Check Behind with Initiative on the Flop

1. Table of contents

2. Introduction

• 2.1 Why should you want to check behind?
• 2.2 Theoretical principle of the check behind play
• 2.3 The mathematics and hard/soft facts
• 2.4 Psychological aspects of checking behind

3. Equity Shift

• 3.1 What does equity shift mean?
• 3.2 Implications of equity shift for the check behind strategy

4. Different hand types for check behind play

• 4.1 Strong made hands
• 4.2 Weak made hands
• 4.3 Good draws
• 4.4 Weak draws
• 4.5 Weak hands with a little showdown value
• 4.6 Total air

5. When is it bad to check behind?

• 5.1 Strong made hands
• 5.2 Trash hands
• 5.3 When the c-bet makes the rest of the hand easy to play
• 5.4 Hands that need to three-barrel
• 5.5 When the flop structure creates good fold equity

6. Conclusion

• 6.1 Checking behind in ring games
• 6.2 "Meta-Psychological" aspect
• 6.3 Avoiding auto-pilot
• 6.4 Outplaying your opponents
• 6.5 Finally...

The Authors

Kobeyard

Kobeyard

Kobeyard is one of the best known online players in the German community. You can often see him playing the FL Skylimits and he is one of our best video producers and coaches. 

He is one of our oldest members, registered at PokerStrategy.com since 2006. He loves to play basketball in his free time.

He makes his debut as an author with this article for PokerStrategy.com. Many may already know him from his blog (in german) or his videos.

Byron Jacobs

Byron Jacobs

Byron Jacobs is a publisher and author specialising in games and leisure. As with many Poker players, his enthusiasm for games originates from chess, where he holds the title of international master and is the author of many popular chess books.

He has now switched his attention to Poker and has become a successful on-line Limit Hold’em player.

He is the author of "How Good is your Limit Hold'em" which was one of the first poker books to clarify thinking processes at the table. He has also written for Card Player Magazine and the online 2+2 publishing site.

2. Introduction

Checking behind with initiative on the flop in limit games is what might be called a "modern" invention, in the sense that it has been taken up as a serious play by the best players only in the last year or so. Almost all literature that deals with this situation recommends that a c-bet should be automatic, as it gives such good odds due to the immediate fold equity.

However, as short-handed players (specifically in the heads up game) have become more sophisticated, the value of this fold equity has fallen dramatically and a c-bet should no longer be considered the default game plan.

The idea of checking behind best applies to heads up limit, as opposed to a post-flop HU situation arising from a blind/steal (the defence scenario in a short-handed game). This is because the ranges are so much wider in heads up and many players will open raise (and defend) with up to 85% of their hands. Seeing players playing close to 100% ranges is not at all unusual. Of course there will be many occasions in which the big blind re-raises pre-flop (taking the initiative), but we will not be considering such scenarios here.

Typically, the big blind's strategy might be to re-raise with the top 20% of hands and fold the worst 10%. This gives them a calling range of about 70%, which comprises of the following hands:

70% Range

When we refer in this article to a range of 70% for the big blind, this (above) is the hand selection we are considering. Naturally, players will have different ranges for this particular play but, based on experience, it can be said that this is a reasonable standard to work from.

If we try to consider various different ranges which may be used for all of the different situations, the analysis would become over-complicated and therefore we are happy to work with this range: a very typical defending range in the big blind for many heads up players. However, we should note that the check behind becomes an even more effective weapon against those players who play a non-reraise pre-flop style (and therefore raise a lot of flops), as they are getting much less value from their strong hands.

Additionally, when players frequently reraise, you should be checking behind less on the flop if they do call, because their range is now much weaker so you get better pot equity and fold equity. Before launching a detailed examination of the check behind play, we want to consider some introductory points regarding this type of play.

2.1 Why should you want to check behind?

The fundamental reason for playing the check behind is a concept borrowed from the NL game: pot control. In NL the pot can escalate alarmingly, and players who have flopped well but not brilliantly (say top pair, no kicker) will often play check behind with the aim of winning a medium-sized pot, without running the risk of becoming pot-committed if the board turns ugly or they run into a monster.

In limit games the pot cannot suddenly become as huge as it can in NL, but the same principle applies. After a raise and pre-flop call the pot is 2BB. If your opponent checks the flop and you check behind, you will see the turn in a 2BB pot. If instead you bet, get raised and call, you will find yourself playing a 4BB pot.

It will very often happen that you have a hand that you want to play, but would be much happier playing this hand in a modest 2BB pot than in a more substantial 4BB pot. There are many reasons why this could be the case and we will look at them as this article progresses.

There is also a basic mathematical principle you can apply to these situations, to decide whether a check behind is considered appropriate play. Any time you calculate (or your instinct tells you) that you have less than 50% equity against your opponent's range, and you also think that you have very little fold equity for a flop bet, you should consider the check behind.

Because the flop c-bet is such an anticipated move (and can almost be considered part of a fixed betting sequence), the fold equity of this play can be highly marginal. Many, indeed most opponents, will at least call with almost any hand on almost any flop. But there is an even more important point to consider...

Intelligent opponents will understand that if you are c-betting all your hands, you might not have anything on the flop 50% of the time; so they will attack you. They will notice that when you are c-betting 100% of flops, your own range is generally so weak that you are folding around 70% of the time at some point during the hand. However, if you only c-bet say 60% of hands on the flop, you only have to fold around 30-40% of the time. It is now much harder for them to attack you, because their fold equity has decreased substantially.

2.2 Theoretical principle of the check behind play

There is a good theoretical basis for playing the check behind in HU play, especially against decent opponents. Consider the fact that most of the time the hand ranges for you and your opponent are around 85-90%. If you are lucky enough to get opponents who always fold the flop when they have no hand, no showdown value and no draw, there is less justification to check behind (although the move also has advantages in certain situations to maximise your value, as you will see further down).

However, very few opponents will be this compliant and following a bet from you on the flop they have many possible lines of action: check-raising with decent made hands, good draws or total trash; calling with all types of made and drawing hands, and also with air as a float (when intending a move later in the hand). A decent opponent will have balanced plays after you bet the flop and so, if you are making this play close to 100% of the time, you may well find yourself playing in a 3BB or 4BB pot without any clear idea of where you stand. In such circumstances it may seem preferable to exercise a little pot control and see the turn card in a 2BB pot.

You will often have a marginal hand that has less than 50% equity against your opponent's range, but nevertheless, it is still a hand you need to take to the river. Note that you make a small loss on every bet that goes into the pot post-flop, so by restricting the number of these bets, you are saving money.

There is another feature of this play which is worth noting. By making the check behind play you limit your opponent's betting "room". When you bet in this situation (and 're-open' the betting), he has the option to raise: an option that aggressive players will use a lot, especially if they are the type of player who don't often three-bet pre-flop but like to raise a lot of flops.

