10 Specific Poker Tells You Can Cash-in On

10 Specific Poker Tells You Can Cash-in On

I may not be the best card player but I believe I am fairly good when it comes to reading my opponents. My ability to read players is about being able to differentiate when an opponent is strong or weak. Am I perfect at this skill? No. But, I have learned quite a bit that I want to share with you.

The one area that usually gets overlooked is the tells you provide your opponents. If you don't believe you
may signaling your hand strength to opponents, think again.

Recently, I moved all-in on the turn with a flush draw and an Ace overcard believing my opponent would fold since I showed strength pre-flop and flop, and calling my bet would cripple his stack. My opponent took quite a while to decide, but he did make the call. He said, "I know you're weak." I got lucky and I sucked out on the river. But, to me it meant I had a tell I needed to eliminate from my game.

One way to catch yourself giving a tell is to learn from these situations. Immediately think about what you did that gave away the strength of your hand. Perhaps at times you speak your bets and other times you are silent. Or, at times you slide your bet into the pot and other times toss them into the pot. Or, perhaps it was how you breathed after placing a big bet. It is not easy to find your own tells but you MUST do it to be a winning poker player.

Above I posted a picture of Hellmuth at the WSOP. The pose he is using is the one suggested by Joe Navarro to hide your tells during a hand. It may be something you should try.

Now, here are 10 specific poker tells you can cash-in on. Almost all of these tells are subconscious tells-- the player does not realize he is doing it. These subconscious tells often become habitual and indicate strength or weakness.

1. Preflop: Check the Player to your left
-The player to your left will often look at their cards when it is your turn to act and you check your hole cards. Pause when you do these and peek to see what he does when he plays a hand versus when he folds a hand.

It may be where he places a card protector. Or, it may be how he holds his cards in preparation of his action. Or, it may be how he leans slightly forward or back.

I can not stress enough how important it is to get in the habit of noticing your opponent's differences when folding or playing a hand pre-flop.

By the way, just because someone does not look at his hole cards until it is his turn at the start of a tournament does not mean that he will not start peeking an hour or more into the event. Keep checking.

2. Flop: 3 Cards of the Same Suit
-The most obvious tell on the flop is when the board comes with three cards of the same suit. 99% of the time if a player checks his hole cards after this flop, you can be sure he does not have a flush yet. He is checking in hopes that one of his hole cards is the same suit as those on the flop.

3. Speed of a Call on Flop
-A player who calls a bet quickly on the flop means that the decision to call is not a difficult one. These quick calls usually indicate the player has a piece of the board or is on a draw.

4. Speed of Bet on River When a Scare Card Hits
-Watch the player who has taken the lead in betting on the flop and turn, to see how quickly he bets on the river when a scare card hits. If the player does not miss a beat and bets, it usually means that he is not strong. Why? Because a scare card will make a player think for a while before deciding to bet or not.

In fact, there is a rhythm to the series of bets that simply does not make sense:

• flop: card on board, reach for chips, bet.
• turn: card on board, reach for chips, bet.
• river: SCARE card on board, reach for chips, bet. Huh?

Even if the player has been betting his draw and hit it on the river, he will usually pause before making that river bet.

5. Breathing after making a final bet
-I find it difficult to notice someone's breathing pattern. Instead, if I am trying to decide to call a big bet on the river or an all-in move, I will look at a person's chest. I need to pause about 10 seconds or so to see what happens. If after the pause, the person's chest starts to move in and out more noticeably, I take that as a sign of non-strength. It does not mean he is weak, but he is not strong.

6. Looking away after making a final bet
-This is almost a sign of strength. Let's say I find that the player is breathing more noticeably as above. If I have a good hand I am inclined to call. But, if the player looks away at any time after making the bet, I will use that as a more reliable indicator of strength. The reason is that a player who looks away usually does not want to give away any sign of the strength of his hand. Now, instead of calling, I will muck.

7. Torso Bobbing after making a final bet
-Navarro talks about how someone's feet is the most reliable poker tell. Well, I've never peeked under the table to check out an opponent's feet. But, if a player has happy feet, his torso will start bobbing quickly above the table. This is a sign of strength.

8. How bets are placed in the pot
-You may notice that the way you make a bet differs. Perhaps at times you slide in your bet, toss in your bet, toss in your bet with force, and/or bet palm down or palm up. Correct these mistakes and be consistent in how you place a bet in the pot.

