texas holdem big blind
You are in a position Big Blind with T of spades and 8 of spades against a player who has made a simple call pre-flop. The flop shows K-X-X – two spades. What are you doing?
You want to close the color and do not want to pay too much to do. Instinctively, you might think that a check is the best way to get a free card and you’d be right.
Indeed, to check is the only way to get a free card, but may not offer the best opportunity to close your point, nor allow you to maximize profits in case the color to blind you.
Say your opponent bets the size of the pot. You are now in a condition where you have like 2 to 1 odds to make a call and 4 to 1 to close your point. You should not even see the turn card because it would not be a correct call, you should invest too much respect to the odds.
What will happen instead if you will be the first to talk about doing a little bit? Whether you are against a player who likes to slow play or against a player who likes to bluff, however, a small bet gives you the best chance of seeing the turn.
What should be a small bet? Try to aim between 1 / 3 and 1 / 4 of the pot. If there are $ 300 in the pot and you bet $ 100, you would have paid the right price to try to close your color. If you bet $ 75, you would be even better placed than pot oddsAnd this without even considering the implied odds, Concerning the amount of bets that your opponent will make the turn and river. If I close the color on the turn and your opponent did call on your bet of $ 400, you would have the implied odds of $ 300 (the amount of the pot on the flop) + $ 400 (what you’d expect it to be the amount of bet on which your opponent will call on the turn) = $ 700, from relations with your bet of $ 100 made on the flop, then a ratio of about 7-1.
This is a strategy game even better when you have a less evident. Suppose the flop is Q-9-6. In this situation you have a straight double-joint, and a 7 or a J you would close the point. While an 8 or a K card would obviously dangerous, a 7 seems a card that probably has not helped anyone. (The risk factor in this situation is that a J you can lead to a final against a player who makes you find that KJ, and your stake, which amounts to 1 / 4 of the pot that would be exactly the right amount to allow all ‘ opponent to call, with the risk that it may close a scale beyond the river).
In a tournament, this strategy for managing the projects can become more risky and less profitable, especially in the early stages. Considering that a tournament will start on a limited number of chips, your odds should be closer to 5-1 or even 6-1 before you can consider the idea of risking your chips on a project unless going through could make you stay short-stacked.
The important thing when you have a project is to be the first to attack. Leave the initiative makes you vulnerable to the possibility of having to abandon the hand because of an episode of the opponent is too high to have a point whether he is bluffing. If you want to have the opportunity to see another card at the right price your best move is to be the person to take the initiative aiming at.