How to play when you are way ahead / way behind
Introduction
In this article
- You are either way ahead or way behind
- Standard play: You simply call down
As a Gold member you have probably found yourself in "way ahead / way behind" situations many times before.
What does way ahead/way behind mean?
The expression refers to situations in which
- your hand is a big favourite to win and your opponent has very few to zero outs...
- ...or in which your hand is far behind and you only have very few to zero outs against your opponent's hand.
You are either way ahead or way behind, but can't tell which of the two is the case. This lack of information is particularly important for this definition. If this piece of information wasn't missing, it would be an easy game for you. If you are ahead, you'd bet for value. If you are behind, you'd fold your weakest hand.
Preflop: Hero is CO with A
, A
2 folds, Hero raises to $4, 2 folds, BB calls.
Flop: ($8,50) K
, K , 4
(2 players)
BB bets $6, Hero ?
There are two possible scenarios: Your opponent has a pocket pair or unpaired hole cards and not more than two outs. In this case you are way ahead.
If he has a king, however, you only have two outs against him. On top of that, he might also hold 44, and with every ace or every king you would have four outs against him. You are way behind.
Preflop: Hero is BB with K , Q
3 folds, BU raises to $4, SB folds, Hero calls.
Flop: ($8,50) A, A , K (2 players)
Hero ?
A first-in raise from the button can mean various things; it might mean your opponent has an ace, but he may also hold any pocket pair, two high cards or suited connectors. If an opponent really has an ace or KK here, you are way behind. In all other cases, you are way ahead and your opponents are very unlikely to beat you.
How to play in a WA/WB situation
In general, the following principles apply:
- Protection would not make any sense because you are either favourite to win in 90%+ of cases, or the underdog in 90%+ of cases.
- A better hand will not fold to a raise.
- A weaker hand will fold to a raise.
- Weaker hands will often try to bluff you out of the pot.
- Your hand usually has enough showdown value in a medium sized pot.
All these factors clearly argue against a bet and a raise because this would only get weaker hands to fold. Moreover, you would give your opponent the chance to bluff you out of the pot by being extremely aggressive, preventing you from using your showdown value. A more passive play will give you the opportunity to play for pot control and catch your opponent's bluffs without investing much. Due to the board structure and your opponent's possible range, you don't have to protect but should strictly play for pot control and try to induce bluffs.
The standard line for WA/WB situations is therefore: (check/)call every street!
Of course you should only play this line if you are convinced that you are in a WA/WB situation. Your evaluation of the situation may very well change over the course of the hand. Folding must therefore always be an option. Particularly on the later streets it is important to take into account new information you acquire about your opponents. Don't call extremely high bets on the river just because you had the feeling you might be in a WA/WB situation when you were on the flop or on the turn.
How to act if the opponent checks the turn
Preflop: Hero is CO with A , A
2 folds, Hero raises to $4, 2 folds, BB calls.
Flop: ($8,50) K , K , 4 (2 players)
BB bets $6, Hero calls.
Turn: ($20.50) 3 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero ?
You won't win anything if you make a bet. Either the player in the big blind has a trash hand and gives up his bluff on the turn, or he is hoping to check/raise with his monster. The best way to play is often to check behind for pot control and for bluff induce. Only a back door flush draw will get a free card from you.
If Villain also checks to you on the river, you can be sure that you have the best hand and should make a value bet of 1/3 – 1/2 of the pot size. Although your opponent will fold in most cases, you will sometimes be called down by ace high or a pocket pair, because the line you are playing doesn't look particularly strong either.
If Villain bets the river, you should call a "normal" bet in most cases. Very big bets usually indicate that the opponent had planned to check/raise the turn with a very strong hand and now tries to extract value from his hand on the river. He makes a big bet to give you the impression he is bluffing. You should not fall for this trap. Having a read on your opponent is very important here in order to judge the situation correctly.
Preflop: Hero is BB with K , Q
3 folds, BU raises to $4, SB folds, Hero calls.
Flop: ($8,50) A , A , K (2 players)
Hero checks, BU bets $6, Hero calls.
