What has happened so far

Whenever you analyse topics that deal with later streets, you first need to ask the question: "How did I get there in the first place?".

If you have the initiative on the turn, the most likely case is that you are the preflop aggressor. However, various scenarios are possible here:

• You are the PFA, contibet on the flop and could fire a 2nd barrel now.
• You are the PFA, checked behind on the flop and could make the first bet now.
• You are not the PFA, but bet on the flop after your opponent only checked.

As you might notice, the last item on the list is not so clear-cut.  It's easier to talk about initiative than to really define it, theoretically you always have the initiative when your opponent checks (quite apparently, he didn't want to use his in this case).

That's why this column will only focus on those spots in which you were the preflop aggressor.