fl gold raise for free showdown
Introduction
In this article
- You must bet able to make better hands fold
- Calling down could be better
- A 3-bet is the worst countermeasure you can encounter
Raise for a free showdown, or free-showdown-raise (free-SD-raise), is a term used to describe a raise made on the turn with the intent of checking behind on the river for a free showdown (unless, of course, your hand gets better). This line is only effective when you have a hand with showdown value that can win when you check behind on the river.
This isn't the same concept that you find behind the semi-bluff, where you raise on the turn hoping to make your opponent fold, but still have outs to hit if he doesn't. You don't need showdown value to semi-bluff, and can often bluff again on the river when you don't improve. A free-SD-raise hand has 6 outs at the most (2 overcards), meaning you shouldn't make this move with a strong draw (OESD or better). You can, however, try to combine the two when you have a strong draw and showdown value.
The concept behind the free-SD-raise is based solely on the turn. A raise on the flop with a check behind on the turn is not a free-SD-raise, but simply a free-card-raise or cheap-SD-raise, depending on what your intentions were.
You should try to make your free-SD-raises in position and against a single opponent. Don't try this move oop against several opponents. If you have an opponent behind you, you want to see him fold, so that you will be in position on the next street and take a free showdown.
Be sure not to confuse giving up a bluff by checking on the river with a free-SD-raise.
Why should you raise for a free showdown?
This move is the alternative to calling down, which is often the best line when you have a medium strength hand. So when is a free-SD-raise the better option?
Free-SD-raises are only possible because most opponents will check to the aggressor after having called a bet on the turn. A turn raise shows a lot of strength and your opponent will rarely have a strong hand, meaning he will have to play bet/call turn, check (made hands, draws), or bet/fold turn (with anything from a marginal hand to nothing at all). You can often win the pot directly by making your opponent fold, or check behind for a free showdown when he calls.
But what do you stand to gain by using this and when would calling down/folding bet better? First and foremost, it's a matter of balancing. This is also a good means of balancing your value raises on dry boards, since you can't balance them out enough simply by bluffing now and then.
As we already mentioned: You can only use this line when you have a hand with showdown value, meaning you are still ahead against part of your opponent's range. In other words, when you have a hand that is too weak for a raise on the turn and a value bet on the river, but to strong to simply fold.
When you are behind, you can force the better hand out with your raise (a success). When you are ahead, you protect your hand and get an additional bet from opponents on drawing hands that will check/fold when unimproved on the river.
You can also make an opponent fold a 6-outer incorrectly when he can't know that he has 6 outs to beat your hand.
Villain: pre-flop very aggressive, post-flop reasonable
Pre-flop: Hero is BU with A
2
2 folds, Hero raises, SB 3-bets, 1 folds, Hero calls
Flop:(7 SB) 3
, 7, J
SB bets, Hero calls.
Turn:(4,5 BB) 3
SB bets, Hero raises
You are facing a very aggressive opponent and have enough equity to call on the flop. You are ahead against some hands in his range, but behind against most. Of course, you could call after the blank on the turn with the intention of calling on the river if another blank shows up, but you have another alternative.
A free-SD-raise on the turn can bring number of positive results:
-
Your opponent could fold a better hand. The board is pretty dry and he could easily think he is behind with only 3 outs if he has a better ace.
-
Your opponent will call with a lot of weaker hands (draws) and check/fold if he doesn't improve on the river. You win one additional bet by raising.
-
Your opponent could mistakenly fold a hand with 6 outs. He would be getting 1:7.5 odds with a 6-outer like KT or KQ and would have the right implied odds to call. He can't know this, however, since he could easily think that you are holding some of his outs.
The decisive factor: better hands can be forced out of the pot.
If your hand is too strong (middle pair), all weaker hands will only fold to your raise, which isn't what you want. This is a good line to use against opponents who are not particularly showdown bound, since they are the ones who are most likely to lay down a better hand.
When can you raise for a free showdown, even when a better hand is unlikely to fold?
You can do this when chances are high that you are ahead and when your opponent would be making a mistake by folding a hand with a number of outs to beat you.
Pre-flop: Hero is BU with 2
2
Hero raises, SB folds, BB calls.
Flop: 3, T, 6
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.
Turn: 6
BB bets, Hero raises for free SD
Your opponent's donk bet can mean anything, or nothing at all. He could have a 6, in which case he would let you know with a 3-bet that you should fold your hand. He could also be donking with a 3 or T, but will often enough simply be bluffing.
