Protection
A protection bet is a bet with a vulnerable made hand, made so that draws and overcards pay or fold.
A middle pair on a board with a flush draw is often best now and often beaten by the river. Betting denies those hands a free card.
Protection is a reason to bet, not a guarantee of profit: if only better hands call, the bet loses.
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Related terms
Practise decisions like this in the trainer: ten hands at a time, with the answer and the reason.