Jerry reraises you on the flop, making it three bets, and Jim calls the three bets. You also call the three bets. Now 0 comes off the deck, for [VhS-S-S, Jerry bets out into you, and Jim calls the bet. Now you have a tough situation to deal with! You really aren't worried that Jim might have you beaten. The question is, does Jerry have you beat (as he would with an A or three fours) or is he holding a big draw like 0-0, g]-[2, GH5L E3″ 0, or something similar? I would lean toward folding my hand here, but everything would depend on my read of the player. Is Jerry the type to try to bluff me here? When I look straight at him, what do I sense he is pondering? Does he want me to call or to fold right now? Just make your best guess and go with it! You will find that the more often you’re put in this situation, the better you become at reading your opponents. bet online

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Jerry and Jim both call your raise, and the next card off the deck is the 0, for 0-0-0-0. Jerry and Jim now check to you. They probably aren't checking an ace (a pair of aces) to you, and you don't want to give them a free draw at their flush, or at an overcard hand like K-Q. So you bet to protect your hand.

The Elephant Scares You Off
Dumbo makes it three bets to go, and he isn't the type to raise it unless he has a big hand. Dumbo makes a lot of calls but doesn't raise too often. Jerry now folds, and Jim calls the $15 bet. It is only $5 more to you to call, so I would call, but I'd be ready to fold my hand on fourth street for one bet from Dumbo. I would be thinking that Dumbo has at least a pair of aces with a high kicker, and probably two pair, aces up with A-10 or A-6.

Raising the Jackal on Fourth Street When a Good Card Hits
Jerry and Jim both call your raise on the flop, and now the 0 comes off the deck for 0-0-0-0. (This is a good card for you: first, because now there are only two aces left and the chances that one of your two opponents has it are decreased; second, because this isn't a straight or a flush card.) Jerry checks and now Jim bets out into you. You decide that you have Jim beat and you raise to protect your hand, because there is a chance that your raise here will cause Jerry to fold his flush draw. If Jerry does have an ace, you will know when he raises it to $30 to go, and now you can fold your hand. Either way, you're pretty sure you have Jim beaten here, because he's a jackal who hasn't made a bet or raise until now! Don't be afraid to raise Jim on fourth street if you think you have him beat.

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With a hand of 10-10 you've made it three bets to go over the top of a lion before the flop, and two other opponents have called. This means you have four players putting in three bets each. The flop comes up 0-0-0, the lion bets, and you raise him, but this time he reraises you (assume that everyone else folds on the flop).

Fourth street is the time to fold this hand. The lion can't be drawing here, because there is no draw, and you can assume the lion isn't playing 6-7! The jackal might have 6-7, but the lion wouldn't. So when the lion bets out again, into you, after the 0 comes up, for 0-0-0-0, it's time to fold your hand. The lion's response to your raise on the flop lets you know that he has you beaten! Now act on the information you've paid for, and fold your hand. You may even want to show the lion your hand and say, "OK, you win because I fold." Although you are giving away free information when you show your hand in this spot, sometimes this sort of ad hoc play encourages your opponent to show you his hand for free (now or in some later hand), and you may wind up collecting a lot more free information than you've given away.

Examples
Let's now revisit an example we looked at earlier and consider a few different possibilities.

Assumptions for the following five examples:
1. The game is $5-$ 10 at UltimateBet.com.
2. You have 0-0 (pocket jacks).
3. Jim (a jackal) raises before the flop in the first position.
4. You make it three bets ($15) with J-J in the third position.
5. Dumbo (an elephant) calls on the button.
6. Jerry (unclear profile) calls in the big blind.
7. Jim calls your raise.
8. The flop comes down [51 ~I3 -
9. Jerry bets out and Jim calls the bet.
10. You raise with your 0-0, making it two bets to go.

Folding Your Hand Because a Bad Card Came on Fourth Street
Jerry makes it three bets, and Jim calls three bets. Now you call three bets, but you now believe that Jerry has some kind of a strong hand. You aren't sure if Jerry has an ace, or a flush draw and a straight draw (like 0-0, 0"0, or 0-0), or a flush draw and a pair like 0-0, 0"0, or S'xd <x is a random card). The next card is the 0, for 0-0-0-0, and Jerry bets out into you and Jim folds. OK, the flush draw has hit, so you fold your hand, because you figure that Jerry has either an ace or a flush.

