Tip # 36 of 52, You can get away from some decent hands in a heads-up pot.

Although you must not automatically give up hands like second pair in two-way pots, you may be able to bail out on the turn in some cases. If your opponent has bet the flop, and now bets again on the turn, this tends to indicate that he has a pretty good hand. Thus, it is generally correct to fold second pair at this point, particularly if the other player is tight. When playing against a maniac or very loose player, however, you just have to call him down and hope for the best.

Another situation in which you can probably save money by folding most of the time is when you have bet the flop with top pair or an overpair, only to see a "scary" card come on the turn and your opponent fires in a bet. Here are two examples:

Example 1

The board is 3-5-T and you bet the flop with your Q-T. A king comes on the turn, it makes three to a flush, and your opponent bets out. Although he might be semibluffing, it is very likely you are beat and drawing either slim or dead. So, fold and go on to the next hand, rather than spend two big bets trying to keep him honest.

Example 2

The board is 2-7-J and you bet the flop with your K-K. An ace comes on the turn and your opponent bets out. If he has an ace, you are down to two outs. And it is likely that he does, as that is the card most commonly played in hold'em. Also, your opponent isn't any more likely than you are to like that card if it didn't help him(thus less apt to be betting without an ace). It hurts to throw away kings, but you are nearly always correct in doing so in this case. Only against players who play with a good deal of deception and creativity is calling the best option.