HELP

[BILLABONG]

If I have top pair good kicker heads up in a nl ring game but a flush draw is showing so I bet the pot say $5 into $5, and my opponent calls. And the flush draw completes. Does it look weak if I slow down my betting say half the pot like $7.50 into $15???Or do I need to bet the pot again,of courise ill give it up if he calls or raises.

[JeffreyGB]

I wouldn't consider that to be weak. You're betting more than you did the time before. Chances are decent that they'll call again if they called before and the flush didn't help them, unless they put you on the flush, which wouldn't really make you unhappy anyway, since you'd get the pot. I'd be more hesitant about something like this in a multiway pot, but with just 1/2 callers, I wouldn't consider it weak.

Another option though is what someone else mentioned doing: bet exactly the opposite from how you did it - half the pot on the flop and then if the flush doesn't come, the whole pot on the turn. Doesn't help when it does come (except that you lose less money...and it's hard to bet high enough for a flush draw not to be callable on the flop), but when it doesn't you're getting people to call for the odds of hitting by the river while only really giving them the chance to hit by the turn.

I know I didn't completely answer your question - hopefully someone else will. I figured the viewpoint would be worth considering though.

- Jeffrey

[SteveO]

The continuation bet on the turn of 1/2 pot is fine. There is a chance the flush card was a scare card for opponent or he can have a weak flush and fears you have a higher flush. Essentially, you are making a defensive bet in that situation.

True weakness would be a complete check on the turn. On the other hand an observant opponent may be thinking semibluff/slowplay (you just never really know what the other guy is thinking) You are opening yourself to a big bet from your opponent that you are really not prepared to call.

The concept of betting pot or 1/2 pot is geared toward making your opponet make an incorrect call. On the flop the pot sized bet made it incorrect for him to call with a flush draw b/c he was only getting 2-1 on his money (discounting implied odds completely). On the turn, the draw got there so you are betting for information and trying to pick up the pot with the least risk which makes it unnecessary to blast the entire pot again.

[JeffreyGB]

On the flop the pot sized bet made it incorrect for him to call with a flush draw b/c he was only getting 2-1 on his money.

It's 35% on the flop for a flush to come in by the river. Getting 2-1 on his money, this is a correct call. Hence the strategy I mentioned above.

- Jeffrey

[a500lbgorilla]

Calling a pot bet with a draw is never correct.

You have to figure a great portion of the time they will bet the turn and if they don't you're probably not getting any money in on the river if that's where you hit it.

-'rilla

[dalecooper]

It's 35% on the flop for a flush to come in by the river. Getting 2-1 on his money, this is a correct call.

Only if the river card comes free when you buy the turn...

[JeffreyGB]

Good point Dale (and 'rilla). The assumption that more will be bet does make the call incorrect. Where then should the line be drawn at the flop for a call to be correct? Clearly you don't need odds to be 4.1 to 1 on the flop the way you do on the river...

- Jeffrey

[dalecooper]

Good point Dale (and 'rilla). The assumption that more will be bet does make the call incorrect. Where then should the line be drawn at the flop for a call to be correct? Clearly you don't need odds to be 4.1 to 1 on the flop the way you do on the river...

- Jeffrey

I'd hedge a bit but not much. You have one more card to come, which helps you unless he really bets hard on the turn (which you can't know either way - just depends on the player and his hand); you also have implied odds, i.e. you can get more money out of him if/when you hit your draw, which helps. I usually will call up to about 3:1 odds in this situation if I feel I can extract enough money on the backend to make it worth that. On the turn, if I missed, I just look at the straight pot odds, pretty much. Others will give different answers because so much of this is not concrete, and depends on the situation, players in the hand, etc.