Tip # 35 of 52, You can avoid numerous dangerous situations on the turn in multiway pots.
This tip identifies and discusses common situations that can burn up your chips if you're not careful. We hope it will allow you to navigate better through some rough waters. These points pertain to multiway pots, those involving four or more players.
Playing Second Pair When Someone Bets
In a pot with several players, one of whom is betting, it usually takes more than second pair to get the money. So, throw this hand away. You have only five cards to improve (meaning only about one in nine times will the river card rescue you), and there are no guarantees that even making two pair or trips will be enough. Your two-pair card may make someone else a straight or a flush.
Staying in With Top Pair When Others Are Betting and Raising
Your play here depends upon a few factors: your knowledge of how the bettor and raiser play, the texture of the board, and your kicker.
- First, if the raiser is a very tight player, he can almost certainly beat top pair. If he has a set, you are drawing dead.
- Second, if there is significant action with a board containing a straight or flush possibility, it is likely one of those hands has been made. Top pair won't win in this case, either.
- Finally, if you Don't trust the raiser to have a big hand, and the board is not all that threatening, you should examine the strength of your kicker. For example, suppose there has been a bet and a raise on the turn and the board is A-J-9-5. If your hand is A-6, you have an easy fold. However, A-K might be the best hand here. Against opponents capable of raising with any ace, you would be folding the best hand too often if you muck your A-K.
Staying in With Top Pair Against an Overcard on the Turn
When you hold top pair on the flop, an overcard comes on the turn, and someone else bets, most of the time this action is an indication that you just got outdrawn. Assuming this is the case, you are now left with second pair, analogous to the first example in this tip. It's no fun, but you should usually give up your hand in a multiway pot when this happens. You save money in the long run by doing so — and that's more fun than losing the money.
Drawing at a Straight when a Flush Is Already Possible
Suppose the board shows 4-5-T-J with three hearts. You hold K♠Q♠. Not only do you have an open-ended straight draw, you have two overcards. However, life isn't exactly rosy. For one thing, you might be drawing dead already. If not, at least one of your several opponents surely has a heart in his hand. This means you might make either a straight or a pair, but still lose the pot if the card also puts a four-flush on the board. So, of your 14 potential outs (assuming you are even drawing live), only 10 of them are "clean," and it may be a stretch to think that simply making a pair will be enough.
Drawing at a Straight or Flush when the Board Is Paired and There Is a Lot of Action
Once again, we emphasize that drawing at one hand when a stronger one is possible can be a recipe for disaster. The more players in the hand, the more likely it is that someone might have a full house already. You won't be giving anything up if you choose not to draw at straights and flushes when the board is paired in a multiway pot. An additional consideration here is which pair is present on the board. If the paired card is one that people tend to play (aces, and to a slightly lesser extent, any face card), then it is more likely that someone has trips or better. Also, straight draws can be especially perilous here, as a player holding trips is likely to have another card in the same neighborhood. For example, if the board shows J-J-Q-3 and you have K-T, your straight card might make someone a full house. It is logical that you could be against Q-J, J-9, or A-J. Against the first, you are drawing dead; against the other two, you are drawing very slim, because in each case one of your straight cards makes a full house for your opponent.
Betting and Getting Raised by a Very Tight Player
If this happens, you are in a world of trouble if you Don't hold the nuts. With some hands, you have enough to call. These include small straights, flushes, or two pair when the board doesn't show a straight or flush. About the only non-nut hand worth a reraise is a small or medium set, when the board doesn't contain pat hand* possibilities. The reason for this is that the tight player may have A-A or K-K, hands you can beat with your set.