5 Ways to Increase Non-Showdown Winnings

A common challenge for many poker players who are either losing or barely breaking even stems from their passive and overly cautious strategy.

As a result, their overall graph often shows a rising gray line representing showdown winnings, while the red line denoting non-showdown winnings declines at a similar rate. Consequently, the main line, the green one reflecting total winnings, remains close to zero.

In this article, we will explore five ways to increase non-showdown winnings and boost the red line on the graph.

Table of Contents:

- 3-bet from the blinds with a wider range

- Check-raise on the flop with draws

- Attack opponents weak lines on the turn

- Suppress folding opponents with the third barrel on the river

- Bet big on the river

3-bet from the blinds with a wider range

Boosting winnings without showdown can be achieved by adopting a more aggressive strategy to defend blinds with marginal and medium-strength hands. We’re referring to hands akin to those presented in the matrix below:

Many players with such hands often defend blinds by calling, hoping to hit a strong hand. While this strategy may yield short-term gains, it’s far from optimal in the long run.

The thing is, in Texas Hold'em, strong hands are seldom dealt, so relying solely on the dealer to deliver favorable cards is not a viable strategy.

Playing these hands by 3-betting and exerting pressure on your opponent is a far more profitable strategy. Each time your opponent folds preflop or succumbs to your post-flop aggression, you win the pot without showdown, leading to an increase in your red line.

Let’s compare the profitability of two lines in the Hand2Note 4 reports.

By applying filters, I’ve selected all instances where I called an open raise preflop with hands from the aforementioned matrix while playing in the blinds.

We can see that my expected win rate in this scenario is 9.5 bb/100. While this is a decent figure, let’s examine how these hands perform as a 3-bet.

In Hand2Note 4, you have the ability to compare reports side by side. This feature allows you to monitor how the trend you’re interested in evolves as you adjust certain parameters.

I’ve pinned the acquired report, and in the new report on the right, I filtered situations where I made a 3-bet with similar hands from the same positions.

My expected win rate increased to 60 bb/100. In other words, in the long run, 3-betting with such hands brings in 6 times more money than just calling. Let’s switch to the “Graph” tab and observe the graph’s behavior.

It’s interesting that when employing a 3-bet strategy, the profit is generated through winning without showdown, as indicated by the rise in the red line on the graph.

Check-raise on the flop with draws

To minimize losses in the blinds, it’s crucial to implement aggressive lines post-flop. For instance, consider a scenario where you defended the blind by calling preflop, and on the flop, you hit a gutshot or a draw and faced a continuation bet from your opponent.

If out of position, you consistently check-call and then, without improving your hand, fold on subsequent streets, your red line will gradually decline.

Instead, you should consider check-raising more often. This way, you have the opportunity to win the pot not only at showdown, by making a strong hand, but also without showdown, by forcing your opponent to fold.

Let’s compare my graphs for the situations where I took a check-calling line versus a check-raising one with a draw on the flop.

I filtered the spot where I called an open raise preflop while being out of position from the blinds.

The convenient reports navigation in Hand2Note 4 enables quick switching between related situations. By clicking on the Call Continuation Bet stat, I accessed the scenario where I called my opponent’s continuation bet on the flop.

Next, in the new report on the right, I applied a filter indicating that on the flop, I either had a draw or a gutshot.

On the graph, we can observe a downward trend in both the gray and red lines, resulting in a rapid decline in the green line.

Let’s see how the picture changes when check-raising with such hands by clicking on the Raise Continuation Bet stat:

As we can notice, the gray line continues to decline. However, the red line is increasing, and ultimately, the overall winnings remain around zero.

Attack opponents’ weak lines on the turn

When your opponent checks on the flop and then on the turn, it indicates that they do not want to play a large pot, which means they most likely do not have a hand strong enough to resist aggression. In such a situation, a bluff bet will be very profitable:

I simulated a scenario where I opened with a raise preflop and then missed a continuation bet on the flop while playing in position.

In the smart reports of Hand2Note 4, all useful information is always at your fingertips. Let’s click on the Bet Turn stat and see how opponents reacted to my bet after they checked again on the turn:

By switching to the “Faced Next” tab in the report that appeared on the right, we see that in this situation, opponents fold on the turn 60% of the time. This is too frequent, and by betting, you will simply be printing money, as evidenced by the rapid growth of the red line, and along with it, the green line on the graph.

Suppress folding opponents with the third barrel on the river

A powerful weapon that must be in your arsenal is the third barrel as a bluff. This is a very strong line with which you can exert maximum pressure on your opponent.

However, it’s not worth firing it at just anyone. Pay attention to how often your opponent reaches a showdown. In Hand2Note 4, this is indicated by the stat WTSD, which I recommend adding to your main HUD. The lower the value of this indicator, the more often your opponent will fold to the third barrel on the river, making your bluff more effective.

Let’s track the correlation between the WTSD parameter and the frequency of players folding to the third barrel in multi-player reports in Hand2Note 4. With this feature, you can identify patterns in the game of similar-style opponents and develop exploitative strategies against them.

Using the formula, I filtered all players in my database with a WTSD stat of less than 25%:

Next, I selected the situations where these players called an open raise preflop and then also called continuation bets on the flop and the turn:

According to the report, when facing the third barrel on the river, they fold 53% of the time. This is frequent enough for your bluff to be profitable in the long run.

Now, let’s change the formula and see how less yielding opponents behave in this situation, whose WTSD stat is 35% or higher:

The report shows that such players fold to the third barrel on the river only 27% of the time.

Against such fearless opponents, it’s not wise to attempt a big bluff - it will just waste your money.

Bet big on the river

To ensure your bluff is effective, it’s important to choose the appropriate bet size. Betting too little might entice even the most cautious opponent to call.

Let’s return to the report on the players with a WTSD stat of less than 25% and examine how they react to different bet sizes on the river:

When you click on the Fold to 3rd Barrel stat on the right, a new report appears, reflecting all situations where these players folded to the third barrel on the river. Let’s open the “Bet Sizes” tab and examine how often they fold to bets of different sizes:

There is a linear trend: the larger the bet, the more often players fold. Based on this, when bluffing with a third barrel on the river, it’s better to bet bigger.

Remember, one of the key aspects of strong poker play is aggression. By taking initiative, controlling the game, and putting pressure on opponents, you’ll be able to increase your winnings without showdown and improve the red line on your graph.

Analyzing statistics in Hand2Note 4 will help you easily identify suitable opponents and find profitable bluffing opportunities.