Archive for May, 2009

The Turn In Poker

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

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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Tags: drawing hand, online poker, strong draw, turning point

Poker – Straight Draws

Saturday, May 16th, 2009

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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Tags: drawing hands, full house, online poker