut flush if I win, then I will raise on the flop. There are two reasons to do this. If I do make my flush on the turn I have gotten more money in the pot. If I don't make my flush I have a chance of seeing the river card for free. Many players will check to the raiser. If this happens I can simply check if I have not made my flush. I then see the river card for the price of a single bet on the flop.

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Not all three of a kind are the equal. If you have a pair in the pocket and a third card appears on the flop, you have a set. If you have a card in the pocket that is matched by a pair that flops, you have trips. Many players feel that both are three of a kind and should be treated the same. This is not true. A set is more powerful than trips. Two people can have the same trips. When there is a pair on board another player could have the fourth (case) card giving him trips as well. Only one player can have a set.

A Set
The strength of a set lies in the fact that it is well disguised. Any innocent looking flop could actually make a set for anyone with a pocket pair. In fact, most of the time when we have a pocket pair, we will need to make a set to have a winning hand. As much as we love pocket Aces and Kings, most of the time our pocket pairs end up in the muck pile. The sad reality is that unless we make a set, our pocket pair will usually not be strong enough to win on its own merits. Unfortunately you can only expect your pocket pair to turn into a set about 11 percent of the time. The good news is that anytime you make a set on the flop you will win about 80 percent of the time.

Because the set is so difficult to read most players will not put you on this hand. Go ahead and bet. You will get action from any one with top pair. If there was a raise before the flop and you are sure there will be a bet you could try for a check raise. I prefer to bet this hand hoping that the player with top pair will raise me. I will then smooth-call the raise and save the check-raise for the Turn when the betting limits have doubled.

You should not slow-play a set especially if the flop is showing two suited cards or a possible straight draw. A set is strong but can be beaten, so you don't want to give any free cards in this situation. You are better off getting money into the pot. An exception is when you are absolutely sure the flop has not given anyone a drawing hand. If I have pocket Aces and the flop is something like A-8-3 rainbow, I will check from early position to give the impression that I am afraid of the Ace. If I am in early position, I will check to give the impression that I am afraid of the Ace. If it is checked around I will bet on the turn. If it is bet before me I will just call on the flop and then raise on the turn.

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Some players will make two pairs that include a pair on the board. They either have a pair in the pocket or they pair one of their pocket cards. They fail to realize that everyone else also has at least a pair. In this situation, you essentially have a single pair. If it is higher than the board pair you still have a playable hand. If your pocket pair is lower than the board pair you will save money by folding this hand whenever you are in this situation. Poker expert Mike Caro astutely points out that if the board pairs it is bad news unless it helps you exclusively. There are also other considerations you need to be aware of when a pair is on board:

How many people are in the hand?
Again we look at the importance of knowing how many active players are in the hand. The more players who see the flop, the more likelihood that one of them have made trips. If there are five or more players, it is almost certain that someone will benefit from the pair. If it is not you then you must be prepared to fold if there is betting and raising.
What is the strength of the pair?

The higher the value of the pair also relates to the chance that someone will have made trips. If it is an Ace or a face card, there is more
0f a chance that one or two players will be holding one of these cards. jt js possible for two players to make trips when there is a pair on board.
Is a Full House possible?

Whenever there is a pair on board there is always the possibility that a player has a full house or can make a full house. You should pay close attention to the relationship of the other cards on board to the pair. If there is a connecting card or an Ace then there is a greater chance of a player holding a potential full house. If the flop was

many players will play connectors as a starting hand. In this case a player with 7-8 in the pocket will have made a full house. If the flop was 8-8-3, there is less likelihood of a player having 8-3 in the pocket.

There should also be a full house alert that sounds whenever you see an Ace and a pair on the flop. Since many players will play an Ace with any card, there is the possibility that they have made a full house if they match their second card.

Here is a money-saving tip I learned the hard way: If you have a four flush and there is a pair on board, fold your hand if the pot is multiway and there is a lot of action. Any time there is a pair on the flop the value of a flush draw is greatly reduced. You could be drawing dead against a player with trips drawing to a full house. You will make the flush about 35 percent of the time. However, your opponent will turn his trips into a full house about 33 percent of the time. The °dds are about the same, but you have the lesser hand. The money you save by folding this hand will outweigh the money you will lose m the long run in this situation. Whenever you see a pair flop on board you should proceed with caution. Be prepared to fold if are not helped by it.

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