There are many players who like this style of play, and there's something to be said of it. It is more deceptive if you choose to take the initiative with a raise on the flop, instead of pre-flop when it ought to be easier for your opponent to discern your range. However, against this type of player, the check behind is a very strong weapon because when they have a good hand, you will often be reaching the turn in a 2BB rather than a 4BB pot.

Furthermore, instead of having three places where they can make a play by betting/raising, they are now restricted to only two, and they also know that it is now possible for you to get to a showdown by just calling two bets. Finally, when you make your decision to go to the showdown, you will have seen 80% of the board cards. This is a key feature of the play: you limit the opponents' "room" to make plays. Some of them won't be able to stand this restriction and will start to spew bets on the turn and river in frustration. We will examine this concept in more detail later.

Note also the psychological aspect of this play against this particular type of player. When he notices that he is not getting enough bets in on the early streets with his strong hands, he may feel obliged to adopt a strategy of three-betting pre-flop, with perhaps the top 20-25% of hands. Now you have manipulated him into giving you a clearer idea of his range in pre-flop play, and forced him out of his comfort zone; he is now more likely to make mistakes.

2.3 The mathematics and hard/soft facts

In this article we try, wherever possible, to analyse suggested plays on a mathematical basis. Many plays can be justified with such parameters. For example, if you want to call down with a moderate made hand OOP, and you have a clear idea of your opponent's range, this situation can be analysed pretty comprehensively on a purely mathematical basis. Indeed, there are many such analyses elsewhere on our site. This kind of analysis, and the resulting advice for play, lead to what can be described as "hard facts." Such advice is based on a clear logical analysis and should be recognised as "correct play". However, the check behind play does not always lend itself to such a cut and dry mathematical approach.

When you are checking behind on the flop, there is still a whole lot of action that can come about on the turn: he checks, you check behind again; he checks, you bet; he bets, you call; he bets, you raise; he bets, maybe you even fold. And that is just on the turn. Then there is the added complication of river play to be considered. When you consider these details it is obvious that a raw mathematical approach, based on hand ranges, is likely to become so complicated that it loses any practical value.

Therefore many of the suggested plays in the article will be based on what can be termed as "soft facts", which are difficult to justify by rigorous mathematical analysis. However, if you can understand how your opponent likes to play and in what situations he is likely to make mistakes, then these "soft facts" can indeed lead to "correct play".

When considering the check behind, the metagaming and psychological aspects of play become much more important, especially when you are facing players who like to play LAG or TAG style.

What this article cannot do is provide you with completely clear and "correct" answers about the check behind play. We will show you how check behind play can be a powerful weapon to have in your armoury and suggest situations where it can be used productively. It will be up to you to decide how this play can best be incorporated into your own game.

There are also many instances in which it is not possible to clearly analyse the turn play after the flop check behind. How to continue on the turn (after either a check or bet from the opponent) is highly player-dependent. This will often be a situation in which you have to use your poker skill to decide on the best line of action.

2.4 Psychological aspects of checking behind

There is a strong psychological reason for wanting to play check behind, which is especially important when your opponent is check-raising with all kinds of hands. When you bet the flop, get raised and call, not only are you playing a 4BB pot, but you have also lost the initiative. When you simply check behind, you are playing a smaller pot and you are not necessarily giving up the initiative.

While it is true that losing the initiative has no EV implications in pure mathematical terms, in practical play it certainly does. This is because it is much easier for the player with the initiative to bluff for the pot as they only need to make a c-bet. The player without initiative has to raise this bet and, psychologically, this is harder to do.

If you only ever played check behind with the intention of either calling down with moderate hands or giving up on the turn, the play would be potentially exploitable because any vaguely observant opponent would quickly adapt and understand what kind of range you are on when you make this play. However, although much (even most) of the time you will indeed be making this play with moderately strong hands, you will sometimes throw in a check behind with a strong made hand. Now when your opponent bets the turn, you will of course raise and he will probably pay you for the hand. After this has happened on a few occasions, he will become rather more wary of your future check behinds. This will be very much to your advantage for several reasons:

1) He may start to only bet the turn when he actually has a hand that he considers likely to be ahead of your range. You have forced him to be honest about his hand and have manipulated him into behaving in a predictable fashion. You have created a leak from nowhere!

2) Because he is now more wary of your check behind, you can pick up a lot of free cards. As you are, in general, making the play with moderate to weak hands, these free cards will help you greatly. If you have a bad hand with 6 outs, getting free cards on the turn (not strictly true, but a check behind avoids an immediate flop raise) and river is worth around 25% of the pot in equity terms.

3) You can make intelligent calls with very weak hands and actually end up making a profit with hands that would have been very hard to play profitably in a "contested pot". Here is a typical example: you hold and your opponent has . The flop is and you check behind. Immediately your opponent is a little disappointed because he has an open straight draw and was planning to check raise you on the flop. If you had bet the flop and been raised when the turn brought you no help, it would be very difficult for you to continue down to the river as, in general, this is unlikely to be a profitable line.

Now the turn brings and because your opponent cannot be completely sure what your check behind means, he may check again (note that he does not want to face a raise and end up paying a highly uneconomic 2BB to try and hit his eight-out draw in a 2BB pot). You also check and the river shows . At this point he cannot stand it any longer.

He knows that he can't win a showdown and since you have shown no strength at all, he now bets as a desperate bluff. Even with queen high, this is now an easy call. If you give your opponent an 85% range for his pre-flop call, you have 26% equity, while the pot offers you 3-to-1. However, the situation is actually much more favourable for you for two reasons:

a) He may well be playing the established 70% range, in which case your equity increases to 31%.

b) You have to consider what hands he will actually bet on the river. His range here is likely to be highly polarised. Clearly, he will bet all pairs and probably many hopeless hands. He is rather unlikely to bet his king and Q high hands. If we eliminate these hands, our equity actually increases to a remarkable 40%!

You have manipulated your opponent into making bad decisions on every street and finally betting at the most inappropriate time. Anyone familiar with the fundamental theory of poker can see what a triumph this hand has been!

A miracle has occurred: rather than losing 2BB by betting the flop and being forced out of the pot, you have actually won 2BB with a really weak hand. Naturally this is not the full story. The hand could have played out in other ways but this is a very believable sequence, which has happened to both authors on many occasions. We would hope that this example has already convinced you that playing check behind can be a very powerful line and one that can be extremely frustrating for the opposition.

3. Equity Shift - A key component of the check behind strategy

This is a very important component of the check behind strategy. Firstly, we need to explain precisely what we mean by the term equity shift.

3.1 What does equity shift mean?

Often you have a situation on the flop where the turn card is unlikely to greatly affect the equity of your hand. Let's look at some examples.