Of course, you need to notice those same differences in how your opponents place a bet. These differences having meaning--strength or weakness. Make sure you have a consistent pattern before using these tells to make a decision.

9. Speech after making a bet or when making a bet
-A player who speaks after making a bet usually means strength. This player can not hold back his excitement of a strong hand and wants to tell everyone.

A player who speaks a bet may have meaning. Here, you need to see if there is a correlation of the strength of a hand when speaking versus not speaking a bet.

10. Posture after making a bet
-By posture I mean anything a player does with his hands and body that are different when strong versus weak. Let me share with you a couple of these:

• A player who put his hand over his mouth when he was strong but did not do this pose when he was weak
• A player who rested his head in his hand when he was strong but did not do this pose when he was weak

Of course, in all these tells, it is important to realize that every opponent is different and you are looking for consistent pattern.

Finally, there is something about having a "feeling" when getting a read on your opponent. Trust your feelings above all else. Recently, I was in a hand where I had pocket Jacks and had to decide whether to call an all-in bet pre-flop. I knew my hand was better than my opponent but I had a feeling that the last player yet to act had a stronger hand than me. I dismissed this feeling and called. It was a mistake as that last player had pocket Queens.

Trust your feelings!

Poker Tells: What Caro and Navarro Don't Tell

Image by Bahi P via FlickrPoker Tells: What Caro and Navarro Don't Tell

When I started playing poker I followed the basic concept of "fit or fold." This means that if your starting two cards hit the flop with a pair or better, or if it provided you with a draw, your hand is said to "fit" the board. If it did fit, you would have a reason to play on.

After a while, though, I realized that this fundamental approach to poker was really just a more advanced game of bingo.

Next, I learned about poker tells. My definition of a poker tell may be broader than most. I believe that a poker tell is anything your opponent does that provides a reliable signal to you about the strength of his hand.

Learning about poker tells and putting them into practice makes poker more fun and more profitable for me. I hope this article does the same for you.

Mike Caro and Joe Navarro: The Best at Providing Poker Tell Advice

I find that these two poker authors do an excellent job at providing poker players advice on tells.
Mike Caro's top advice is about how players tend to consciously act in a way opposite of their hand strength. Essentially, if a player acts strong, he is weak and if he acts weak, he is strong.

Joe Navarro uses his FBI background to provide advice on how players subconciously act in a way to give away their hand strength. Examples include watching an opponent's face for minor facial expressions.

Of course, when was the last time, Caro or Navarro won money in a poker game? Or, even played poker? And, if they are playing, how come they are not killing the competition?

My Recent Experience at the WSOP

On Day 6 of the Main Event, I was in the Amazon ballroom of the Rio. The Amazon room is the size of a football field. For the tournament, there is a large area set apart for the ESPN featured and secondary tables. I was seated at one of the other eight poker tables, spread out in the ballroom. What you don't see at home on TV are the camera crews, press and officials who surround these tables watching and recording the action.

When you get to the final 100 players there is quite a bit of pressure as every decision can cost you a shot at winning close to $9 million. Given the importance of every action at the table, things slow down. With those all-in decisions, your tournament life is at stake and the action stops as a player thinks. The ESPN cameras focus on the face of the players involved. Inevitably, one player will study his opponent for a long time. It can be a glance. It can be a glare. It can take minutes.

I found it funny.

I wasn't laughing inside at the importance of these decisions. What I was laughing about was how often a top professional player, who spent all this time studying his opponent, would make the wrong decision. It seemed that the more time the player studied an opponent, the more likely his read was wrong!

I found it very unfunny when I was sitting with pocket Kings, my opponent studied me for a long time, moved all-in with his Ace-Ten hand, and knocked me out with an Ace on the turn. Not funny at all.

Guidelines to Poker Tells That Work

First, I do not pretend to be the best poker player in the world. If I was the best poker player, my Kings would have held up.
Second, I promise you that these poker tells work for me but are based on tournament poker.
Third, you have to decide what will work for you.

My advice is to take just one guideline at a time and try it out at your next game. Using poker tells is so much more fun, especially when you see the results in your bottom line.

Guideline #1. Look at your first two cards as soon as you get them, so you can study your opponents.

Today, most players wait until the preflop action gets to them before they peek at their hole cards. I believe this is a mistake.

