Firing the Third Barrel
Bluffing a poker hand is a tightrope to walk in the best of times. The whole logic behind bluffing as a poker strategy is to get your opponent to fold their hand. But when that opponent doesn’t fold their hand, your bluff becomes a much stickier situation. Much has been written on firing the second barrel; any continuation betting article explains when it’s a good time to bet out a bluff for the second time. But are there situations when it’s the best move to bet at a pot on the river, when you don’t have a hand and your first two bets were called?
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There is a situation where you can try firing a third and final time at a pot. However, this situation usually requires that a couple of different components are in place at the same time. No one would blame you for abandoning your aggression after an opponent called two of your bets. But if you take the time to study the circumstances of the hand you’re in, you may be in a situation where one more bet will win you the hand.
If you’re in a hand where the board cards had multiple draws in it, like 9c-10c-2d, the chances increase that your opponent is on a draw. If no cards come that complete a draw, it can be the right move to fire a third barrel because there’s a good chance your opponent has missed making their hand.
One should also consider the playing style of the opponent with whom they’re in the hand. A tight player may be on top pair and intends to just call you down; or is possibly even trapping you with an over-pair that they’re waiting to raise you with until your river bet.
Save the third barrel moves for opponents that are loose and are likely to be chasing a draw. These players could even be on over-cards, hoping to hit a big card to steal the pot. Remember that most players with a good hand would look to protect their lead, and most would raise you on the turn with all those possible draws out there.
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