You shouldn't let your opponent stay on a bluff and call him down when you have a hand that is too weak for a value raise and a value bet on the river and could still lose to a number of outs. You should protect your hand with a free-SD-raise, even though you probably can't make your opponent fold.
In this case, he has 12 outs even when he is bluffing, since he could hit any of his hole cards or a 3/T for a better hand. Your advantage lies in the fact that he simply can't know this and will have missed out on a very profitable call every time he does fold.
What kind of hand do you need to raise for a free showdown?
One of the typical mistakes many players making is using this line with a hand that is too strong. Middle pair or better is too strong for this line, because you will hardly ever find an opponent in a FL game who will fold a better hand. A high can even be too strong for this move in some situations.
There aren't any set hand categories for a free-SD-raise, but rather two questions to be asked:
- Is your hand strong enough to beat some hands in your opponent's range?
- Would your opponent fold any hands in his range that are better than yours?
The amount of showdown value and probability that you are ahead depend entirely on your opponent's range. Q or J high even have showdown value and can win unimproved on some boards against a loose SB open-raising range, whereas a weak A high will usually be behind against a 3-bet or UTG raise.
Whether or not you can generate fold equity against a better hand depends on the board, as well as your opponent's range and playing style.
There are situations in which you can make some opponents fold a better hand to 2nd or even 3rd pair, whereas some opponents won't even fold K high a raise in others.
We'll take a look at two rather extreme examples. The first one will show a free-SD-raise with T high, and the second how you can make a better hand fold with a full house.
BB: Good LAG
Pre-flop: (2 players) Hero is SB with T 2
Hero raises, BB calls.
Flop: 7 4 Q
BB checks, Hero bets, BB raises, Hero calls.
Turn: K
BB bets, Hero raises, BB calls.
River: K
BB checks, Hero checks.
You're already heads up by the time the action comes to you and can raise with T2s, since you will be in position after the flop. Your opponent is a LAG and very showdown bound. You have the same image. Your hand should look pretty weak for a free-SD-raise, especially if your goal is to make him fold a better hand. Pairs are rarely folded in SB vs. BB battles. The best you can do is forcing your opponent to fold a bluff with more showdown value than your own.
Your opponent's range in this hand includes a few gutshots and the OESD (35, 36, 56, 58, 68,), all hands you have beat with T high. He could also bluff with a better T high or J high. These are the hands you can get him to fold. He could also have a hand like 22/33, or an A high he wanted to balance with a check/raise on the flop.
Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is MP3 with 3 3
4 folds, Hero raises, 3 folds, BB calls.
Flop: T T T
BB bets, Hero calls.
Turn: K
BB bets, Hero raises, BB folds.
This hand was actually taken from a FL tournament, but could easily be played against a weak opponent in a cash game. This hand was played in an advanced phase on the tournament. The opponent hasn't drawn much attention to himself so far, but seems to be weak. He is also down to 7 BBs on the turn, which means he would have to invest a fair amount of his stack to call you down. You have a tight image and a somewhat large stack.
Your opponent donks into you on the flop. He can have one of three hands: A high, a pocket pair, or a bluff.
A pure bluff would still have 6 outs against you. Your turn bet provides protection, especially when your opponent sees himself ahead with A high. What makes this a good spot for a free-SD-raise? The scare card on the turn and the chance that your opponent has a pocket pair (44-99). These are hands he can fold to a raise.
Of course, this move is only profitable in the right situations and against weak opponents. The fact that it worked in this example certainly has something to do with the fact that the hand was played late in the tournament and that your opponent was playing with scared money. Most good opponents in a cash game would call you down when they have a better hand or 3-bet bluff you out of the pot when they have a weaker hand. In such a case, you would be better off either calling down or raising the flop.
The more showdown bound your opponent (or the looser he calls your turn raise), the weaker your hand must be in order for you to be able to make a better hand fold.
Since you also need to be ahead against some hands in your opponents range, we can say:
How do you react to a 3-Bet?
A 3-bet is the worst counter-measure you can encounter and the danger of facing a 3-bet is also the line's biggest disadvantage. This is because you use this line with a hand that has (at least some) showdown value. These hands can even be ahead against some opponents 3-betting range (semi-bluff/bluff 3-bet), or at least have a fair number of outs to hit. You could be folding the best hand, or a hand with too many outs for a fold, since the pot will have reached substantial size by the time a 3-bet can be made on the turn.
