twizzybop
Legend
Silver Level
Have you ever lost a huge pot because you
had a flush draw or straight draw and didn't
catch the card you needed?
It's happened to all of us.
And frankly, it sucks.
Because when you're on a draw, you're just
ONE CARD AWAY from raking in a ton of chips.
And you WANT to keep calling everyone else's
bets, in hopes that your card will pop out
on the turn or river.
Am I right?
Of course, what ends up happening is you
have to put a ton of your chips in the
middle... just to call everyone else's bets.
That makes you pot-committed... and if you
DON'T catch your card, you're screwed.
Not let me ask you...
Wouldn't it be WONDERFUL if every time you
were on a draw all the other players would
CHECK around?
That way you didn't have to risk any chips,
and could bet only after you KNEW for sure
whether or not you caught your card.
That sure would be nice, wouldn't it?
AND...
What if there was a way to STILL WIN THE
HAND... even if you DIDN'T catch your card?
That'd be nice too, huh?
Luckily, there IS a technique you can use to
make BOTH of these things happen.
Let me show you how...
OK, so let's say I'm at an 8-person no-limit
table and I'm sixth to act.
I'm dealt a 5-6 of diamonds.
Josh comes out firing with a $10 pre-flop
bet. Sarah and Derek both call.
Now it's on me.
I love suited connectors... especially
busting my opponents with them unexpectedly,
so I jump in and call.
The players behind me muck their cards right
away... scared to death of so much action.
The flop hits:
4d, 9s, 7d
That means I've just flopped an open-ended
flush straight draw. I couldn't have asked
for a better flop in this situation.
Unfortunately, Josh comes out firing (again)
with a no-hesitation bet of $20.
Sarah and Derek both FOLD this time...
And the action is to me.
I'm putting Josh on a high pocket pair, or
maybe A9 or A7. And he's figuring the scraps
on the board didn't help anyone, hence the
strong bet.
Which puts me in a tough situation.
Think about it... If I CALL, I might miss
my flush or straight on the turn card. Then
what? Josh will make another strong bet...
what will I do then?
And if I call to see the river and miss,
then I'll have just given Josh most of my
chips and lost a major hand.
On the other hand, I don't want to FOLD,
because I have a ton of outs and I want to
WIN this!
Now let me ask you, what would YOU do in
this situation?
Most amateur card players don't think ahead,
and they'd call Josh's $20 bet. And if they
missed on the turn, they'd call another bet
to see the river.
And if they missed on the river, they'd
probably fold, watch Josh rake in all the
chips, and wonder why they "never catch the
right cards".
Now a more skillful player would ANTICIPATE
what's about to happen... and would probably
call to see the turn, but then fold if Josh
bet again.
And of course, there are always the tight
players who would never have played the 5-6
of diamonds in the FIRST place.
So what do I do?
Remember, I'm sitting on 5-6 of diamonds.
The board reads: 4d, 9s, 7d. And Josh, who
made a strong pre-flop raise, just bet $20
after the flop.
Here's the answer...
I RAISE.
Not some wimpy raise either... I raise him
$40 more to play.
Most players would NEVER think to raise in
this situation... but here's what I've done:
1. I've TAKEN CONTROL of the hand and bought
myself a FREE CARD when it matters most.
You see, if Josh calls the $40 raise, when
the turn hits he'll CHECK to me.
That means I get to see the turn and river
for a total of $40 more, which is a BARGAIN
compared to what Josh's next bet would have
cost me.
2. I'm representing possible trips.
Josh now has to wonder whether I called his
pre-flop raise with a low pocket pair and
just caught trips on the flop.
Or I could be sitting on a high pocket pair
and I'm not "phased" by the flop.
3. I've raised the stakes of the hand in MY
favor... not his. You see, if I just call
Josh's bets and then hit a 8 of diamonds on
the turn, what will happen?
Well, Josh will SEE the three diamonds and
the straight possibility, and he probably
won't make any more huge bets or call any
huge bets from me.
