In case you’ve missed the first article of the sequence, I’m educating you tips on how to play after you’ve check-raised the flop. I selected a board that enables for all kinds of flip runouts and use it as a canvas to discover the ideas that form optimum flip technique. Whereas boards range, the concepts we cowl will apply to the overwhelming majority of conditions.
Half one centered on flush-completing turns. For those who’ve already learn it, I extremely suggest revisiting it when you’ve gotten time—it’ll deepen your understanding and enable you to internalize the ideas extra successfully.
Now, we’re transferring on to the following chapter: tips on how to play when the flip brings in a straight.
Let’s dive in.
Fast Recap of the Motion
The situation we’re working with is that the Button open-raised, and also you defended from the Large Blind.
The flop got here Js 8s 2nd. The Button fires a 75% pot continuation guess, and also you responded with a 3.5x check-raise. He known as.
Diving Deep into the Straight-Finishing Runouts
We have now 12 turns that full straights: 7x, 9x, Tx, and Qx (every with three fits).
Right here’s how the fairness distribution seems:
And what the general technique seems like on every of them:
Straight-completing turns rank because the second-best runouts to your vary when it comes to fairness, trailing solely flush-completing turns.
Nevertheless, the betting methods on these runouts differ considerably. For instance, 7x turns present the bottom betting frequency, whereas Qx turns have the best.
On 7x turns, we lean towards a extra polarized strategy: betting much less typically however utilizing bigger sizes on common. In distinction, Qx turns name for a extra merged technique, with increased betting frequency and smaller common sizes.
Let’s break down every of those turns intimately and run some superior evaluation.
The Flip 7h
The 7h flip completes open-ended straight attracts for each gamers, palms that seem regularly in every vary because of their sturdy fairness on the flop. In consequence, this runout creates a symmetrical nut distribution at equilibrium, which you’ll be able to see within the vary distribution knowledge beneath:
This lack of nut benefit, mixed along with your positional drawback, forces a extra defensive strategy in comparison with different straight-completing turns. The objective is to guard your fairness and guarantee your gutshots can nonetheless notice their potential.
For those who don’t undertake this technique, the Button might begin range-betting with a small measurement and successfully strip away the fairness your gutshots maintain on the flip.
To counter that, you need to combine in some slowplays along with your two-pair-or-better palms, round 20% of the time.
So, in the long run, right here’s how your technique ought to look on the 7x turns:
- Largely quick play your two-pair-or-better palms
- Combine prime pairs between betting and checking, particularly since you need to’ve check-raised the flop with some small frequency of palms like AJ and QJ
- Bluff along with your weaker pairs, which often include a draw
- Barrel most of your flush attracts and combo attracts
- Hand over with most gutshots, they hardly ever have sufficient going for them right here
The thought is to show your checking vary right into a lure. You’ll be check-raising very aggressively in opposition to the Button’s stab, utilizing your high-equity palms and attracts, whereas merely giving up along with your gutshots.
The Flip 9h and Th
I’ve grouped these two turns collectively as a result of they play out with very related dynamics.
Each full gutshot straight attracts and generate numerous middle-pair-plus-draw combos. These palms, together with the gutshots themselves, are key to understanding the range-versus-range interplay on this spot.
Gutshot-completing turns are considerably higher to your vary than your opponent’s, due to the nut asymmetry they create.
A big portion of your check-raise bluffs got here from gutshots, whereas your opponent folded roughly 50% of theirs on the flop. That’s largely because of your use of a big c-bet measurement, which gave them poor pot odds to proceed.
Now, with these gutshot-completing turns, your vary holds an enormous benefit. Check out the vary compositions beneath, beginning with the 9h:
Now we’ll comply with that up with the Th:
Within the photos beneath, you’ll see that you just maintain a 2:1 nut benefit on these turns. That offers you the inexperienced mild to play aggressively and capitalize in your fairness edge.
As talked about earlier, a significant portion of your vary consists of pair-plus-draw palms.
The important thing idea to know right here is that this: your pair+draw palms needs to be performed very aggressively, and I’ll clarify precisely why within the sections that comply with.
You shouldn’t go for showdown worth with them, as a result of they don’t have that a lot showdown worth to start with.
The overwhelming majority of your opponent’s flop bet-calling vary consists of made palms, principally prime pairs. So once you hit a second pair with one thing like Q9 or QT, you’re hardly ever forward at showdown. That’s as a result of:
- Your opponent will typically have a stronger hand
- And after they don’t, they’ll regularly bluff you off anyway
So, checking these palms doesn’t generate a lot anticipated worth (EV).
Now let’s take a look at what betting achieves in principle on the Th flip:
A 75% pot guess will fold out lots of the Button’s prime pairs that have been forward of you, like QT, permitting you to keep away from a break up. It additionally forces folds from numerous sturdy flush attracts that had strong fairness in opposition to your hand.