You will run into this problem when facing opponents who can bluff 3-bet the turn and make thin value 3-bets. Free-SD-raise is much more suitable against opponent's who only 3-bet the turn with strong made hands, since you can always be sure you're folding the weaker hand if your opponent 3-bets.
Look for hands that you can easily fold to a 3-bet and that won't have many outs. You'll be committing yourself to calling a 3-bet if you raise with a gutshot, which isn't exactly in your interests.
This line is less promising against very aggressive opponents who can 3-bet the turn with weak hands. The danger: You will end up folding incorrectly or calling down with a marginal hand too often.
When facing a 3-bet from good, aggressive players, you will be up against a polarised range that does not include middle pairs or A high. Your opponent will either have a strong hand (top pair or better) or be bluffing with a hand that has no showdown value (flush draw). This is what makes using this line against such opponents so difficult: You can't just fold when he 3-bets.
CO: good LAG
Pre-flop: Hero is BU with 44
CO raises, Hero 3-bets, CO calls.
Flop: 9, 9, J
CO checks, Hero bets, CO raises, Hero calls.
Turn: A
CO bets, Hero raises for free SD, CO 3-bets, Hero ?
You can 3-bet after the aggressive CO check/raises the flop. Giving up to the check/raise would be too weak, since your opponent's range includes a number of flush/straight draws aside from pocket pairs and the 9 or J.
You decide to raise for a free showdown on the turn. You can get more money out of a draw and could make better pocket pairs fold. You also protect against a bluff that actually has 12 outs against you (which your opponent cannot know, which is why he could incorrectly fold).
Unfortunately he decides to 3-bet. It would be easy enough to fold to a passive player, but good LAGs have a very polarised range in this spot. Your opponent can't represent the J or a weak/middle A, since you have already done so with your raise. He will either have AJ or a 9 (not many combinations), or a hand with little showdown value, such as 8T, TQ or a flush draw (quite a few combinations). This is what makes folding to a LAG'S 3-bet so difficult.
You could call his 3-bet down after you raise, as long as the river card doesn't complete any draws, but this should only be done in exceptional cases. You could even consider a raise if you think you can generate enough fold equity against better hands and when a good opponent could give up a semi-bluff with a check/fold on the river.
The threat of facing a 3-bet should keep you wary, but it's no reason to refrain from raising for a free showdown altogether. You can find the way to the showdown when you know your opponent has a very polarized range after a 3-bet. Your raise could even induce a bluff 3-bet from an opponent who can make tough folds, but goes down with the ship when he's on a bluff.
Raise for free showdown 3-handed+
You can even find good spots for a free-SD-raise in 3, or even 4, handed pots. This can be a great line when you are in the middle and the player in front of you raises. If you think you are ahead (when he is on a draw, for example), you can raise and confront the player behind you with a 2 BB call.
This will force him to fold hands that are actually pretty strong against you and the other opponent. This is one way of isolating yourself against an opponent with a weaker hand when you are oop. You also buy yourself position and force the best hand out of the pot and can decide if you want a free showdown on the river, or would rather value bet, instead.
Read on SB: Donkey, bluffs a lot.
CO: TAG
Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is BB with A 6
4 folds, CO raises, SB calls, Hero calls.
Flop: 2 5 7
SB checks, Hero checks, CO bets, SB calls, Hero calls.
Turn: K
SB bets, Hero raises, CO folds, SB calls.
River: 2
SB checks, Hero checks.
You called with A6s on the flop on your outs and the chance that you could be ahead. Then your opponent donks on a scare card on the turn. Your read tells you that this bet doesn't mean much. He could be bluffing with air, or have a straight or flush draw. You will usually be ahead against all of these hands. The TAG behind you will have to fold any pocket pair weaker than KK and every better A high to your raise.
Even if the SB never folds a better hand, you will have isolated yourself against the weaker hand and should win the pot.
When is calling down a better option?
Calling down is usually the better line and is often done so with the same hands you could raise for a free showdown with. You use this line when your hand is too weak for a value raise, too strong to fold, and when you don't think you can make a better hand fold. You can read more on call downs in this article.
The advantages of calling down on the turn as opposed to raising for a free showdown are:
- You don't risk facing a 3-bet. That's the last thing you want to see when you have a marginal hand on the turn.