This way, I've raised the stakes $40, which
increases MY CHANCES at winning an even
bigger pot than if I had just called.
Make sense?
And last but not least...
4. I've given myself a way to WIN even if I
don't catch the straight or flush.
Now I get to see Josh's reaction to my $40
raise...
If I sense weakness, I may decide to bluff
and buy this pot if I don't catch my flush
or straight.
If I only call Josh's bets the whole way,
he would't fall for this type of bluff. But
my raise of $40 will sure get him thinking.
OKAY, BACK TO THE HAND...
Josh shuffles his chips around for a moment,
and looks back down at his cards. It turns
out he's holding an A9... so he's got top
pair with the kicker. A good hand, but not
a monster by any means.
He calls.
The next card comes out... queen of spades.
No help.
Josh checks.
THAT WAS IMPORTANT.
This is my "free card" opportunity that my
$40 raise bought.
Now I'm in complete control... and feeling
pretty good about this hand.
I can check and see the river for free. I've
still got a lot of outs here.
Or I can bet STRONG and try to scare Josh
away.
"One hundred dollars", I say, as I push a
huge stack of red chips into the middle.
True, I only have a queen high... and the
beginner card player may think this type of
play is crazy.
But then again, that's why they're called
"BEGINNERS".
Anyway...
Josh thinks for a minute and then mucks it.
I rake in a beautiful pot.
Even if Josh had called, I still had a good
number of outs. And if I missed, I could
have tried to bluff again.
Now think back to when the flop came out...
After Josh bet $20, what if I had called?
(And not raised.)
Well, here's what would have happened...
The queen would have came and Josh would've
immediately fired a huge $80 bet.
I would've had to either call the $80 to see
the river, or muck my beautiful straight
flush draw.
And THAT, my friend, is why it's CRUCIAL
that you TAKE CONTROL of the game.
This type of technique allows you to truly
DOMINATE THE TABLES and win more money
playing poker. Period.
had a flush draw or straight draw and didn't
catch the card you needed?
It's happened to all of us.
And frankly, it sucks.
Because when you're on a draw, you're just
ONE CARD AWAY from raking in a ton of chips.
And you WANT to keep calling everyone else's
bets, in hopes that your card will pop out
on the turn or river.
Am I right?
Of course, what ends up happening is you
have to put a ton of your chips in the
middle... just to call everyone else's bets.
That makes you pot-committed... and if you
DON'T catch your card, you're screwed.
Not let me ask you...
Wouldn't it be WONDERFUL if every time you
were on a draw all the other players would
CHECK around?
That way you didn't have to risk any chips,
and could bet only after you KNEW for sure
whether or not you caught your card.
That sure would be nice, wouldn't it?
AND...
What if there was a way to STILL WIN THE
HAND... even if you DIDN'T catch your card?
That'd be nice too, huh?
Luckily, there IS a technique you can use to
make BOTH of these things happen.
Let me show you how...
OK, so let's say I'm at an 8-person no-limit
table and I'm sixth to act.
I'm dealt a 5-6 of diamonds.
Josh comes out firing with a $10 pre-flop
bet. Sarah and Derek both call.
Now it's on me.
I love suited connectors... especially
busting my opponents with them unexpectedly,
so I jump in and call.
The players behind me muck their cards right
away... scared to death of so much action.
The flop hits:
4d, 9s, 7d
That means I've just flopped an open-ended
flush straight draw. I couldn't have asked
for a better flop in this situation.
Unfortunately, Josh comes out firing (again)
with a no-hesitation bet of $20.
Sarah and Derek both FOLD this time...
And the action is to me.
I'm putting Josh on a high pocket pair, or
maybe A9 or A7. And he's figuring the scraps
on the board didn't help anyone, hence the
strong bet.
Which puts me in a tough situation.