You hold:
Flop:

This is obviously a great flop and against a 70% range your equity is 90%. However, it is not likely to change much whatever the card is on the turn. For example, even cards that look bad, (e.g. jacks and sixes) only reduce your equity to 87% while a blank, such as a 2, increases it to just 91%. Your equity oscillates by just 3-4%.

You hold:
Flop:

Your equity against a 70% range is 50%. Let's look at the effect of some turn cards:

• - drop to 45%
• - increase to 51%
• - drop to 44%

Even an ace is a slightly beneficial card (his 70% range excludes a lot of Ax hands) - increase to 53%. Overall, your equity is likely to fall slightly on the turn (as we know it's hard to improve when you have 2-2), but not by more than about 5-6%.

These situations are not vulnerable to an equity shift. However, even some occasions where it feels like your equity could change a lot on the turn are actually quite "static" situations. For example:

You hold:
Flop:

Your equity against a 70% range is 57%. Because you can hit your overcards, it feels like the turn could be quite important, but how true is this? Let's check:

• (great card: top pair) - increase to 91%
• (safe card: overcards) - increase to 62%
• (bad card: overcards plus draw) - drop to 53%
• (bad card: overcards) - drop to 48%

With the exception of hitting the killer overcard, the fluctuation of your equity range is only about 13-14%. This is more than in previous examples but still not dramatic.

If you actually decide to bet the flop in these situations, and the opponent then either calls or raises, you will have to re-evaluate your perception of his range. However, for the purposes of defining what is meant by equity shift, we are discussing the situation in pure theory.

Now, let's consider some different hands: 

You hold:
Flop: 

Right now you have a rather poor 42% equity against our opponent's standard 70% range. However, because you have overcards and a lot of backdoor draws, your equity can change dramatically with the turn card. Let's see:

• (great card: top pair) - increase to 86%
• (good card: huge draw) - increase to 57%
• (okay card: moderate draw) - drop to 38%
• (okay card: moderate draw) - increase to 44%
• (bad card: weak draw) - drop to 38%
• (horrible card: no hand) - drop to 22%

Perhaps surprisingly, your equity is now subject to huge fluctuations. A great card can boost it by 44% while a horrible card can reduce it by 20%: a potential overall swing of 64% with a number of other possibilities in between. Note that in these "backdoor draw situations" there are also a lot of cards that create a great deal of "energy" for your hand. Cards that give you what are likely to be draws with 12+ outs may well be good enough to generate profitable semi-bluff plays on the turn.

You hold:
Flop: 

Your equity against a 70% range is 34%. However, you do have a gutshot and backdoor draws but there are a lot of cards which will give you terrible equity after the turn:

• (terrible card: no hand) - drop to 16%
• (great card: pair and gutshot) - increase to 59%
• (okay card: flush draw) - equity unchanged at 35%
• (terrible card: no hand) - drop to 17%

Even though you have no showdown value, this is an ideal situation for a check behind. Whether or not you bet the turn following a further check from your opponent (assuming you hit a blank), will be very player-dependent. You must use your knowledge of his tendencies to make this decision.

An important point to note is that because the flop reasonably covers the mid-range, it is going to (perhaps loosely) connect with a lot of your opponent's cards in the 70% range. A flop bet therefore really doesn't have much fold equity. Even quite weak hands like or will (at least) call, because a lot of turn cards can open draws, and hands with a high spade also get a backdoor flush draw. It is actually quite difficult to find a hand that a LAG or TAG is going to fold here (maybe something like ).

Compare this with a flop such as . Now if you hold the same , your equity is a rather poor 30%, but you should be more inclined to bet because you still have some backdoor draws. Now the dry board also means that you can get folds from some weak but better hands, e.g. Q6, J7. Furthermore, this is the type of board that might see a lot of calls but very few raises from the 70% range, as there is little this opponent could have. Therefore, a flop bet could well be enough to get you all the way to the river. The flop raise is unlikely and so is the turn donk.

You hold:
Flop:

Your equity against a 70% range is 52%. You have a weak 3rd pair on a very drawy board and the turn card again has the potential to shift your equity greatly:

• (terrible card) - drop to 36%
• (terrible card) - drop to 35%
• (good card) - increase to 58%
• (great card) - increase to 79%

The argument here is that you don't want to give free cards. However, if we analyse the situation carefully, there aren't actually all that many weaker hands that benefit from the free card. A-x and K-x hands only have three outs; Q-x hands do benefit a little but 9-x hands are not that far behind (e.g. has 45% equity and is equal at 50%). The small disadvantage of giving the free card is outweighed by the fact that your opponent is now unlikely to think that your hand can be as "strong" as 8-6. He will more than likely assume you have an A-x, or maybe a weak draw like K-7. If the turn blanks and he can't find a bet, you can bet and he might pay you off with a hand as weak as an Ace high.

3.2 Implications of equity shift for check behind strategy

Assessing the potential for equity shift on the flop can give you a very good indication of whether you're in a good spot for a check behind. When equity shift value (let's call this ESV) is high, you should certainly consider a check behind. When the ESV is low, it is not as important to consider and other factors such as protection, or whether you feel your opponent will allow you to play the hand more accurately if you bet, come into play. Let's look at some examples, drawing on the material considered above.

You hold:
Flop: 

This is just a re-cap of the above. As you saw earlier, you have a rather poor 42% equity against our opponent's standard 70% range. If we have an opponent who is rather aggressive and quite showdown-bound, this becomes a very good moment to check behind. As before, you will have to use your poker skills to decide the best line of action on the turn. This is again player-dependent and not a scenario where a clear "correct" play can be given. This also fits in nicely with our basic premise that it is often a good idea to check behind when the equity against your opponent's range is less than 50%; the danger of a raise is great and the fold equity is close to non-existent.

You hold:
Flop:

It can often be a good idea to check behind even with some hands that are actually quite strong (having greater than 50% equity) but are nevertheless vulnerable to an equity shift. You have very good equity against the 70% range here (62%), so checking behind feels quite wrong. However, in this situation you are vulnerable to a "reverse equity shift" as there are a number of bad cards that can show up on the turn.

Nevertheless, this is a situation in which you will almost always want to go to the river and checking behind allows you to do this whilst playing pot control. It is clear to see that this idea is going to be controversial, and it is natural to assume that many players reading this will be shaking their heads saying that it cannot possibly be correct to decline to bet when you are playing IP and have 62% equity against your opponent's range.

Intuitively, this feels like a very -EV move. However, it is important to note that we are not now committed to playing a simple call down strategy. If the turn card is good for you (random low card), your opponent is likely to bet any moderate hand (you didn't bet the flop, so why should this card help you?); you can now raise. If he has a hand like 7-5, you have gained a small bet (and he is most likely to have played check/call on the flop).

