How and Why to Take a Free Card
Pocket Aces is the best starting hand in poker and that is still only top pair. After the flop is dealt there are sets, draws and flushes that can beat you, even the Royal Flush which is the best poker hand. Successful Texas Holdem poker players must improve their hands from top pair and therefore learning to play draws for flushes and premium five card poker hands are important to your success. One of these poker strategy tools is to know how to get a free card and why you should try and do this. These strategies work for both Texas Holdem and Pot Limit Omaha.
A free card is defined as free because you are checked to after an earlier street bet, usually pre-flop. It is, therefore, not exactly a free card, but as you raised before the flop your opponents will check to you in position thinking you will make the continuation bet allowing you to see the turn at no extra cost. This can be helpful if you have a hidden draw as you would rather put your money into the pot with a made but disguised hand later rather than now where you only hold a draw.
In order to maintain deception you will need to check behind when you have a good hand on the flop some of the time as good players will analyse the turn card based on what you could be taking a free card with. By raising preflop your range is narrowed and putting you on a hand is not difficult if the flush hits and you bet. If you always check your draws then opponents will bet into you if the turn card is a blank and you cannot call. Taking a free card on the flop with a good hand can win bets on later streets, but be careful as the turn card could make the hand of your opponent so remember to think about what they could be holding too; their check could be slowplaying a better hand.
If you are slowplaying your hand then taking the free card could turn your opponent’s backdoor flush draw into a flush draw drawing to the river for the flush. If you have slowplaying a set then giving the card could win you money if you opponent bets his slightly improved draw but a bad river card could place you in a really tough spot if you are bet into. Much of the time, however, the action you have manufactured through your sequence of bets would make this an easy fold.
Because good and bad things can happen from giving a free card especially in online poker it is the norm to bet out on the flop and try and take the pot straight away rather than get too tricky. Amateur players tend to be trickier than professionals who bet the strength of their hand as the high stakes games are notoriously very aggressive. Watch your opponents closely as those who always try and take flops you seem disinterested in by checking and taking a free card will bet into you at the first opportunity to steal the pot from you.
After the free card you need to bet strongly if you hit to make up for the times when you are bet off the hand when you miss. It is important to have a profit when you hit the hand to earn more than the chips of the initial pre flop call. If you find opponents are folding to your post free card bet, then starting betting the flop more often because opponents have two cards to come to improve rather than one. Psychologically once the turn misses players know they have one chance to improve on the river and if you are betting hard into them it is tough for them to call.
On the poker sites where you play online poker try some of these poker strategies out. Checking looks weak, so when the drawn card helps you that contradicts the representation of the move you made. This can result in extra calls and raises into the best hand which is great for your online poker profits so learning to use the free card will improve your poker game.
By Malcolm Clarke
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