By looking at your cards right away it allows you to do the following:
-Study your opponents actions when they first see their hole cards. Often you will notice a slight difference when someone has pocket Aces.
-Gives you time to think over your decision before the action gets to you.
-Gives you an opportunity to provide a reverse tell to your aware opponents. Example: You can behave exactly as you have in the past when you folded to get action from the player to your right when you have a premium hand.

Guideline #2. Study the player to your left.

This is obvious. Some unaware players tell you if they will fold or play pre-flop by their actions.
This is valuable when you are on the button or small blind. Notice any difference in how they hold their cards, where they place a chip to protect their cards, if they glance at their chips after looking at their cards, or anything that signals a change.

Of course, if they don't peek at their cards before you act, none of this will happen.

Guideline #3. Study the most aggressive player at your table and look for any difference in his actions.

The most aggressive player will be the easiest to read as he will be the most active. This player will be the one you will most likely be playing hands again.

Watch to see if this player has any changes in his actions when he is in a hand. Does his pose change when the is strong or weak? Does the way he place his bets into the pot change? Does the speed or force of a bet change?

You are looking for any differences. When you spot these differences, you want to associate a strong or weak hand when the final hand is revealed.

While you can do this for all your opponents, it is easier to focus on one player as a starting point.

Guideline #4. Watch for betting patterns and bet sizing.

All players have a betting pattern that tells you if they are strong or weak.

Here is a common pattern: a preflop raise, followed by a cbet on the flop, and a check on the turn. It is a sign of weakness.

Players often show fear by the size of their bets, especially on the turn. Here is a common bet sizing pattern: a preflop raise, followed by a cbet on the flop, and then a turn bet which is slightly bigger than the cbet. It is a sign of weakness.

Guideline #5. Watch for how fast or slow a player acts before he makes a bet.

This is missed by many players who are too involved with their own cards.

If you make a preflop raise and then a cbet on the flop, notice the speed of an opponents reaction to your bet. If a player calls you without missing a beat, it tends to mean he is on a draw. Why? It is an easy decision--no time is needed to make a call.

But, if your opponent thinks a while before calling your bet, it means the flop fits his hand. It is a sign to take notice act accordingly on the turn.

Another example is when a player never slows down in his betting. For example, if you called an opponent's bet preflop, flop and turn with position, and now a scare card hits the river, observe how fast your opponent bets. The fact is that unless your opponent is dead, he has to slow down for a second or two before deciding if to bet and how much to bet when a scare card comes on the river. If your opponent bets out without missing a beat, this is often a sign of weakness.

A popular tell is when your opponent takes longer than normal to place a bet into the pot. Often, this is a sign of a players who is acting weak when he has the nuts. Most often you will see this long poker pause on the river, before your opponent moves all in.

Guideline #6. Personal Appearance

Most poker players believe they are better players than they are. Often, these guys dress the part, especially the younger guys. When you are in a hand with these professional wanna be players, you can make a weak/small bet that indicates fear when you have a monster hand.

Of course, your personal "table image" effects the effectiveness of this play. If you look like a young poker pro, your opponent will be more suspicious of a small bet.

Guideline #7. Use reverse tells.

Some players are aware of their opponents actions and table image, and others are not. Use reverse tells to your advantage on these aware opponents.

Frankly, on that last hand at the WSOP, I induced my opponent to move all-in on me when I had pocket Kings. Here is how I did it. A few hands earlier the player to his left reraised me preflop. I was going to fold, but I waited untill I knew other players were looking at me. I made a subtle facial change to signal weakness and folded. In this hand, I gave the same slight facial change when my opponent looked my way. My guess is that he picked up this change subconsciously, thought I was weak, and moved all-in.

Finally, ask yourself after each poker session if you learned something new. If not, you are not working to get better. And, if you are not working to get better, then why did you even bother to read this article?

Best of luck!

How I Won Over $100,000 at the WSOP Main Event

Image via WikipediaHow I Won Over $100,000 at the WSOP Main Event

I thought I would share my approach to the 2011 WSOP Main Event since it may help you in your tournament strategy.

In many ways the Main Event is easier than your local tournament. The Main Event has 2 hour levels, a slow increase in blinds, is mostly played nine handed, and you get a deep chip stack of 30,000. While your local tournament becomes a luck-fest at the 6th level, at the Main Event the luck-fest is on the 6th day.