In this situation it is very important to know whether your opponent is capable of donk betting the turn. Knowing this is crucial in order to decide on a plan to play these hands. It is natural to want to bet the flop (you have an equity edge) but to reserve the possibility of playing check behind on unpleasant turn cards. If you return to the above example, this idea will be clarified.

With our holding, we will almost certainly want to see a showdown. However, depending on the turn card, our hand may not be sufficiently strong to value bet each street. So, there are two ways to play:

• a) we can c-bet the flop, planning to check behind on an unpleasant turn or
• b) we can check behind on the flop. Let's consider each in turn:

a) We c-bet the flop and get called.

If the turn is a blank we bet again, but there are many unpleasant cards after which we may prefer the check behind, e.g. any 6, 9, jack, maybe also sevens and hearts. If your opponent is compliant, you can get to the river for just 0.5BB. However, if your opponent is capable of donk betting the turn when such a scare card hits and you cannot comfortably fold to this bet, it would cost 1.5BB to get to the river.

Stronger players will certainly have this donkbet in their armoury and will donkbet the turn after a flop call in situations such as these: when they hold 6-7 and the turn brings 10-8-7-6, or they hold 7-9 and the turn again brings 10-8-7-6. This is especially dangerous if you deal with a strong player who can balance his donkbet. He might, for example, do this by also making this play with a hand such as when the turn brings , giving him the nut flush draw. It's not easy to call this donkbet but a fold would be a horrible mistake.

b) If we check behind on the flop instead...

We have much more control and avoid the problem of the donkbet. This is not strictly true because our opponent can still donkbet (we checked behind on the flop, so whether this is technically a donkbet is a matter for discussion), but we can then call and reach the river for 1BB. This is an improvement from the 1.5BB we had to invest in scenario "a".

We are also more likely to generate EV from bluff induction if we go down route "b". If we check behind on this scary flop, it is natural for our opponent to assume that we have no substance and, at best, may be calling down with ace high. So, when the turn brings a six or a jack, his betting range will be very wide and will include a great deal of total air as well as a lot of weak made hands that we would beat. In this case it is profitable to play (at the very least) check/call down to the river.

4. Different hand types for check behind play

It is possible to make the check behind play with any kind of hand, ranging from powerful made hands such as two pairs and sets, to total air. In this section we want to consider the different hand types that you may find yourself playing on the flop, and then decide when these offer a good opportunity to play check behind. Naturally we have to examine these in the context of various different flop types, ranging from the totally dry to the very drawy. We will consider six types of hands and then examine each one in turn.

When you play against smarter players, an important part of your game should be to keep your play balanced. So if you always bet the flop when you have a strong made hand or draw and check behind with the other types, your flop action will allow your opponent to narrow your range rather easily. However, it is quite possible to balance your play by both betting and checking behind with all hand types. Because of this, you can use your play on the flop to exploit the tendencies you have noticed in your opponent's play, whilst keeping your own play balanced.

It is important to note that, as in most situations, balancing will generally cost a little EV. Therefore if your opponent is not sophisticated enough to exploit unbalanced play, you can simply concentrate on consistently making the maximum EV plays. The six hand types are as follows:

1) Strong made hands
Since we are likely to be playing heads up, a strong made hand would be a top pair or second pair, good kicker. Examples are J-5 on a J-7-4 board, K-8 on a Q-8-3 board or 8-8 on a A-7-5 board.

2) Weak made hands
 Here we have very typical heads up hands such as bottom pairs or good aces on fairly dry boards. Examples are: 3-3 on a Q-9-4 board, 6-5 on a K-8-6 board, A-J on a Q-7-2 board or A-5 on a J-J-4 board. Such hands will typically have around 55% equity against our opponent's 70% range.

3) Good draws
 A good draw can be classified as a hand that has almost no showdown value but is likely to have at least 9 outs to get better. Examples are: on a board, 9-7 on a K-8-6 board,  on a board. The final example is less clear cut than the others, as there are only 4 outs versus Q-x. The 10 outs versus 8-x and 7-x hands are weakened by the drawy 8-7 combo. However, the backdoor flush makes up for this.

4) Weak draws
Weak draws are unlikely to have more than 4 outs if the hand is behind, e.g. 5-6 on a K-9-8 board. The few potential outs are also tainted, such as 8-6 on a 9-10-J board, or on a board.

5) Weak hands with a little showdown value
 When your opponents are playing ranges of 85% and higher, even pretty bad looking hands can obviously have some showdown value. Examples are K-4 on a 10-8-3 board or Q-J on a 7-5-3 board. These are hands that have poor equity, typically around 35% against an opponent's average range and are vulnerable to great pressure by weaker hands.

6) Total air
Everything else comes under no hand, no draw and no showdown value. Examples are: 7-5 on a K-10-3 board, 8-6 on a K-Q-10 board.

4.1 Strong made hands

Clearly you can lose EV if you fail to bet with a strong made hand, but this is not the full story. If your opponent has nothing, or very little, he might fold to a bet (remember that the fact that you have a strong hand makes it very slightly less likely that he actually has anything at all). After your check, he may however now take a fresh view of his holding and give it rather more value than it actually has.

This may lead him to contribute bets to the pot when he has terrible equity. For example, you have Q-J and he holds K-9 on a flop of Q-7-4. You then make the check behind as a balancing play. If the turn is a blank, he checks again and you bet. He may well decide that you are trying to steal the pot (after all, he have now checked twice) and feel obliged to make a call down with his king high. He will be even more likely to call down with an Ace-rag hand, or who knows, he might even raise with such hands.

This is especially the case if he has seen you make the check behind play with trash hands on other occasions. You may have missed out on one SB on the flop, but could get paid off for 2BB on the turn and river because he has completely misread your hand.

Let's say he has a weak made hand such as 5-4. This is most likely a hand with which he is going to play check/call on all three streets. However, after you check the flop and the turn is a blank, he will most likely bet to protect his hand. If you now raise and he pays you off, you have got 3BB instead of 2.5BB when he was playing check/call.

The check/behind can also be used as slowplay. With the increased aggression that has become common in the game, it is rather unfashionable to slowplay hands, as the perception is that you simply give up value by doing this.

However, if you carefully consider the ranges that your opponent will play against your hand, you see that although you might give up a little EV against a tiny part of your opponent's range, you can gain a lot of EV in return against a much greater part of his range, leading to an overall profit. In order to demonstrate what we mean by this, we will take an extreme example.

You hold AA and the flop shows A-2-2. Unless your opponent is a player who bluff-raises a lot, there is no reason to bet here. The part of his range that will give you any kind of action includes only A-x hands, 2-x hands and pairs (although naturally he may be calling down his king and queen highs).

By checking behind you will (possibly) give up some EV against this very small range. However, by checking behind you also have a much greater chance of increasing your EV against the very large part of his range that does not include these hands. This is one of those situations that relies on soft facts. It cannot be proved mathematically, but it should be fairly clear that the vast majority of his range will be made up of Q-5, 10-8 and 7-6 type hands that don't (from your opponent's point of view) appear to have much equity OOP on the flop, but could look an awful lot better after a helpful turn card.

