In low-stakes Texas Holdem NL then one of the biggest mistakes that I see players make is that they simply refuse to believe betting lines or they fail to decipher what they mean. Actions should be taken to mean exactly what they appear to mean. Checks mean weakness as a rule with the odd exception being when someone is slowplaying something big. But the mathematics of that situation dictates that this will not be the case very often. So checks nearly always mean weakness at low levels but this does not mean that they will fold if you bet as a check-call line is a classic line of the loose-passive type.
If a player bets then this could be with a powerful hand or it could be with something that is decent but vulnerable. In heads up pots then the dynamic changes considerably as the chances that your opponent is bluffing rise. Let us look at a few examples to show what I mean. You raise with A-K in a $10 game to $0.30 and you have a stack of $15. The two blinds call you and the flop comes Kd-10d-9d with none of your suits. Both blinds check and before we go any further then they both have huge stacks of $20 or more and so the stacks are deep here.
With $0.90 in the pot then you bet $0.70 but the small blind check-raises to $3.00. The big blind folds and now the action is on you. This is a strong betting line and there are straights and flushes possible and also two pair hands. So I would clearly believe this line as a sign of a hand that was stronger than mine. Carrying on here is futile as what is your plan when you call the raise and your opponent bets the turn? This is not tournament poker where you go for your whole stack with top pair top kicker because your stack is only twenty big blinds.
But let us look at another example and you have 7-6 in the big blind and a player open limps in middle position and the small blind completes. You check and the flop comes 10-4-2 and the small blind checks and you check and then so does the limper. The turn card comes and is the 2d and the small blind checks again. This is an open invitation to bet. No one has taken any action in this pot so far with one pre-flop limp and a completed bet from the small blind.
Post flop and there were two checks followed by a check on the turn. This betting sequence is exactly what it implies and the texture of the board makes the situation even better. Bet and expect to take the pot here most of the time. So it pays to remember that at low-stakes no-limit hold’em then betting lines tend to mean what they imply.
Tags: Betting, Poker, Texas Holdem