I re-read my book, Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves, as a reminder before I started playing at the Main Event. You have my poker book, right? :-)

Next, I set up my goal to double my stack each day. It would result in my taking the 30,000 in chips and turning it into 8 million for the final table.

My strategy was the following:

• to present myself as a predictable ABC player to make it easier to steal pots
  
• to play opposite my opponents table image to take advantage of their weakness
  
• to avoid difficult decisions on any one hand so I could survive the event
  
• to look for tells, especially if the player to my left would fold or enter a hand
  
• to avoid getting knocked out by a clueless player--no bad beats at the wrong time, please.
  

Here is a brief review of my key hands:

Day 1 (July 8, 2011):

Starting chips: 30,000

An aggressive player raised in early position, I called on the button with QQ. The board came Jack high. He bet and I called. The turn was a rag. He bet and I called. The river was a rag. He checked-called my bet. He had A-J.

I misplayed KK against one opponent. I raised and he called in position. The flop was A-Q-Q. I checked and he checked. The turn was a rag. I bet and he called. The river was a rag. I bet and he called. He hit a runner runner flush.

One key tell was that I knew when the player to my left would play his hand pre-flop. I used this to my advantage in the following key hand:

I made a min-raise with 7-7, knowing this guy wanted to raise. He raised, but it was no longer a big raise, so I could afford to see the flop. The flop was T-7-4. I bet into him and he raised. I called. The turn was a rag. I checked and he checked behind. The river was a rag. I bet and he called with his J-J.

My observations from Day 1 tended to be true throughout the tournament:
- Players at my table were mostly playing ABC poker, as I believe they were afraid to make a mistake.
- I took a check as a sign of weakness, so I'd bet and take down the pot.
- Opponents still don't realize their own tells.
- Don't show your hand to an opponent who folds. The player to my left did this once, and it made me realize he liked to 3 bet with a wide range of hands.
- The best tell is noticing betting patterns; not just c-betting or not, but how they play on different streets.

Ending chips: 50,000 (-10,000 from objective)

Day 2:

Starting chips: 50,000

The Day 2 competition was easier than Day 1. I felt there was more fear at the table than Day 1. In fact, a few players pushed with garbage as if they were saying:

"I'm scared as hell. I can't take it anymore!"

I was mostly card dead, so I did not accumulate as many chips as I would have liked.

Ending chips: 86,000 (-34,000 from objective)

Day 3:

Starting chips: 86,000

On Day 3, the play started to get more challenging.

On the first hand of play I was on the button and the big blind was missing. Everyone folded to the woman on my right, who raised. I had Q-9 and called. The flop was perfect K-J-T. She bet and I raised. She called. The turn was a rag. She checked and folded.

A few hands later, she raised again. I found Ah-Ad. I raised. She called. We were heads up. The flop was Kd-Td-4s. She bet into me! I put her on A-K since the bet was too big, I thought, to be a defensive one. I just called. The turn was a 6h. She bet big again. I called. The river was a 7d, completing a possible flush. She bet again, without hesitation.

What should I do? This was now a big pot, and I wondered if I had let her get her flush.

I thought for a moment, and it didn't add up. I mean, if she hit the flush on the river, she would have to think for a moment to size her bet. Especially since I could have the nut flush. I called. She had As-Jc and had damaged her chance to survive this day.

It was a big win for me. Except, later on, I ended up giving most of these new chips away when my flush lost to quad tens.

On Day 3, I was finally fortunate as I was dealt excellent starting hands.

In the BB, a player moved all-in. I found K-K and called. He made 22X BB all in move with A-J offsuit!? My Kings were ahead until the river, as the Ace hit. While it took my stack down by a third, I suddenly went on a mini rush.

The next hand I raised with 9-9. No one called.
The next hand I raised with A-A. No one called.
The next hand I raised with A-A again. No one called.
Back on the BB, I found A-K. 5 players called and I moved all-in. No one called.

A new player sat down to my right after the woman player was knocked out. He was a talker. And, he wanted everyone to know he knew the big TV poker stars and, of course, his stack was hurt due to bad beats. I was under the gun and raised with 9-9. Everyone folded to this guy in the BB. He called.

The flop was all rags with 2 hearts. He checked and I bet the pot. He moved all-in--which was about 65% of my stack. This was a tough spot since this was exactly the situation I was trying to avoid. A clueless player making a stupid play to knock me out. While this would not knock me out, it would be very tough to come back from a beat here. I folded.