Furthermore there are many players, especially heads up, who simply can't refrain from betting when you have shown weakness. They hate the thought that their 10 high might lose to your jack high when a simple bet at some point would have forced a fold. So after your flop check, you will have players bet into you quite frequently on the turn, almost regardless of the card.

Whatever line you now decide to take (maybe raising immediately or perhaps delaying it to the river), it is clear that you have engineered a highly profitable situation which is less likely to have arisen had you bet the flop.

Balancing

Having said all this, it should still very much be your default play to bet all strong hands on the flop. Players who are very keen to balance will notice the slight danger that arises if you never check behind with a strong made hand; opponents can narrow your range to exclude hands that have a strong value bet on the flop.

This is not such a big deal, since, even if the check behind is a big part of your game, you should still be betting most flops. Strong made hands are so rare heads up, that these bets will be well disguised. In any case you will be betting a great many other types of hands on the flop.

Having said that, it can occasionally (and this is stressed for a good reason) be a good idea to make a really weird play in the heads up game, because this will stick in your opponent's head for a long time. For example, you might call down early on in a session with a really weak hand, say queen high: a play that is certainly not worthwhile in pure EV terms.

Your opponent may be pleased to be paid off for a couple of big bets but he will notice that you played like a complete station and, because this is such an odd play (not like calling down with ace high), this will stick in his mind for a long time. He may spend the next 100 hands playing a sub-optimal game, where he concentrates on looking for thin value bets and avoiding bluffs altogether. Naturally you will be aware of this and ready to exploit it.

So, maybe just occasionally, it is good for the metagame to check behind with A-K on a K-9-3 flop (note: be sure to raise the river if you use this strategy, and not the turn). Now when you check behind, he will feel obliged to include very strong hands in your range, which will be good for when you want him to keep quiet, so that you benefit greatly from free cards.

4.2 Weak made hands

Protection vs bluff induction 

This is a very important part of the check behind strategy and enables you to gain maximum value with some mediocre holdings, especially against very tight and/or aggressive players. This can happen when you check behind with moderately strong hands that have some showdown value. You typically want to be playing these hands in a 2BB pot and not a 4BB pot.

The downside is that you fail to protect your hand when you are ahead, but since the pot is so small, this is not a major consideration. On the upside, you will find that you induce a lot of bluffs from hands that only have six outs.

You hold:
Flop:

For example if you have a decent A-high hand on a fairly uncoordinated board, this plan can work well. Your opponent is on the standard 70% range. Should you bet or check behind?

As was hinted in the introduction, attempting to analyse this situation mathematically becomes very complicated, but, because this type of decision is such a common occurrence in the heads up game, it is worth having a go and seeing if we can come to any worthwhile conclusions.

Mathematical Approximation

Before attempting the following analysis, it must be pointed out that it is far from being a completely accurate assessment of all the possibilities. Instead, we will make many approximations (which may or may not be reasonable) being aware that we are making them. When we reach a conclusion, we will consider the conclusion in light of the assumptions that we have made. If we can't give a definitive answer about our play, we will at least have a much better idea of the factors that affect it.

Firstly, we have to decide what the chances are that we are currently ahead against the 70% range. We can safely assume that we are only behind against K-x, 8-x and 3-x hands from the 70% range (but not against hands like A-K and 3-2. After some calculations, the chances that we are ahead right now amount to 60% and the pot is currently 2BB. There are now two possibilities: either we are behind or we are ahead.

If we are behind it is obviously better for us to check, but it is very difficult to quantify by what margin this is the better play. It very much depends on how much we are going to pay when our opponent starts betting into us. However, it is completely clear that it must be good to check behind, although we cannot be sure what this play is worth.

How can we tackle the problem of assessing the check behind when we are ahead? Let's break it up into the following scenarios and then consider each in turn.

• 1) You bet and he folds
• 2) You bet and he calls
• 3) You bet and he raises
• 4) You check and he always bets the turn
• 5) You check and he never bets the turn

1) You bet and he folds

Let's start with the easy one. You take down a 2BB pot so the value of the play is simply 2BB.

2) You bet and he calls

This is more complicated. The pot is 3BB and, for the sake of simplicity, let's assume that turn play is check/check, which is quite realistic. If he bets now, you will always call on the river after showing signs of weakness on the turn. He therefore ought to be betting a fair number of hopeless hands. However, he may have improved on either the turn or river and simply be betting for value. If we give him a random hand such as Q-7, the chances that he has overtaken you by the river are about 25%. He will probably also bet with a losing hand 25% of the time and the rest of the time play goes check/check and you win.

Therefore our EV is:

0.25 * -1.5BB (he outdraws us and we pay him)
0.5 * 2.5BB (no further betting - we win the pot)
0.25 * 3.5BB (he bluffs the river and we pick it off)

Overall: (0.25 * -1.5BB) + (0.5 * 2.5BB) + (0.25 * 3.5BB) = 1.75BB

3) You bet and he raises

This would be very complicated because he might spew plenty of bets and you might fold the best hand. We won't try to calculate this, instead we will simply note that we are ignoring this possibility.

4) You check and he always bets the turn

Now you have to call. The calculation here is similar to that used in "2", except that the pot here is a little bigger. However, if he is winning on the river, he will bet again and we would pay off his pot. If he's losing, let's assume that he bluffs 25% of the time.

Now our EV is :

0.25 * -2BB (he outdraws us and we pay off)
0.5 * 3BB (he bets the turn and then gives up - we win the pot)
0.25 * 4BB (he bluffs the river and we pick it off)

Overall: (0.25 * -2BB) + (0.5 * 3BB) + (0.25 * 4BB) = 2BB

5) You check and he never bets the turn

If he can't find a turn bet here after your flop check (he will want to protect), most of the time you would bet and take it down. Occasionally, he will call the worse hand (A-2, Q-10) and this proves very profitable because he is likely to only have a six-outer. Occasionally he will have the better hand on the turn (say he pairs with 4-5), but won't bet. These possiblities probably more or less cancel each other out, so it's reasonable to assume we would win 2BB here.

Summary

We are ahead and we bet the flop. We have EV of 2BB if he folds and 1.75BB if he calls. We haven't calculated what happens if he raises.

We are ahead and we check. We have equity of 2BB if he always bets the turn, and 2BB if he never bets the turn.

So our initial, and perhaps surprising, conclusion is that checking does not seem to be worse than betting the flop, even if we are ahead. When we combine this with the fact that checking is obviously better when we are behind, this begins to look like the best play.

However, we have perhaps made a number of farfetched assumptions about the course of play. What are the factors that could seriously affect our decision?