Think about it... If I CALL, I might miss
my flush or straight on the turn card. Then
what? Josh will make another strong bet...
what will I do then?
And if I call to see the river and miss,
then I'll have just given Josh most of my
chips and lost a major hand.
On the other hand, I don't want to FOLD,
because I have a ton of outs and I want to
WIN this!
Now let me ask you, what would YOU do in
this situation?
Most amateur card players don't think ahead,
and they'd call Josh's $20 bet. And if they
missed on the turn, they'd call another bet
to see the river.
And if they missed on the river, they'd
probably fold, watch Josh rake in all the
chips, and wonder why they "never catch the
right cards".
Now a more skillful player would ANTICIPATE
what's about to happen... and would probably
call to see the turn, but then fold if Josh
bet again.
And of course, there are always the tight
players who would never have played the 5-6
of diamonds in the FIRST place.
So what do I do?
Remember, I'm sitting on 5-6 of diamonds.
The board reads: 4d, 9s, 7d. And Josh, who
made a strong pre-flop raise, just bet $20
after the flop.
Here's the answer...
I RAISE.
Not some wimpy raise either... I raise him
$40 more to play.
Most players would NEVER think to raise in
this situation... but here's what I've done:
1. I've TAKEN CONTROL of the hand and bought
myself a FREE CARD when it matters most.
You see, if Josh calls the $40 raise, when
the turn hits he'll CHECK to me.
That means I get to see the turn and river
for a total of $40 more, which is a BARGAIN
compared to what Josh's next bet would have
cost me.
2. I'm representing possible trips.
Josh now has to wonder whether I called his
pre-flop raise with a low pocket pair and
just caught trips on the flop.
Or I could be sitting on a high pocket pair
and I'm not "phased" by the flop.
3. I've raised the stakes of the hand in MY
favor... not his. You see, if I just call
Josh's bets and then hit a 8 of diamonds on
the turn, what will happen?
Well, Josh will SEE the three diamonds and
the straight possibility, and he probably
won't make any more huge bets or call any
huge bets from me.
This way, I've raised the stakes $40, which
increases MY CHANCES at winning an even
bigger pot than if I had just called.
Make sense?
And last but not least...
4. I've given myself a way to WIN even if I
don't catch the straight or flush.
Now I get to see Josh's reaction to my $40
raise...
If I sense weakness, I may decide to bluff
and buy this pot if I don't catch my flush
or straight.
If I only call Josh's bets the whole way,
he would't fall for this type of bluff. But
my raise of $40 will sure get him thinking.
OKAY, BACK TO THE HAND...
Josh shuffles his chips around for a moment,
and looks back down at his cards. It turns
out he's holding an A9... so he's got top
pair with the kicker. A good hand, but not
a monster by any means.
He calls.
The next card comes out... queen of spades.
No help.
Josh checks.
THAT WAS IMPORTANT.
This is my "free card" opportunity that my
$40 raise bought.
Now I'm in complete control... and feeling
pretty good about this hand.
I can check and see the river for free. I've
still got a lot of outs here.
Or I can bet STRONG and try to scare Josh
away.
"One hundred dollars", I say, as I push a
huge stack of red chips into the middle.
True, I only have a queen high... and the
beginner card player may think this type of
play is crazy.
But then again, that's why they're called
"BEGINNERS".
Anyway...
Josh thinks for a minute and then mucks it.
I rake in a beautiful pot.
Even if Josh had called, I still had a good
number of outs. And if I missed, I could
have tried to bluff again.
Now think back to when the flop came out...
After Josh bet $20, what if I had called?
(And not raised.)
Well, here's what would have happened...
The queen would have came and Josh would've
immediately fired a huge $80 bet.
I would've had to either call the $80 to see
the river, or muck my beautiful straight
flush draw.
And THAT, my friend, is why it's CRUCIAL
that you TAKE CONTROL of the game.
This type of technique allows you to truly
DOMINATE THE TABLES and win more money
playing poker. Period.
