The Free Card in Poker
When you bet or raise on an early round in order to get checked to on the next round, you are not actually getting a free card. In reality, you are getting a card cheaply. If everything works, it appears as though you are getting a free card, but that "free" card cost you a bet on the previous round. If things do not work as hoped, the free card you are trying to get may become quite expensive. (Your opponent might reraise and then bet into you on fourth street.) However, there are many situations where trying for a cheap card is beneficial. (And from this point on we will refer to it as free since it is standard poker jargon.).
Since getting a free card is often advantageous when your hand is weak, it should be obvious that when you have a legitimate hand, it is usually to your disadvantage to give any free cards. Specifically, you should bet most of your legitimate hands to give your opponent a chance to drop. This includes holdings like fourflushes or open-end straight draws with two cards to come.
By the way, be willing to bet open-end straight draws with two flush cards on board as long as there are two cards to come, unless you feel that there is a good chance that you will be raised. It is true that you may make your straight and run into a flush. But remember that it is often correct to bet on the flop with a small pair and an overcard, a hand that has only five cards that will improve it. Even if a flush draw is out, you still have six cards that will make your straight draw a winning hand, and many times that winning hand will be the "nuts." (Of course six outs against an opponent’s flush draw is not as good as five outs against a non-flush draw since you can catch
and still lose.) You also usually should bet top pair or an overpair on the flop, as long as your hand figures to be the best hand. The exceptions are when there is a lot of raising before the flop (indicating that you may not have the best hand), and those times when you have decided to check-raise. Specitically, resist the inclination to check to the before-the-flop-raiser. Checking and calling is rarely a correct strategy in hold ‘em, yet this is precisely the way that many weak opponents will play. However, there are three situations where checking and calling may be correct.
The first occurs when you are slowplaying. The second situation is when you are fairly sure that your oppsnent has a better hand and will not fold if you bet, but the pot odds justify your calling in the hope that either you have the best hand or you may outdraw your opponent. The third situation is when you are against a habitual bluffer. Now, even though you risk giving a free card, checking and calling is probably the best strategy to follow. Another interesting concept is that even when you are a big favorite and want callers, but you think everyone will fold if you bet, giving a free card still may be incorrect. In this case, the next card might be a miracle card for someone else, but not likely to make anyone a second-best hand. An obvious example of this can be seen when you flop a small flush. A check could give someone else a higher flush, and that person would not have called your bet.
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