On poker: Biggest decisions now come after the flop

Used to be, most of the big decisions in hold 'em were made onthe flop.

By then, most of the common cards were out, you had a good ideawhether your hand was weak or strong, and even Doyle Brunson in hisseminal book "Super/System" wrote that the turn and river playedthemselves.

No more. The game has evolved, partly as a strategic reaction toBrunson's style, and now, it seems, the turn is the new flop. The"small-ball" approach espoused by such top pros as Daniel Negreanuhad made it easier to see flops but more challenging the next couplestreets.

"People are playing the turn harder," said Hoyt Corkins, alongtime pro who has adjusted to that style but can't always get itright, as in today's hand from the 2010 World Series of Poker$10,000-buy-in main event at the Rio Hotel. With blinds at $100-$200, the player in Seat 9 raised to $500 from middle position.Corkins called from the button with the 5-4 of diamonds.

"It's one of the smaller raises, the kind of raises a lot of theInternet kids make," said Corkins, who has won two WSOP braceletsand two World Poker Tour titles. "It gives you the opportunity toplay hands like 5-4 suited on the button because the raises aresmaller."

The big blind also called, and the flop came 3-K-6, two spades,giving Corkins an open-ended straight draw and backdoor flush draw.The big blind checked. The initial raiser made it $850, about halfthe pot. Corkins called. The big blind folded.

The turn came the 7 of clubs. "The magic card," Corkins said. "Itgave me a straight."

Seat 9 bet $1,200.

"It doesn't tell me much," said Corkins, a pro from theDoylesroom online site. "These kids want to stick to a certainpattern when they're betting. They rarely deviate from it, whetherthey have a set, a pair or a draw.

"I don't think he'd bet more if he had a set. I still feel likehe only has a pair, but I don't know. I want to go ahead and raisehere and make a good-sized raise in case he has a big hand. I wantto put the pressure on him."

Corkins raised to $5,200.

"He had about $18,000 left, and I wanted to make a raise bigenough to where he couldn't just flat-call it," Corkins said. "Iwanted to put him in a position where he'd feel he'd have to re-raise all in. I had a lot of leverage because I had enough to foldand I had him covered with about $30,000. I could make that raisewithout a hand there."

His opponent folded, apparently believing he indeed had a hand,giving Corkins the pot, but not as many chips as he hoped for. "Iwas hoping he had a set," Corkins said. "I was going for the home-run ball."

Steve Rosenbloom can be reached at srosenbloom@tribune.com.