J♠T♠ BB vs BTN, turn on J♣ 8♠ 5♦ Q♣, 80 bb
The spot
- You: BB
- Opponent: BTN
- Your hand: J♠T♠
- Board: J♣ 8♠ 5♦ Q♣
- Effective stack: 80 bb
- Pot: 15 bb
HU postflop line reaches a high-frequency adaptation node.
Best postflop adaptation line?
See the answer
Best play: Check
Why
The Q♣ turn is a classic over-card that smashes the BTN's wide HU range (all the Q-x he peeled on the flop) while it actually helps your J♠T♠: you still hold a pair of jacks and now you've picked up an open-ended straight draw to the king-high straight (any 9 or K), plus a backdoor spade redraw. Out of position you don't want to bloat the pot with a one-pair-plus-draw hand on a board that just connected with villain's range, so checking lets you realize equity cheaply, keep his bluffs and worse pairs in, and check-call or improve on the river. Donking or raising here turns your hand face-up and gets you blown off your equity by the wide, aggressive BTN.
Key idea
OOP with a marginal made hand plus a draw on a turn that hits villain's range, checking to realize equity usually beats turning your hand into a bluff-or-fold.
Common mistake
Leading or raising the Q♣ as a 'semi-bluff', which folds out worse and gets raised by all the Q-x the wide BTN just hit.