- You don't risk making your opponent fold a weaker made hand that he would bet or call with on the river.
- You don't risk making your opponent fold a bluff that he will continue with on the river.
By simply calling, you don't open yourself up to a (re-)bluff and can extract the maximal amount of value from opponents that bluff often.
Calling down is always better than raising for a free showdown when these criteria are fulfilled:
- Your opponent is usually bluffing.
- Your opponent doesn't have many outs against you.
As we already mentioned above, raising for a free showdown can be profitable when facing a bluff that still has a number of outs against you. If, on the other hand, you are sure that your opponent is bluffing, but that he can't have many outs, you shouldn't raise (he will only fold). In that case you simply call and wait for him to put another BB in with a bluff on the river.
BB: Donkey
Pre-flop: Hero is BU with QQ
Hero raises, SB folds, BB calls.
Flop: 3, 6, 6
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.
Turn: K
BB bets, Hero calls down
You will usually still be ahead after your opponent donks on the turn. He could very well be bluffing with nothing. You don't want him to fold, since he can have 3 outs at the most. Call and see if he fires another barrel on the river. This also reduces the amount you lose if he does have the king and donks on the river again.
How should you play when your opponent is likely to be on a draw?
Draws will make up a large part of your opponents range in many situations, especially when a LAG check/raises on a draw heavy board.
How often should you raise for a free showdown vs. call down when you think you are up against a flush or straight draw?
Many players think you should always raise the turn when you think your opponent is on a flush draw, but this is only partially correct. The question is, what does a raise on the turn against a strong draw actually accomplish?
Does it protect? You can't raise enough for your opponent not to have the odds to call. He will almost always call with the right odds and won't throw away a hand with so many outs (correctly). Protection is clearly no reason to bet.
What about value? You get one more bet out of your opponent by raising as opposed to calling. Your opponent will then fold on the river if he doesn't improve and you will have won one BB more than if you had called and your opponent check/folds unimproved.
If you simply call and your opponent fires another barrel with a busted draw, you win the same 1 BB you would have won with a raise on the turn.
Conclusion: There is no advantage to be gained by raising for a free showdown instead of calling down when facing an opponent who will bluff with a busted draw on the river. Once again, you risk facing a 3-bet if you do raise.
Free-SD-raise can be the best line against a weak or smart opponent that will give up a busted draw in the right spot, since you get 1 BB more on the turn.
Exploiting the free-SD-raise
This move has its Achilles' heel, as we just mentioned. You can obviously use this to your advantage when the tables are turned and you feel your opponent is making a free-SD-raise. He will usually be doing so with a marginal hand that he will fold to a 3-bet. You can then 3-bet with weaker hands and play (semi-)bluff bet/3-bet the turn.
But before you can do so, you need to know whether or not your opponent has this move in his repertoire and when he uses it. In general, you should look for spots that would also look like good spots for a free-SD-raise for your opponent.
Pre-flop: Hero is BB with 8T
BU raises, SB folds, Hero calls.
Flop: 9, 7, 3
Hero checks, BU bets, Hero raises, BU calls.
Turn: A
Hero bets, BU raises, Hero 3-bets, BU folds.
Most TAGs will raise for a free showdown with K or Q high in this spot, partly in order to balance their value raises. They can expect to generate fold equity against pocket pairs and hands that paired the flop, and are ahead against straight draws and bluffs.
Knowing this, you can (semi-)bluff 3-bet in order to make this K and Q high hands fold. This is a balanced move on your part, since 33, 79, A3, A7 and A9 are in your range. This is particularly good spot, since you don't need to generate so much equity with your strong draw. Your opponent probably won't be able to put you on a draw either, since there aren't many draws possible on this board.
You see how easy it can be to exploit an opponent on a free-SD-raise. Make sure this doesn't happen to you too often. Raise/fold turn for free showdown is your best option when facing aggressive TAGs and LAGs.
Conclusion
Free-SD-raises should be a part of your repertoire simply as a means of balancing. Your opponents will have an easy time reading your turn raises (especially on dry boards) if you neglect to do so.
Once you've learned how and when you can use this line, you will find that it can bring the best results in some situations. It can be used to extract more value, or win you pots that you would have lost had you chosen to call down. Of course, this is only the case in the right situations, and calling down is often the right line. You have to decide which line is best based on the situation at hand.
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