Firing The Second Barrel
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Firing the second barrel means bluffing again on the turn after your opponent called your flop bluff. It’s probably one of the most important skills to master if you want to crush no-limit games.
Second Barrel Basics
Many flop calls are made for speculative reasons. Someone has a draw they hope to improve on the turn. Or they have a weak pair, and they aren’t sure whether you have a bigger pair or just two unpaired cards. Or they don’t have much of a hand, but they’re sticking around hoping you will give up. Firing the second barrel is designed to attack these speculative calls.
In these cases, the flop callers are not committed to their hands. They just plan to stick around for one more round, and only if they catch a break do they plan to proceed beyond that.
When your opponents are calling for a draw, more often than not they won’t catch their card, and you can bet them off the pot. When your opponents are calling to see if you’ll give up on the pot, you can disappoint them by firing on the turn.
Overall, when your opponents call the flop for speculative reasons, you are in a position of great strength no matter your cards. Simply betting the turn is a winning strategy.
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Tags: bluffing, continuation betting, no-limit-holdem, playing position, poker, second barrelling, speculative calls
Great Post, Ed.
What about an Ace of diamonds on the turn in the last hand ? How would you act if your opponents check ?