If we are not a particularly showdown-bound player (maybe we like to play a low variance game), we are definitely better off checking. The problem for us with betting is that if we get raised by a worse hand but don't go to a showdown, betting can lead to terrible results such as folding the best hand when he doesn't have many outs. This is very much -EV.

Even if you are quite the showdown-bound player, it's still a good play to check behind on the flop, unless you feel comfortable playing this particular opponent after a flop raise. For example, if he check-raises the flop a lot and is quite spewy on this kind of dry board, there could be more value in provoking bluffs with a bet.

If your opponent is on the whole passive and honest (you won't find many opponents like this above the low mid-stake tables), a bet might be better. For this to be the case he must have most of the following tendencies: to simply fold worse hands on this dry board and raise with better ones; he won't bet the turn after your flop check with a worse hand (your bluff becomes void and you're simply giving away free cards).

Conclusion

In most cases you will be better off checking behind with these ace high hands on dry boards; especially in situations where your equity against your opponent's range is likely to be over 50% but not over 60%. Here again, you have to use knowledge of your opponent's tendencies. When players float the flop with really loose holdings, it's better to play bet flop and bet turn for the free showdown. If they are likely to get very bluffy after your flop check, checking behind can be the better option.

Metagame consideration

There is a further point to consider here. If you check behind in such a situation, your opponent bets the turn, you call down and win, you have to be aware of the metagame. If this happens several times, your opponent is unlikely to keep presenting you with free money. On future occasions, when he does bet the turn, he is much more likely to have a hand that would win against your ace high, so you can now start to make good folds.

4.3 Good draws

As we all know, we often want to bet our draws to generate fold equity. Furthermore, because we often have a lot of outs, we are usually not that concerned if we get raised when we have such holdings. So the thought of playing check behind with a good draw (or even a weak draw) feels wrong.

However, there is a basic principle that we should consider carefully. Players often fall in love with strong drawing hands and bet them as if they had the nuts. However, sometimes this "really great draw" doesn't give us quite as much equity in the pot as we might expect.

Consider that when we get raised our equity is likely to be less than 50%. This doesn't demotivate many players who will then happily three-bet, piling in extra bets when they stand to lose, with very little fold equity for the course of the hand. Moreover, the opposing player can see that it's a drawy board and so a three-bet on the cheap street in position is not going to scare him. Let's look at a typical example. 

You hold:
Flop: 

You have , giving you two overcards and an open straight draw.

Great hand right? Well, your equity against the standard 70% range is actually about 56%. Good, but not great. If you instead had for bottom pair no kicker, your equity would be in a similar range at 54%. It is hard to imagine why some players go trigger-happy with Q-J on such boards, but not with 6-5, although these two hands are very near in value.

Naturally, betting hard with drawing hands is all well and good, but only when it generates some fold equity. It's almost impossible for the stronger hands on this board not to see the showdown. Any pair will certainly get to the river and ace highs will probably also call down, as they will expect you to push a drawing hand, giving their call down good value if the draw goes bust.

You won't ever get rid of a hand like 7-6 either, as this hand will have a lot of outs all the way to the river. And even if the board gets a bit ugly, the pot will be so big that a crying call will be almost automatic. The only stronger hands likely to give you some action are K-8 and K-7, but they still might fold out.

If you play check behind, your hand will be very deceptive and your opponent is highly unlikely to assume such a big draw as your range. He will most likely make the assumption that you have a hand such as A-x, or a low pair that is not strong enough to face a possible semi-bluff raise on this drawy board. This is likely to be an established fact in his mind as he will have seen you check behind with precisely such hands on other occasions. In this situation two good things can happen...

Firstly, if he has a reasonable hand he will bet any turn, and if your hand improves either now or on the river your raise is very likely to be paid off, because he will find it hard to guess that you have a strong hand judging by your betting sequence. In this case you will gain 3BB post-flop instead of the 2.5BB you would have made had he bet/called all the way. Also, if you miss your draw you would only lose the minimum amount.

Secondly, if he doesn't have much of a hand, he might still pay you off if you improve, because he has completely misread your hand. Let's say he has 2-2. He checks the flop and you check behind and the turn brings:

Flop: 
Turn:

If he checks and you bet, he may very well pay you off as his perception of your range will include plenty of A-x, K-x and Q-x hands.

If you had bet the flop you would have given the impression that this flop really suits your cards, as he knows that you are quite capable of checking behind with hands that have missed. As such when the turn card comes in, he may decide that it is now too likely that this has connected with your hand and he would go for a good fold with his low pair.

If the turn blanks and your opponent checks again, you are probably best off checking behind once more. Following your flop check it's not that likely that he will now fold a better hand, especially an A-x, so a turn bet won't have a lot of fold equity against better hands.

The main point here, and this will apply in many situations where you have a strong draw, is that you might be sacrificing a tiny amount of fold equity by checking behind, but the deception of the play is so powerful that it completely outweighs this minor drawback. Good players will expect you to play draws hard, so, although counter-intuitive, it can be highly profitable to play them passively because you will get paid off really well when you hit and avoid spewing out when you don't. Whenever you have a good draw but don't see a lot of fold equity, the passive line should be considered.

4.4 Weak draws

It can often be a productive move to check behind with weak draws, typically in situations where you have weak overcards on a drawy board. A standard example would be J-8 on a 6-5-3 board. This is a really ugly flop for your hand, making your equity against the 70% range less than 33%. In this article we are generally promoting the check behind play, but in many examples there are counter arguments supporting the c-bet. In this particular case, however, there are no arguments in favour of c-betting: the check behind is much the better play.

The problem with betting is that it is a -EV play which has almost no upside in terms of fold equity, neither now nor later on in the hand. There aren't any better hands which will fold and most weaker hands will have a draw and will lean into you. Even if you get called by a hand like K-7, your only chance to win the pot is by hitting your six-outer or by three-barrelling.

If you don't three-barrel (i.e. you check the turn), any thinking player would imagine you have a really weak hand and will check/call the river, even with only king high. If you are prepared to three-barrel, you might get a fold on the river. However, three-barrelling in this pot, when you are most likely behind the vast majority of hands that will call the flop and turn, clearly cannot be a +EV play.

In this scenario you might as well take your free card (by no means a bad play). Jacks and eights are obviously great and sevens give you an open-ender. A further bonus is that your opponent might, reasonably so, interpret your check behind as an ace-high hand which will make the river. If this is the case, you might get another free card on the turn.

4.5 Weak hands with a little showdown value

Quite often in the heads up game you have a hand that has a little showdown value. These are typically ace-high and king-high type hands, although occasionally small pairs on coordinated boards can also enter this category (e.g. 2-2 on a two-suited 10-8-7 board). When you have a hand that really ought to see a cheap showdown, check behind on the flop is usually the best play.

