Postflop Strategy: Betting, Checking, and River Decisions

Perhaps one of the best ways you can both get value on your draws, confuse your opponents, and take down a fair share of pots uncontested is to bet out on your straight and flush draws on the flop.

Of course, you should follow some guidelines and mix up your play to avoid giving gameplay tells to your opponents but I have found this, if done properly, to be an excellent weapon at the tables – especially No-Limit Hold’em cash games.

1. Getting proper value when your draws hit
2. Winning the pot right away
3. Gaining a free card on the turn

How do you go about accomplishing these goals?

Position is essential when betting your draws

You always want to act after your opponents, which gives you the most power and control in the hand. You can get into trouble if you get raised by a powerhouse hand behind you so I wouldn’t recommend betting your draws very often with more than one player to act after you.

You can do this successfully with any number of opponents in the hand, but realize that you probably won’t win the pot on the flop against several players since one of them is likely to have a decent holding.

This move is also most effective when used after your opponents check, but you might try a semi-bluff raise occasionally.

They key to semi-bluffing is giving yourself the right odds to hit your draw.

Limit Example

With limit ring games, you won’t be able to control the odds as much as no-limit ring games since you are, by definition, limited in what you can bet.

Let’s say that you just called the big blind from the button with: Ah-9h. The flop comes out 5h-Jh-2s and there are 3 other limpers in the pot. If you get checked to, try betting. If there is a minimum bet out already, raise it.

Hopefully you don’t get reraised. If you do, you’ll have to make the call anyway because of the pot odds. You have position and the nut flush draw. If you hit another heart on the turn, bet/raise it again.

If you don’t, hopefully you get checked to out of fear and you can check on behind them and see the river for free. Simple.

No-Limit Example

However, where you can really make big bucks with this move is in no-limit ring games. Let’s say that you called a minimum raise of $4 from the button in a $1/2 NL ring game with Jd-10d. There are 2 others that stay in to see a flop of Qd-10h-4d and a $12 pot. This is a great spot to semi-bluff with your middle pair and flush draw.

Let’s say that they check to you. Since your odds are about 2:1 to make your flush by the river, bet out $6 and build a pot while still giving yourself the right odds to draw. If they both call you, great! You’ll be getting even better pot odds.

Again, you can continue your bet on the turn if you hit your flush (or sometimes even if you don’t to mix things up) or check to see the river for free. Sometimes you can even check on the turn when you do hit your draw to look completely timid and beg to be bet into on the river.

Betting out on your draws confuses your Opponents

The real beauty in this move is that you’ll be completely throwing off your opponents. While they may still suspect that you’re on a draw, most players simply don’t put betting players on straight or flush draws.

If they see two suited or connected cards on the board and a player betting aggressively they will often assume that you are protecting against the draw. If the draw is completed, they will often bluff with a big bet since they assume that you don’t have it.

Of course, you’re sitting back with your straight or flush ready to call/raise as much as possible. Also, you should note that open-ended straight draws (which can be completed with either of 2 cards) lay you about the same odds of hitting as a flush: 2:1 by the river.

2 Ways to Win by following this

While there are many more variations of draws and semi-bluffs that are best suited for their own articles this should give you a solid foundation of betting with your straight and flush draws.

Used effectively, you can often win extremely large pots from opponents bluffing you when the draw is completed or just value betting what they believe is the best hand.

Other times, you’ll win the pot uncontested on the flop with your semi-bluff bet.

Many otherwise good online poker players will call that big bet on the river, even when it’s obvious they’re beaten. Don’t be one of those players. This situation usually arises when a player hits a really great flop for his hand, but then things go pretty sour on the turn and river.

Recognize when you are beat on the river

For example, let’s suppose that you just limp in with A-K from late position. There are 3 other players in the hand, including the blinds. The flop comes out A-5-6 of mixed suits, which is a very good flop for your hand. The 3 other players check to you, and you make a pot-sized bet. The small blind folds, but the other 2 players stay in.

The turn comes with another 5. Both players check again, and you bet about ¾ the size of the pot. Only the big blind calls. The river comes with another 6, so now the board looks like: A-5-6-5-6. This time, your single opponent puts the rest of his stack in.

You should be dropping your hand here

At this point, you should be dropping your hand. You only have one pair of your own plus a community pair of 6s. Unfortunately, time and time again, online players will call in this situation.

I realize that you are justified in wanting to call with this hand. You had a darn good one on the flop, and what kind of idiot would have called your bet on the flop with only a 5 or a 6? The answer is: online players!

Many of your opponents will make a weak call, even when they’ve only flopped middle or bottom pair. They figure that if they hit the right turn, they can make two pair or a set and crush you.

Use your logic and your notes if you have them on the river

While that may happen sometimes, this logic is severely flawed because it’s just not going to happen often enough to warrant calling your sufficiently-sized bet. Plus, he’s out of position.

While experienced players can understand this deductive reasoning, you’ll have to start putting yourself in your clueless opponent’s shoes in order to beat him.

Take advantage of player notes within the online poker software. The next time you’re involved in a pot with a player that you’ve been keeping an eye on, try to use previous observations to help you.

You might ask yourself questions such as: Has this player made a weak call with mediocre holdings? Does he like to draw? Can he give up middle pair?

Don’t be surprised for your opponent to show you any two cards, at any stakes game online.

