If you’ve been following my columns for a while, if you have an outstanding idea of ways I LOVE to address many common situations on the live $2-$5 no-limit level. On this column, you'll test your knowledge with some hand quizzes I'VE adapted from my latest book, The Course: Serious Hold ’Em Strategy For Smart Players.

Hand 1

A player limps. You raise to $20 from two off the button with K Q. The massive blind calls, as does the limper. There’s $62 within the pot.

The flop comes A 8 5.

Your opponents check. You bet $40, and the massive blind calls.

The turn is the 10. Your opponent now bets $60 into the $142 pot. What if you happen to do?

I would raise. This can be a live-read situation that applies in most games. The player within the big blind has an ace with a kicker he’s worried about. He check-calls the flop, after which he bets out at the non-club turn card in an try to see where he’s at. He’s worried if he checks the turn, you’ll make a large bet, and he won’t know whether to name down or fold.

He tries to derail that potential plan of action by betting out of turn. But he doesn’t need to invest so much within the hand because he’s worried he’s beaten. So he bets around half-pot. His plan is to fold when you raise. That’s all of the point of keeping the bet at the small side—so he saves money if he has to fold. So make him fold.

You can just blow him out of the water by raising his $60 bet to $180 or more. Or, if you wish to get greedy (entailing more risk to your part, of course), you'll min-raise him to $120. That bet may get him to fold as well, but he might feel obligated to name for under $60 more. Then the plan is to blow him out on any river card. Both options are viable. The second one is riskier as it allows a card to return off that helps his hand. It does, however, save a couple of bucks in case your opponent was setting you up and reraises. But this set-up rarely happens.

If you’re playing out of the massive blind against a certified live no-limit hold ’em player, an ace hits the flop, and also you want that player to lift you at the turn, you'll be able to take this betting line. Check-call the flop, then bet out small at the turn. You’ll get that raise nearly all of the time. Just about all live pros learn about this spot.

Hand 2

A player limps. You are making it $20 to compliment A 5 from the cutoff. The button calls, the massive blind calls, and the limper calls. There’s $82 within the pot.

The flop is Q 9 6. Everyone checks to you, and also you bet $80. The button and massive blind fold, and the limper calls.

The turn is the 10. Your opponent checks. What do you do?

Check. I'M always stressing how important it's to be aggressive at the turn, but this hand is an exception to the rule of thumb. The 10 is the worst turn card for you in case your goal is to get your opponent to fold. A LARGE NUMBER OF different hands will call this flop, from A-Q to 7-5, and everything in between. Most of these hands improve with the ten.

Here are a couple of examples. J-10 improves from a straight draw to a couple and a straight draw. 10-9 obviously improves to 2 pair. J-9 improves from a couple, to a couple and a straight draw. 8-7 improves to a straight. 10-8 improves to a pair and a double gutshot. And so forth.

Almost it doesn't matter what your opponent has, if he thought his hand was worth an $80 call at the flop, he'll think this turn card improved his hand. The goal is to attack weakness and avoid strength. This turn card adds an excessive amount of strength in your opponent’s range.

It doesn’t help that your hand has little value of its own in this board. You caught a nasty turn card. Just give up.

If the turn had instead been the 3, this may be a transparent situation by which to bet again.

Hand 3

A player opens for $20 at the button. You’re within the big blind with K 7 and make it $60. Your opponent calls. There’s $122 within the pot.

The flop is Q J 7.

You check, and your opponent checks back.

The turn is the 3, making the board Q J 7 3 and supplying you with a flush draw. There’s still $122 within the pot. What when you do now?

This card is among the reasons you need to keep on with suited hands whilst you make light three-bets preflop. I MIGHT bet this card for sure, and will surely barrel the river in addition. I’d probably bet about $70 at the turn. This bet size should get folds in case your opponent whiffed the flop entirely, but it surely gets calls from all of the marginal paired hands like A-J.

And it’s fine in the event you get called. You are expecting it. The hammer comes at the river. It doesn't matter what card arrives (unless you hit your hand), fire $220 or so into the $262 pot. This line credibly represents that you simply hold A-A, K-K, Q-Q, or J-J, and also you decided to get “tricky” by checking the flop. Most $2-$5 regulars who're used to playing against fairly passive opponents will fold.

If you hit your hand, bet a smaller amount in an try to squeeze a decision out of a queen.

Note that this recommendation to bet a great amount as a bluff and a smaller amount for value is very exploitable if you’re playing against observant enough opponents. In practice, it’s much harder for many players to decode your river bet-sizing decisions than it's for them to decode more common situations that arise at the flop and switch. So that you can most likely break out with forking your range on this way.

But in case you suspect your opponent is semi-clever, you ought to persist with the $220 bet size with your whole hands. That way in case your opponent tries to get smart and contact your bluff sometimes, he'll also finally end up sometimes paying off a big bet while you make two pair, trips, or a flush.

Final Thoughts

One reason poker is a brilliant game is that straightforward rules don’t get the job done. Aggression after the flop is normally the most efficient strategy, because it was in hands one and 3. But in hand two, the interaction between the opponent’s likely hand range and the turn card meant it was time to let up at the throttle.

It’s easy to overlook these subtleties, but mastering them is essential to conquering live poker. ♠

Ed’s newest book, The Course: Serious Hold ‘Em Strategy For Smart Players is offered now at his website edmillerpoker.com. You may as well find original articles and instructional videos by Ed on the training site redchippoker.com.

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