Just as with playing poker at the felt in cash games or live tournaments; online poker has its followers and developers of practical and theoretical ways to play this game. There are

no absolutes when we play poker online or off, and the element of surprise is always there to check-raise any player. However, sensible concepts are useful to keep in mind for many players in many situations, and the Baluga Theorem is one of these concepts.

Taking to the felt in micro-stakes games with the Baluga Theorem in your online poker arsenal of guidelines is highly recommended. The theorem was first coined by the player it is named after – Andrew “BalugaWhale” Seidman. Almost five years ago he shared this on the TwoPlusTwo forum and basically he said “when faced with a turn raise, we should ‘strongly’ re-evaluate one pair hands”.

Firstly players in micro-stakes poker games are generally new players learning, irregular players in the game for the fun only, or simply don’t care to move up into higher stakes games, for which more knowledge would be required. This classifies them as “unsophisticated” – no insult intended, this is just the way it is.

Secondly we are all aware that one pair is not all that strong a hand, but it only takes a pair to win, so, we also have to remember that. A top-kicker pair against a single opponent on the turn can get the job done and is generally considered to be a “solid” hand. For some reason micro-stakes players automatically tend to believe that when an opponent raises on the turn, possibly even goes all-in; it is a near certainty that they have got you beat – no matter how confident they were with their hand until that juncture. Believe it, this is normally the case.

The assumption is based on the fact that micro-stakes players don’t generally bluff, they are normally too new to the game to overcome this emotional hurdle; they play a very straightforward game and if they have something good in their hand – they bet or raise. If an opponent is riding your coattails and only raises on the turn; the chances are that something better than a pair has come up.

What is important to remember, is that this theorem is only important at micro-stakes tables, the reason being because of the mind-set of the players who frequent these size poker tables. Seasoned players are a completely different kettle of fish, but it is not the seasoned players who populate micro-stakes tables. A player with more practice and nerve will bluff at the turn raise – of course not every time, but one has to realize the possibility exists.

With a strong hand no opponent has to wait till the turn to raise, they would have started post-flop and been more aggressive pre-flop. What could he have? Almost certainly something better than our players’ pair, so therefore we know it is time to call it a day and fold.