Betting on the turn

Value-wise the turn is the decisive point in a poker hand. That’s the point when you decide whether or not you really want to commit on your hand, and that is also when you find out just how much money your full-house is worth.

Attempting to fill an incomplete flush or open-ended straight truly becomes a test of nerves and patience on the flop. Knowing that there’s only one more card left that could possibly improve your otherwise worthless hand, the time of decision is upon you. Do you risk having most of your bankroll involved into a situation that could yield a huge payout, or do you forget all about the money you already have in the pot, in order to keep your stack safe?

On the other hand, if you do know you’re holding the nut flush, there’s another dilemma facing you on the flop: how to make that flush that you’ve spent half the day waiting for, pay? It’s not nearly as easy as one may think at first glance…

This is where a whole bunch of subtle poker skills come into the picture. This I also where the value of paying attention to poker hands you’re not even involved in also becomes obvious.

Know thy opponents, and you’ll have most of the answers concerning the problem ahead of you. If the guys you’re faced with are aggressive-enough to bet out anyway, you’re better off slow-playing. The strength of your hand is always relative and dependant on quite a few factors itself. You need to assess correctly whether you can afford to give your opponents a free card or not.

The biggest problem with the betting game on the flop is, that no standard procedures apply here. There are no set ways to deal with the flop, but provided you are interested enough, you’ll learn the thought process by trial and error.