Often the board will be slightly coordinated with some lower cards, so if you bet and get raised, you will want to call the flop and probably the turn too. If you also call the river, post flop play has cost 3BB and most of the time your hand won't be good. If instead you check behind on the flop, you are guaranteed a showdown for 2BB.

Naturally your hand may still not be good, but when your opponent starts to get the message that, after checking behind, you are prepared to call down with fairly weak hands, he will probably begin to play "honestly" on the turn, only betting when he is ahead against your "weak showdown range". This is a good example of the principle discussed in the introduction about "limiting your opponent's betting room".

When you bet the flop and an opponent raises, it feels like a strong play for him because he knows that you will have to make three more calls to see a showdown. It is tough to do this with a very marginal showdown hand, which is why aggression is so powerful in the heads up game. However, when you are already on the turn before your opponent has had a chance to make any kind of positive betting move, he knows that you only have to make two calls to see a showdown and that he hasn't yet taken initiative; this situation is not ideal for him.

Furthermore, as is often the case with the check behind play, you have the advantage of getting to see 80% (instead of 60%) of the final board, before deciding whether to commit any chips post-flop. This enables you to make more informed decisions as to whether it is +EV to make the call down.

Typical hands for this play would be K-J on a 9-7-3 rainbow flop. Against the standard 85% range of your opponent, you would have around 45% equity. This is way too much to fold, but, since you have -EV, you don't want to bet either. This justifies the fundamental principle discussed in the introduction that the check behind should be seriously considered whenever your EV on the flop is less than 50%.

If the turn blanks and your opponent checks, it's probably best to check behind again, especially early on in a session. You would then make the river and get some useful information about how he plays the hand. This is a better line of action than playing a tough bet/fold when you cannot be sure you have made the best play.

This is also a case in which it is simply impossible that a better hand will fold (if you find an opponent who can fold A-x here, then you have hit the jackpot for the heads up game; you can safely ignore the advice in this article, bet every flop and take all his money). There is therefore no real reason to bet as a bet is also unlikely to generate fold equity later on in the hand. Checking behind is the way to gain the most value from your hand.

There is a further point here that if he holds something like 7-6 and you bet the flop, he is very likely to raise with middle pair. However, if you check behind and the turn brings a scare card, e.g. 9-7-3-A, he may well not bet the turn, especially since the ace hits a large part of your check behind range. Now you get from flop to river for 0BB which is a big improvement from paying 2BB.

The counter argument here is that if you had played bet/call on the flop, the ace might anyway freeze him up on the turn, but this is not so likely. Once he has raised the flop and taken the initiative he cannot really play check/call on the turn, as he would be extracting zero value from better hands whilst paying off his opponents with worse ones.

It seems fairly clear that checking behind is most likely to minimise your downside when you are behind, but you should also note that it can also maximise your profit with this weak hand. If your opponent has a hand such as Q-8 on this 9-7-3 flop, he is unlikely to fold to a flop bet, especially if he has some kind of backdoor flush.

If the turn blanks, he checks and you check behind, the hand will most likely be checked down and you will gain 0.5BB post-flop. However, when you check behind he is more likely to bet a blank turn and when you call, the hand will probably again be checked down. The difference is that you now gain a greater 1BB post-flop.

To summarise, if there is no betting on the flop and turn and he still checks the river, you might (just about) make a value bet with king high. Considering the utter paralysis of both players so far regarding betting, you could very well get called by a "smart" opponent who realises that your range is really polarised here.

4.6 Total air

Sometimes you find yourself with a hand and flop structure where it is best to simply give up. We all like to play poker aggressively and this is not something we really want to do, but you have to remember that every time you save a bet with a losing hand it is just as good as gaining extra value with a winning hand: defence is as important as aggression.

Here is an example. You have 10-5 and the board flops Q-9-7. You have a few one card backdoor straight draws and nothing else. Against some opponents you might have enough fold equity for a bet/fold flop strategy, but against opponents who will get very aggressive on the flop and/or turn, a bet has almost no value.

You can't call a raise and you can't c-bet on the turn unimproved (and even if you improve with a five you probably won't bet). The problem is that better hands will never fold in this situation and worse hands are going to bluff a lot of the time. There isn't a profitable way for you to play with this terrible hand.

Another example is when you have J-3 and the board flops 8-6-4. A large number of hands would raise a flop bet here and your fold equity is close to non-existant. Three-barrelling will never be a +EV play because hands like A-5 will call you on the river. Just say no.

5. When is it bad to check behind?

Having made a strong case for the check behind play in a number of situations, we now need to consider scenarios where a bet is clearly the better play.

5.1 Strong made hands

The first of these cases involves strong made hands, especially against tricky players. Strong made hands are something of a rarity in the heads up game and so slow-playing them is pointless. When you have a tricky opponent who will check raise the flop and bet the turn with all kinds of hands (85+% of which you will be ahead of with your strong made hand), it is a bad -EV move to check. After you play bet/call on the flop, you can raise the turn and bet the river scooping 4BB. If you check the flop, the best you are likely to gain is 3BB. Even when opponents want to bluff and give up if you play back, it is still +1BB to play bet/call on the flop. Opponents will presumably play bet/fold on the turn.

Weak opponents who play a straight forward post-flop

Against weaker players who fold a lot on the turn, it can sometimes maximise your EV to check behind a strong hand. However, if you are facing the kind of player who is playing fit or fold on the flop in the heads up game, you would be killing them by betting on virtually all the flops anyway.

They may expect you to check behind on very drawy flops such as 8-7-5, but once you break routine by checking behind with K-Q on a K-9-4 flop they are going to be fairly suspicious and unlikely to spew bets with bluffs. It's better for the metagame to keep betting because if you are lucky and they have a hand good enough to pay you off, they will get to see your strong holding and this will give further credibility to all your other c-bets on dry flops.

5.2 Trash hands

There isn't any good reason to check behind with trash hands, even if the fold equity for a bet is low. For example if you have 6-4 on a K-Q-9 board, checking behind is pointless. It's better to play bet/fold. You should just about have enough fold equity on a bet to justify the play, especially if your opponent plays close to 100% of hands pre-flop. Another example is the following:

You hold:
Flop:

Qc-4h on a 9s-8s-7s flop. Your equity is absolutely pathetic at 22% and checking is again pointless. It's much better to bet because you can get opponents with a king high and queen high trash hands to fold. Playing OOP, some opponents might even fold non-spade low pairs and non-spade ace highs as these have terrible equity on this flop, and it's not unusual for them to be drawing very few outs if they are behind.

5.3 When the c-bet makes the rest of the hand easy to play

There are occasions when a c-bet is good because the response from your opponent gives you a completely clear idea of how to play the turn and river. Let's say for example you hold A-2 on a K-8-3 rainbow flop. Your opponent is the kind of player who check raises all made hands and a lot of draws, but calls high card hands. He doesn't make pure bluff raises on the flop. This style is naturally exploitable, but its also far from unusual. If you check behind here, the turn brings K-8-3-10 and he bets, you won't be sure what to do because suddenly there are many draws. Although he could also have a lot of made hands.