The good news, though, was that the first hand back from the dinner back I was on the BB and found K-K. This guy moved all-in with A-J....he had over 25x the BB. I called. He got pissed when he did not improve and he started his speech about how unlucky he was.

Ending chips: 249,700 (+9,700 versus objective)

Day 4

Starting chips: 249,700

This was the most difficult table ever for me. Little did I know that four of the players who started at this table (including me), would end up finishing in the top 125 finishers in this event!

Seated on my right was Heinz (who made it to the final table. He is an excellent player and a good guy. I wish him the best in November). To my left were two other professional internet players.

After a while it was clear that these players loved to 2 bet and 3 bet pre-flop with a wide range of hands. Heinz was 3 betting players to his right. And, the players to my left were three betting as well. In fact, I believe the two players to my left 3 bet me like a ten times before the dinner break. Each time I folded.

At the dinner break, I was very very frustrated. I like to play flops and these characters were forcing me to fold. I decided that if it happened again, I would four bet.

Sure enough, in one of the first hands after the break, I raised and the player to my left 3 bet. It got back to me and I 4 bet. He folded.

The result of my doing this one time caused both the players to my left stopping that 3 betting of my raises. And, it led to my biggest pot win of the event....

I was in early position and raised with 7-6 suited. The guy to my left folded, but the next net pro just called. Heads up, the flop was 6-6-3 with a possible flush draw. I did not have the flush draw, but I knew my opponent would bet here with any hand, so I checked.

He bet. I now put in a big raise, as if on a flush draw. To my surprise, he re-raised! I moved in and he insta-called! He turned over 6-5 suited (no flush draw). The turn was a T. And when the river was a 2, rather than chopping the pot, I won big.

Ending chips: 757,000 (+277,000 versus objective)

Day 5

Starting chips: 757,000

Day 5 started with Erick Lindgren at my table. He made a bad play early on with pocket T's by moving all in after a raise from a player with A-A. However, he hit his T on the flop to double up.

I had some hands at this table and I was able to grow my stack a little. But...then...

I got moved to a new table, which was more aggressive. The player to my right was a nice guy, who spoke little English, by the name of Staszko. His playing style is much tighter and more cautious than Heinz. (Staszko is a good guy. And, I wish him the best at the final table.)

I was card dead here as well. And, almost every time I raised, the player to my left would call. The flop would miss me, and sometimes I would bet and sometimes I would check and give the pot up. The reason not to c-bet every time was to project strength, and take down the pot. Too often players c-bet the flop, get called, and then give up on the turn with a check-fold.

Unfortunately, I was card dead most of the entire time. It was very frustrating. On the last hand of the night, I doubled up with K-K.

Ending chips: 630,000 (-330,000 versus objective)

Day 6 (July 17, 2011):

Starting chips: 630,000

Lots of big stacks at the first table. While I was not one of the big stacks, I was confident I could make a comeback.

I raised on the SB, but the Russian player on the BB, moved all-in. I folded. Later that round, I was on the button with A-T and raised first in pre-flop. This guy re-raised and I moved all-in. He called with A-Q. I got lucky and hit my T to double up.

I got J-J in a middle position and raised. A woman who had not played a hand in about 2 hours, moved all-in. Good grief. If I lose this hand, I am as good as out of the event. I folded the Jacks.

I got moved to a table with Allan Cunningham who had about the same chip stack size as me.
Given my stack size, I moved in after a raise with pocket 4's and pocket Jacks. My opponent called both time and lost with K-J and A-3 suited.

For the next 3 hours, I did not play a hand. It was incredible how ugly the cards looked.

Right before the dinner break, a player raised in middle position. I found K-K and 3 bet about 3x his bet size. My opponent thought for a while and moved all-in. I insta-called. My opponent showed A-T suited. If I win here, I would have about 2 million in chips...and that was my chip goal for the day.

The flop was all rags, but the turn....

I finished in 71st place and won over $100,000. It was a great financial win, but I was very disappointed.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Guidelines for Beating the Limit Hold'em Poker Game

Image via WikipediaGuidelines for Beating the Limit Hold'em Poker Game

I believe that a limit holdem cash game is a more skilled game than a no-limit holdem cash game. The reason for my belief is that in a no-limit holdem cash game, the luck element of poker has too much influence as to your hand by hand results.