Turn: ($20.50) 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, BU checks.
River: ($20.50) 8 (2 players)
Hero ?
A check in position on the turn signals a lot more weakness than a check out of position. Villain either has trash or a made hand in this situation, which is most likely weaker than yours.
If you bet the river for value, you will be in a tough situation if you get raised. The check behind on the turn may very well be slow play. What you should do heavily depends on your opponent.
If Villain is very aggressive on the river, you should only play check/call so he won't get the chance to bluff raise. This is the cheapest way for you to get to the showdown. If Villain is a rather passive player, against who you can definitely fold your hand if you get raised on the river, you should bet for value.
How to act if the opponent checks the river
Preflop: Hero is CO with A , A
2 folds, Hero raises to $4, 2 folds, BB calls.
Flop: ($8,50) K , K , 4 (2 players)
BB bets $6, Hero calls.
Turn: ($20.50) 3 (2 players)
BB bets $11, Hero calls.
River: ($42.50) 8 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero ?
Villain has to assume that his check will allow every weak hand to see a free showdown. Therefore, he most likely doesn't have a monster and you should bet the river for value. On top of that, it is very likely that you have the weaker hand if you get check/raised and will be able to fold. On this level, a bluff check/raise is very rare in such a spot.
Here the importance of position in Texas Hold’em becomes clear. You may be sure to win the pot, but won't get the opportunity to extract any more value from your hand. Villain checks behind on the river to take a free showdown. To avoid this, you would have had to donk the river.
However, this line (check/call flop, check/call turn, donk river) is very easy to read and tells your opponent that you have a fairly good made hand. In this WA/WB situation, a donkbet would be counter-productive because you would give your opponent the opportunity to put you in a very tough situation.
It becomes clear that you should choose a more passive play in most WA/WB situations. You might miss out on value, especially when you are out of position, but you will have the opportunity to get to the showdown at a fairly low price and will win it often enough.
How to identify a WA/WB situation
You have now seen some examples illustrating the standard WA/WB situations. To learn how to recognise such situations correctly, here are some useful guidelines.
- You have a made hand, but not the nuts.
- The board is rather dry on the flop (e.g.: rainbow paired boards).
- Your opponent's hand range consists of some better hands and many weaker hands.
- Both you and your opponent can judge the strength of your hands on the board texture quite reliably
BB: 100$
Hero: 100$
0.50$/1.00$ No Limit Hold’em (6 handed)
Preflop: Hero is CO with A , K
2 folds, Hero raises to $4, 2 folds, BB calls.
Flop: ($8,50) A, 7 , 2 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets 7$, BB calls.
Turn: ($22.50) J (2 players)
BB checks, Hero ?
The question is: Is this a WA/WB situation as well? On the flop you hit your TPTK and are convinced to have the best hand on this dry board. You therefore expect to extract much value from your hand with a continuation bet. On the turn, you are not so sure anymore whether or not you are still ahead. Your opponent might have a set or a two pair, against which you would be very far behind. However, if the opponent has a different hand, you would be very far ahead. Is this a WA/WB-Situation or not?
Unfortunately, there is no general answer to this. It very much depends on how strong your opponent is. If you are playing against a calling station here, you can continue extracting value from your hand by playing aggressively. If you are playing against a thinking TAG, you are in a difficult position. He will very often fold his weaker hands to another bet or turn them into bluffs and check/raise better hands for value. Against this player type you would be in a WA/WB situation.
You see that you will not be able to identify a WA/WB situation simply by looking at the board texture and your own hand. It is also important to take into consideration what kind of player your opponent is in order to make a correct evaluation.
Conclusion
To sum up, the most important guidelines for playing WA/WB situations are:
- Never raise your opponent's bets for value!
- You will get most value from calling your opponent's bluffs.
- Only bet if Villain credibly displayed weakness and you can be sure that you are ahead.
- How you should play WA/WB situations depends on what player type your opponent is.
- Your opponent's WA/WB lines can be exploited very well by making bluff raises.
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