Nevertheless if you bet this dry flop, you should get a pretty good read from his response. A raise will mean you are behind, a call is most likely ace high or two cards from the 9-Q range and if he folds this is a perfectly good result for your bottom pair no kicker hand. Now you can play the hand pretty accurately and it becomes much easier to play bet/fold on the turn.

5.4 Hands which you need to three-barrel

Sometimes you have a very weak hand with only a little room for improvement. Typically this would be a gutshot with low cards, e.g. 5-4 on a K-7-3 flop. Although you might be tempted to check looking for the free card, you should really bet because you have zero showdown value and you want to put the pressure on.

Your fold equity on this particular bet is not that great. The fold equity on later streets however is much better because a lot of non-pair hands will call here but probably won't see the showdown if they haven't improved. For example, all the two card combinations with 8, 9, 10, J and Q will probably call, but may well fold if the board pairs or brings up a 2 or an ace. Also, if they pick up a gutshot, they might call again but will fold on the river if unimproved.

Checking behind here is therefore too weak. The problem is that you won't be able to call a turn bet unimproved, whereas if you keep the initiative you can get folds from hands better than yours.

Note that the gutshot helps you a lot. Having four outs multiplied by 2 means you will make the nuts about 16.5% of the time (one time in six) if you get to the river. Your equity on this K-7-3 flop is around 30% whereas on a K-9-3 flop it falls to less than 20% (as discussed earlier, here you play bet/fold). Note that any time you three-barrel this hand unimproved and get an opponent to fold, it signifies a huge swing in your favour.

The rule of thumb is that when you are close to the nut low, it's nearly always a good idea to three-barrel because the reward for a fold is so great.

5.5 When the flop structure creates good fold equity

When the board is much drier, e.g. 7-7-3, it is clearly better to bet with a weak draw such as 5-4. There was a similar example in the discussion on equity shift. If your opponent tries to represent anything here, it is not going to look very convincing and he should anticipate that the outcome of the hand may simply depend on who had the best pre-flop cards. Naturally he is not going to fold A-x and K-x hands but, because he is out of position, he may not see a lot of value in playing on with weaker hands such as Q-x and J-x holdings. Once you show any weakness on this ultra-dry board, a smart opponent will call down with absolutely anything or, alternatively, move into you with his own bad hand.

6. Conclusion

6.1 Checking behind in ring games

So far in this article we have purely considered the check behind in the heads up game but we will make a brief mention of how it can be used effectively in ring play. The situations where the play is effective in ring play are far fewer because hand ranges are so much tighter. The best way to implement the play is to always use it on specific board structures that are clearly more likely to have helped, say, a big blind caller. A typical example is when you open raise from the cut-off with A-Q, get called by the big blind and the flop brings 9-8-6. This is a good spot to check behind because the flop is so much more likely to have hit the big blind's calling range than your pre-flop opening range. Furthermore, you can balance your play by always checking these board structures, even if you have A-A or 9-9 and your instinct is telling you to protect.

6.2 "Meta-Psychological" aspect

As we have already seen, there are many good technical arguments as to why it is important to include the check behind play as part of your arsenal of weapons in HU and short-handed play. However, there are also other, partly psychological reasons, that provide further justification.

6.3 Avoiding the auto-pilot

Earlier on in life, I (Byron Jacobs) was a strong chessplayer. In chess, the standard opening sequences of moves have been played and replayed countless times. It is therefore not unusual to see two players play the first 15 or so moves of a game almost instantly. Only when a new, or less well known move is played, will either player stop responding instantly and actually start to think about the position.

As my understanding of the game developed I began to realise that this is not really a good thing. It is much better to play your opening moves a little more slowly, reminding yourself on each occasion as to WHY you are actually playing the move, instead of bashing it out like a monkey. In this way, when the time comes that you have to think hard about what you are doing, your brain is already a little "warmed up" and ready to examine the situation in a logical manner.

I believe a similar argument can apply in poker. We become far too accustomed to making instant auto-plays because we have learnt that a particular play is "automatic" and that there is nothing to think about (naturally, multi-tabling doesn't help in this respect). Betting behind with initiative is one of the plays which is made on auto-pilot by virtually all players in virtually all situations. Most of the time it is in fact the correct play, but there are occasions in which the check behind can be a better line. Stopping, just for a moment, and considering it keeps you sharp.

6.4 Outplaying your opponents

If you will indulge me for a moment I (Byron Jacobs) would like to draw another analogy from chess which I believe is relevant to poker. Frequently in chess you will find a strong player paired against a clearly weaker (but nevertheless competent) opponent. Some strong players are very efficient at beating these weaker players, while other strong players only ever seem to win occasionally, with many of the games resulting in draws. Why is this the case?

The reason is that the more successful players realise that in order to win the game, they have to create problems for their opponents, even at the expense of playing a (somewhat) less optimal game. If they do not create problems to solve (usually by creating slightly non-standard, complicated positions), their greater ability at the game will not be rewarded.

The relevance of this to the check behind line in poker is that if you only ever bet in this position, you are letting go of an oppportunity to create problems for your opponent(s). Even moderate players will be reasonably competent at balancing their responses when they are faced with a line where you bet 100% of the time. If you mix the play up, you will create situations (rather unfamiliar to them) in which they may start to display predictable behaviour which you can then begin to exploit.

6.5 Finally...

In this article we have shown how the check behind can be a very useful tool to have in your armoury. There are a number of situations, which we have identified, where it seems to clearly be better play than the c-bet. However, there are also a number of situations where the two plays are probably more or less equal in value and deciding which line is superior becomes an opponent-dependent issue.

There will be occasions in which you feel that you have a clear understanding of where you stand after your opponent's response to a c-bet. In these cases you should lean towards making a bet. Conversely, there will also be situations where you feel that a c-bet is unlikely to bring any playing advantages and it feels like your equity cannot be higher than 50%. In such cases the check behind should be strongly considered.

The metagame is also important for the check behind move. Do you have a clear idea of how your opponent tends to respond on the turn after you make the check behind? Finally, if you are really unsure as to what the better play is, you can simply decide on a variance basis. If you prefer to play a low variance style then simply check behind. If variance is not a problem for you and you feel worried that you may be pushed off a hand if you check, then tend towards betting.

We hope we have convinced you that the check behind can be a powerful and unexpected weapon in the heads up game. It is perhaps not so surprising that it can be used for ace-high hands that want to get to showdown, but it can also get good results in less expected situations, such as when you have a strong draw. This enables you to balance the play and make your strategy even more effective.

LINKS
Links: The interview with the authors