Of course, few people agree with me because they enjoy the higher risk-reward outcome in no-limit. These folks are geniuses when they win, and unlucky when they lose.

Anyway, let me provide you with guidelines on how to beat the limit holdem game. My guidelines are based on live play at the $15-$30 level. I believe they hold true for other levels of play as well.

1 Table Composition
I believe this is the most important factor in your winning or losing at limit holdem.

You have to adjust your game to the players at the table. And, the composition of the table can change anytime a new player enters. If the table is too tough, you should change tables.

The table composition is key as it effects your starting hands.

A table that sees a lot of flops with limps will result in having to beat multiple opponents. That means that suited connectors and pairs are stronger hands. The same is true if the table likes to see a lot of flops even after one raise.

If your table folds to one raise--meaning that there are few players who see a flop--you want to stick with premium starting hands.

2. Table Image of Each Player
Next, you want to decide on the table image of the players at your table. Don't make this a difficult exercise as players tend to be very consistent as to how they play.

Pre-flop: Simply identify a player as tight, loose or aggressive.
Flop: There are mostly three types---tricky players, players who like to play draws, and ABC/predictable players. Tricky players on the flop will raise when last to act after there is no action has taken place in front of them or if they determine the continuation bettor missed and raises his bet.
Turn: Tricky players on the turn tend to be those who bet their draws.

3. Your Table Image
It is important to determine your own table image and to play opposite of it against players that observe your style. Some players just don't have a clue and stick to their cards. Better players will notice how you have played before and try to take advantage of your style.

4. Flop Play
Here are some key factors to note on the flop:

-how many players see the flop and if it was raised or not pre-flop. (frankly you should know this before the flop hits the board! If there are 4 or more opponents, don't look to bluff. If there are 3 or fewer opponents, bet your draws and top pair. If a lone opponent, be aggressive and/or slow down to win more chips.)

-what is the best hand and the best drawing hand (one or the other will often win)

-what is the flop composition--is it coordinated or a steal flop (a steal flop is a rainbow flop with one high card and two rags). Also notice if there are cards in the playing zone (Ace-9) or not. Cards in the playing zone are more likely to hit someone else's hand. While rag flops provide an opportunity to show strength with a bet or raise, since they are more likely to have missed your opponents' hands.

5. Flop Moves
The flop round is often the phony betting round. Don't respect those flop raises if it comes from players who like to bet draws or set up bluffs on the turn and follow-up on the river.
A re-raise on the flop usually indicates a strong hand like two pair, a set or a made hand. If it is a tricky player, though, you have to widen his range quite a bit here.

Raising for a free card move:
If you are the pre-flop raiser, bet the flop and get raised in late position (with a flush draw on the flop possible), realize that this is probably a flush draw bet. You can re-raise here and try to get heads-up.

Betting out on the flop with a draw:
Consider betting out on the flop with a draw, and then follow through all the way to the end if you miss. If you get re-raised, you can slow down. Again, the number of opponents is key here--two or less it should be considered. 4 or more opponents, is a time to hold back that bet.

Check raising on the flop:
This is a strong play, and often indicates two pair. I like this play when the pre-flop player has late position and I can get heads-up with him going to the turn. Your cards don't matter. Bet the turn and river. Some opponents will call you down with with Jack high--so again, know your opponents.

6. Turn Play:
If you are the lead bettor on the turn, keep the lead and bet again unless the board has become too coordinated or you have three or more opponents. Heads-up this play is a no-brainer. Against 2 opponents, you should be inclined to bet as you have shown strength.

If you do bet, and get raised after a rag hits the turn, you have to decide if you are beat. And, if you can catch up, is the pot big enough to call? Clearly, against a tricky opponent, don't fold. Again, an ABC player it is time to consider that fold.

If going to the turn, you are the caller versus one opponent, think of the turn as an "ahead or behind" situation. If you can win, call his bet. If you can't win, just fold. A tricky player consider a raise here. The same thinking is valid against multiple opponents. Here, even if you have a draw--but it is a weak one--you may have to fold unless the pot is big.

7. River Play:
Once you get to the river, the pot tends to be so big, you will make some bad calls. But folding can be a disaster if you fold a winning hand on a big pot.

As to that A-K you've been betting all the way and don't improve upon...check call on the river versus one opponent.

Good luck!