Checking on the Turn with a Big
Hand
written by BeatTheFish.com
...Fishy says, "I used to fall for
this one... I guess that's why they call me 'Fishy'."
Occasionally,
you need to mix up your play, change gears, and disguise your hand
as much as possible to keep your opponents from getting a read on
your hand. If you can make such a move and extract more money out of
your opponents, it’s even better. One such technique that I love to
pull occasionally at loose and aggressive online tables is the check
on the turn to elicit a bet on the river. You should note that this
move works best when you’re holding a very strong hand, you’re in
position (acting after your opponent), you’ve been playing the hand
aggressively, and you’re up against only one other player.
Often, you’ll run into this situation when you’ve been dealt a big
hand like pocket Aces or Kings. Let me guide you through a hand I
played recently as an example. This was an online $1/2 9-seated
no-limit ring game. From middle position I was dealt…
 
Preflop, I raised the hand to $10 as I usually do with pocket Kings
to thin the field and get rid of anyone holding a raggedy Ace. Only
the big blind called me. The flop brought…
  
My lone opponent checks to me. You should note the big advantage
that I hold because I’m able to act after my opponent. This is
always preferable in hold’em. At this point, I’m not too worried
about a 6 and I still believe that I have the best hand. However, I
want to protect against a possible flush draw or him hitting an Ace
if he has something like A-Q. The pot is now $21 so I bet out $25.
He called me again. I’m getting suspicious but I still think that I
have the best hand so I’m still betting for value. The turn brought…
So, the board now looks like this…
Obviously, I’ve got a lock hand now with the Kings full of 6s and
I’m not worried about any draws. My opponent checks and what do I
do? I check right behind him. Why the heck did I do that? If my
opponent did have a King, he probably would’ve bet out on the turn.
If he doesn’t have it he won’t call my bet. I’ve made the decision
to give him another card that may improve his hand to second-best.
Even if he doesn’t improve his hand he may think that I’ve been
stringing him along with a pair of Queens and that the King scared
me.
The river brought a harmless…
My opponent bets $25 at the river. He’s probably thinking that I’ll
be scared off by his small “value” bet on the river and he can steal
the pot. I just double his bet. In similar situations, you can bet
more if you like but realize that he won’t call much, if any, of a
raise if he’s just bluffing on the end. In my hand, he folds and I
pick up a little extra money. In hindsight, he was obviously just
making a last-minute stab at the pot.
By checking on the turn with a big hand, I was able to confuse my
opponent enough to get him to bet on the end. By my quick check on
the turn, it looks to him like I don’t have a hand and that I was
just trying to scare him off on the flop. This works great against
frequent bluffers and overly aggressive players. Other hands you
might consider checking on the turn with are nut flushes, straights,
a set, and sometimes two pair if there isn’t an obvious draw on the
board. Of course, you shouldn’t use this move all the time but it
can be a deceptive tool in your overall bag of plays to help earn a
bit of extra profit once in a while.
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