It’s something you see all the time at online poker tables: players that go aggressively in on the flop, betting heavily and then the tern happens and they check.  What the what? Do they suddenly not believe in their cards?  Did an ace hit the board and spook them?  There’s usually a motivation for this kind of behavior.  They might be a weak player that is afraid of being raised on the turn or river when bets are doubled during play and they want to limp into the showdown without spending too much cash.

Playing against these guys is one of the easiest things for a new poker player to learn.  If they’re within two or three seats of your right and you’re in a late position, call with your more marginal cards.  If you’re holding 6-7 offsuit and they’ve checked on the turn, go for it if there’s a lot of hands in the pot and there’s a chance it might get split.  If you hit any sort of draw on the flop, there’s a good chance your opponent is going to give you a pass on the turn and you can possibly build a better hand.  You can generally get a free card with guys like this, but there’s some caveats that you need to pay attention to.

If the usual turn-checkers bets on the turn?  Yeah, walk away.  They are holding something.  If this happens more and more, they’re varying the game and you have to abandon the above strategy entirely.  You’ll also come across other players picking up on the pattern and messing with your elaborate plans to keep getting free cards.  Try to outlast them and use their hammering on the turn-checker to advance in your game as they soften up the opposition.

If an opponent is in an early position, this isn’t going to work because it’s natural to be cautious in when you’re stuck right behind the blinds.  There’s going to be other players between you that will disrupt your strategy and keep you from getting that free card.

You’ll also want to avoid bluffing them too much: I’ve found that it rarely works.  They’re cautious and you working them can set of alarms.  You’ll make more money off the free cards you’re seeing and you can avoid getting called on bets you probably shouldn’t have made in the first place.  Let others fall into that trap and spend your time enjoying your winnings from the free cards you’ve seen.