A counterfeit hand is useless

Another type of hand that gets a lot of otherwise good online players in trouble is the counterfeited hand. If you got a free play from the big blind with 7-2 offsuit and see a flop of 7-2-A, you’re usually in really good shape. You’ve hit two pair, and no one would put you on those cards.

However, if the turn comes with another A, you now have a very weak hand. You won’t get credit for having 3 pair, and many people place any Ace. That any Ace has now turned into three of a kind. Even if your opponent doesn’t have an Ace, you have to realize that any 7 with a better kicker than yours has you beat.

While he may only have had one pair of 7s on the flop, your second pair of 2s is erased when that second A comes. At the turn, you have two pair: Aces and 7s with a 2 kicker. If your opponent has K-7, he has two pair also: Aces and 7s with a K kicker.

You’re beat and should realize that the value of your hand has gone way down.

Give up on the river when you know your hand is no good

How do you combat situations like this?

First of all, you should try to prevent them before they happen. You should usually bet out when you have a strong hand, unless it is so strong that it’s unbeatable. When you bet, make it large enough so that your drawing opponents have to think twice before calling that bet.

Also, know when to throw your hand away.

The hand that I described at the beginning of this article glares, “You’re beat!” If your opponent is just checking and calling and then suddenly makes a large bet, you should rethink how strong your hand actually is.

A common mistake that I see players make in online no-limit Hold’em cash games and tournaments is raising on the river with a medium-strong hand.

This usually takes place when the player in question has position and has taken the lead on a previous betting round and is up against just one opponent.

Often, players will raise on the river for what they think is a value bet with the best hand. Unfortunately, their opponent is often laying a trap that could’ve been avoided by just checking or calling on the end.

Let me show a couple of example hands that I recently watched play out online and how to avoid this dangerous leak.

A $2/4 NL raise on the river

The following hand is from a $2/4 no-limit hold’em cash game. Put yourself in the position of our player here and think to yourself what you would do in each betting situation. Our player is holding:

You’re on the button and there are two other callers ahead of you. You just call the minimum bet of $4. The big blinds just checks to see the flop. 4 of you stay in to see:

You’ve hit top pair with a strong kicker without a big draw on the board. The other players check around to you and you make a nice bet of $16 – the size of the pot. The big blind sticks around to make the call but the other players fold. The two of you watch the turn fall:

Making a value bet with what should be the best hand you bet another $40 into the $48 pot. The big blinds curiously calls. The river is a:

This time, the big blind bets out $16 into a $128 pot. You put the big blind on a busted flush draw or a raggedy Ace so you make another “value” bet and raise him to $50. The big blind just calls your raise and turns over 5h-8h:

Where this losing player went wrong

Where did this player go wrong in the hand?

An easy argument can be made that he should’ve raised to 3 or 4 times the big blind with a suited A-Q from the button. This might drive out trash hands (such as the 5-8) and give you leverage on the flop in position.

However, his call is reasonable if he just wants to take a flop and he doesn’t believe that he can thin the field with a raise. Continuing with such a hand is tough on the flop if you don’t hit a pair or a draw and you raised preflop.

The flop and turn

On the flop and turn, I like his decisions. To discourage a cheap draw and build a pot on the flop, this player bet out about the size of the pot. On the turn, there were two hearts showing and he gets checked to again. He makes a nice bet of $40. When his opponent check-calls this decent-sized bet, alarms should’ve been going off in his head.

The big river raise mistake

On the river his passive opponent suddenly makes a bet. Our player has top pair with a great kicker, but the board has now paired. His opponent is on the big blind and could have anything: A-K, A-2, or maybe even a 5.

Our hero only has one pair and his raise will usually only get called by a hand that has him beat.

I recommend that in a similar situation (even with A-K) that players just call and showdown their hand. A lot of players play Ace-trash or worse… especially online. Raising on the river will rarely be profitable here.

A bad call on the river in a $1/2 NL game

Let’s look at one more quick example from a $1/2 no-limit cash game. The big blind checks to see a flop against 2 limpers and holds:

On the flop he hits the absolute nuts as he watches the following flop fall:

Hoping to trap one of the limpers who might have hit an Ace, he just checks. The two players behind him also check. The turn card is:

Fearing a possible flush and a draw to a higher straight the big blinds bets out $10 into the $6 pot. Only one player makes the call and 2 of them see a river of:

The big blind bets out another $15 and his opponent raises to $45. The big blind quickly calls and sees his opponent turn over

The river was key

Again, the first mistake was slowplaying the nuts on the flop, but the biggest mistake was calling on the river.

He had the “idiot end” of the straight and anyone with a 7 has him dominated. If you find yourself in a similar situation where the nuts went wrong just check and/or release your hand to a big raise.

Why there is no point in raising the river with medium holdings

A lot of players get attached to their hands and make the mistake of betting and/or raising on the river when they’re only holding a medium-strong hand like top pair.

Also, suited connectors that make flushes and straights should be played very strongly because another suited card or connector will often cripple the hand. If you have the absolute nuts (or close to it) on the river feel free to continue value betting and raising.

What to do against sudden aggression

However, if you’re looking at a dangerous board and a suddenly aggressive opponent, tend to just showdown the hand. This is especially true when an opponent appears to be chasing a draw from his calling patterns and the draw is completed on the river.

In this instance, there is no reason to raise or even bet on the river if your opponent checks to you.

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 checking 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.

Example of checking on the turn holding a monster

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 would I be checking on the turn here?

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.

Checking on the turn can make you some extra profit on the river

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.

Key Takeaways