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Two opponents have called the bet before the flop, and now you make it two bets to go with 0-0 on the button. The big blind and both other opponents call the raise, and the flop comes 0-0-0. The big blind checks, the first "limper" (caller) bets out, and the second limper folds. You then raise to find out "where you're at" (great strategy!) and the big blind calls. The remaining limper, whose play falls somewhere between that of a lion and that of a jackal (he's a fairly strong player who's sometimes unpredictable), now reraises, making it three bets to go. You call, and now the big blind calls as well.

Fourth street brings 0, for 0-0-0-0, and the big blind checks and the limper bets out. You fold because you can't beat a pair of queens or a flush (the flush draw hit!) and you're afraid of both the limper and the big blind. What hand could the limper make it three bets with on the flop, and nonetheless be a hand you can now beat?

If he has a flush draw, then he hits his flush. If he has a pair of queens, then you're already beat. If he has a "set" (trips made with a pocket pair like 2-2 and a 2 on the board, then you're also beat). Of course it's possible that the limper is overplaying a pair of threes, like A-3 (with 2-3-Q on board) or something similar, but it's very unlikely that he would reraise on the flop with that hand. About the only realistic hope for you is that the limper three-bet with A-K, a hand your jacks still beat. That's certainly not an impossible holding, but are you willing to pay off big bets on both the turn and the river to find out if you're right? If the limper is willing to push A-K on the turn, there's a very realistic possibility that he will push one more time with it on the river.

I won't carry the script of this hand further, but suffice to say that you made the right play, because there is almost no hand that you can beat at this point in the hand. Chasing (calling) on the strength of the slight hope that the limper is playing like a maniac and pushing his A-K will gouge big chunks out of your bankroll over the long run.

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You have K-K. A jackal raises before the flop, you then make it three bets (reraise), and an elephant behind you calls the three bets "cold" (without having any money already invested in the pot). The jackal then calls the one additional bet.

The flop comes 10-9-2 and the jackal bets, you raise, and the elephant calls the two bets. The jackal also calls two bets. The turn card comes up a 2, for 10-9-2-2, and now the jackal bets out into you. At this point you should be thinking, "Raise it!" But you're distracted by the conversation going on across the table, and you just call the bet. Now, the elephant calls the bet as well.

This is a most costly mistake, since you've now let the elephant call only one bet with his A-9, and the last card off is an A, for 10-9-2-2-A. Now the jackal checks and you decide to check as well, because you fear the A may have hit the elephant. Then the elephant bets and the jackal calls, and you call as well. The elephant then says, "I have two pair, aces up." You think, "Man, am I unlucky, I cannot believe that he hit an ace on me here!" Wrong! You misplayed this hand! All you had to do was raise after the two came up on fourth street, and the elephant would have been forced to throw his hand away! Your call on the end might also fall into the mistake category (even though I've said you should generally not be folding on the end), because the one card you had legitimate reason to fear, the ace, hit the board, and a bet and a call were already in front of you.
Let's rewrite the script, then, so you're making the obvious raise on fourth street.

A deuce comes off the deck for 10-9-2-2, and the jackal bets out into you. You don't really think the jackal has a deuce, so you raise and the elephant reluctantly folds his hand. The jackal calls your raise. The river card is an ace, for 10-9-2-2-A, and the jackal checks. You conclude that the jackal has a pair of tens, so you bet out, and then the jackal calls you. You say, "Pocket kings for me" and the jackal says, "Nice hand." You then pile all the chips onto your stack as the elephant loudly complains, "Darn it, I would have made aces and nines if I'd stayed in, but I couldn't call, because your raise on fourth street told me you had me beaten!" You just smile and finish stacking the chips, thinking, "Looks as though I played that hand perfectly!"

This first example is about "protecting your hand" with a raise on fourth street. If you fail to do that, you give your opponents a chance to outdraw you for just one bet. The next example is another fairly obvious play, but in the other direction—folding!

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One great benefit of the style that I'm teaching you to use in Texas Hold'em is that fourth street and the river are now easier to play, because you will have done some good work on the flop (raising) to find out whether or not you have the best hand. Fourth street is the time for you to use the information you've learned on the flop. Because the bets are now doubled on this round of betting, a well-timed fold will save you at least two big bets, perhaps more. On the other hand, a well-timed raise may win the whole pot for you! If you believe you have the best hand after the fourth card is turned up, then you need to make a bet or a raise. If you've learned that you are beaten, now is the time to fold your hand.
First, let's take a look at some obvious plays (obvious to an expert, at least) and how they may affect the outcome of a hand.

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