Wanting on the Button’s calling vary beneath, you’ll see that you just nonetheless get known as by loads of weaker palms, like T9, nut flush attracts, and combo attracts.
With all of this in thoughts, it’s straightforward to see why the solver opts to play these palms so aggressively:
Take into account that the solver’s counter technique because the in-position participant is extraordinarily aggressive. It contains jamming all-in 16% of the time on the 9h flip and 21% of the time on the Th flip.
Right here’s a take a look at these methods, beginning with 9h:
Subsequent up is IP’s technique on the Th flip:
What I would like you to note within the photos above is that the solver doesn’t shove all-in fairly often with straights. As a substitute, it prefers to jam two-pairs and units for worth, whereas utilizing palms like QQ, QJ, J9/JT/T9 (relying on the flip), and bluffs like Ts7s or 9s7s.
I’ve been taking part in high-level poker for a very long time, and I can’t recall seeing anybody play this fashion. In follow, most gamers are way more risk-averse than the solver in these spots.
So, that’s all properly and good, however how do you exploit that?
Simple: you bluff extra aggressively. Your bluffs will notice their fairness higher than the solver predicts, because it’s balancing in opposition to a a lot more durable opponent: itself.
Let’s run a fast node-lock to point out how most gamers really reply to a flip barrel, and the way your technique ought to alter consequently. I gained’t contact the folding frequency—simply the elevating frequency.
Right here’s the mock technique I constructed for the Th flip:
I adjusted the in-position participant’s technique to boost extra typically with straights, however much less typically with thinner worth palms like two-pairs and units, in addition to fewer pair+draw and combo-draw bluffs. This introduced the general elevating frequency down from 21% to 12%.
Right here’s how the solver adapts to use that tendency:
The solver responds by fast-playing all the pieces. Its anticipated worth jumps by 31bb/100, simply from the discount within the Button’s elevating frequency. That doesn’t even account for potential over-folds, over-calls, or missed river exploits.
Now, let’s transfer on to the ultimate flip I’ll break down on this article.
The Flip Qh
The Qh flip introduces a unique dynamic than the others: it completes open-enders whereas additionally creating a brand new hand class (Queen prime pairs) that now beats a lot of the Button’s flop bet-calling vary.
This newly fashioned, considerably sturdy class of palms is why we see a high-frequency, small-sized betting technique on this flip.
Most of those palms include both a gutshot or a flush draw, giving them roughly 56–67% fairness within the pot. I’d name these “good palms”; not monsters, however palms which are typically price one thing, simply not loads.
If you’re out of place, you don’t have the posh of checking and seeing the river without cost. The participant with place controls that call, and in addition controls how costly the following card can be.
Your option to battle again is to, on the very least, attempt to set the worth your self. You’re primarily saying, “My hand is price a few block guess right here.”
That transfer creates an additional layer of resistance that the Button now has to take care of. As a substitute of checking and letting him dictate the phrases, you’re taking his weapon and switch it again on him.
Now, a standard rookie mistake is recognizing these underlying ideas, however solely making use of the block guess technique when you’ve gotten a hand like prime pair. That makes your strategy extraordinarily clear and straightforward to use.
The solver avoids this by constructing a way more balanced technique:
The solver all the time considers its whole vary, in addition to the opponent’s, when constructing a method. It doesn’t attempt to optimize for particular person palms, as a result of doing so results in extremely exploitable play.
To see why this issues, simply take into consideration how straightforward it’s to use a participant who all the time bets massive with sturdy palms and small with weak ones.
Now, to be clear: the solver by no means sacrifices EV for one hand simply to assist others. For those who examine the EV operate in any solver, you’ll see that the chosen line all the time has the best anticipated worth out there. After billions of iterations, the solver persistently finds that these seemingly misleading, balanced methods carry out greatest, particularly in opposition to an all-knowing opponent.
Now, again to the barreling technique. We see an general betting frequency of 85%. For those who recall from the primary a part of the sequence, we encountered the same state of affairs on flush-completing turns.
My recommendation for the Qx turns is similar: vary guess for 33% pot.
This adjustment is adequately subtle to go unnoticed, making it extremely resilient, and it nonetheless generates the identical anticipated worth as the total GTO technique.
Wrapping Up
That’s it for half two of the sequence! Keep tuned for half three, the place we’ll break down overcard turns, clean turns, and pairing turns.
For those who loved this sort of superior technique content material, or you probably have any technical questions, drop a message within the remark part beneath. I’d love to listen to your ideas.
I had a blast penning this one, and I’m wanting ahead to studying your suggestions.
Until subsequent time, good luck, grinders!
For those who’d wish to know extra about superior money sport methods, learn: Ought to You Play Like a Nit Preflop?
