A♦5♦ BB vs BTN, turn on Q♦ 9♣ 4♠ 2♦, 70 bb
The spot
- You: BB
- Opponent: BTN
- Your hand: A♦5♦
- Board: Q♦ 9♣ 4♠ 2♦
- Effective stack: 70 bb
- Pot: 6 bb
Hero evaluates exploit leverage versus player-image assumptions.
Choose the strongest HU postflop strategy.
See the answer
Best play: Raise
Why
The 2♦ turn gives you the nut flush draw (A♦5♦ with Q♦ and 2♦ on board), and in this single-raised HU pot the BTN's c‑betting and barreling range is extremely wide — full of overcards, Qx, and air that cannot withstand pressure. From OOP your check‑raise is a high-EV semi-bluff: you have huge equity when called (nut flush outs plus an overcard) and fold out the many hands the wide BTN range bets and gives up with on the turn. The Ace blocker also reduces his strongest value combos, making the raise the correct aggressive node here.
Key idea
A turned nut flush draw with an overcard is a premium OOP check‑raise candidate in HU pots: you combine massive equity-when-called with fold equity against a very wide betting range.
Common mistake
Just calling with the nut flush draw, surrendering the fold equity that makes this hand print as an OOP check‑raise against the BTN's wide turn range.