Texas Hold'em Guide - Playing the Flop

First off, if the flop misses you entirely, almost always FOLD to any bet. You spend a lot of time waiting for a hand to play, and if you completely miss the flop and someone bets into you, you are going to have to throw it away and wait some more. It is difficult to be patient and wait for another hand, but this is what makes you money in hold'em. You have to get off the hands that miss on the flop. Not on the turn, on the flop. Anyone can push in chips when they have the best hand, but truly great players are able to throw away good hands that appear to be beaten. The key is to get off those losing hands early and give your opponents nothing when you miss.

Even if you have the best overcards, you are often still better off to fold to any bet. You only have 6 outs to make a pair, and your opponent may have paired already. So if you catch one of your cards on the turn, it could make an opponent two pair and you will lose even more bets. Most players are unable to let go of a good opening hand regardless of the flop and they lose money as a result. Don't make the mistake of making loose calls on the flop. If you don't flop a good hand or a good draw, get off the hand immediately. Let other players make loose calls and you can profit from them when you make a hand. That is solid poker.

Bluffing Strategy in Texas Hold'em

Anytime you discuss poker, you have to say something about bluffing. And for the most part, bluffing amounts to putting your money into the pot when you are unlikely to have the best hand. That is usually an unprofitable play unless you have a good chance that everyone else will fold. Bluffing is not much of the game in limit hold'em. It is difficult to get an opponent to lay down a good hand when the bet they have to call is only a small fraction of the pot. In no limit, you can make a huge bet that will be much more persuasive, but in limit, most of your profit comes from showing down the best hand. Bluffing is still a part of the game, and it can be profitable if used in the right spots but should never be over done. It takes a lot of experience to learn where the right spots are for a good bluff. You should never just decide to make a play and try to bluff everyone out of the pot. You are far too likely to be called down in random spots. You only bluff when the situation itself calls for it, when everything develops just perfectly.

Here is an example of a situation that is ripe for a bluff. No one raised preflop, and you missed the flop, but you are in good position with few opponents, and it is checked to you. If there are no good draws on the board, this is a pretty good spot for a bluff (note: there are a lot of conditions being met here). The pot is relatively small, but you are getting pretty good odds to bluff. Since it is checked to you, and there are no apparent draws, it is likely that no one has anything. The more opponents you have, the less likely you are to win the hand.

In this situation, you can take a stab at the pot with a bet. If an opponent raises, you just fold out (easy decision), but your opponent just calls your bet, it puts you in a more difficult position. When the turn is no help to you, do you bet again? Or check this time, giving your opponent confidence in their mediocre hand. You will have a difficult time trying to figure out if your opponent is drawing for a hand, or has a little something now and considers it worthwhile to pay to see the next card. It will cost you a big bet to bluff again on the turn, but you will usually be getting pretty good pot odds if you think there is a chance your opponent might fold. This would be a good time to know your player.

Good players will fold more often if they do not have a legitimate hand, but many bad players will call you to the end with anything at all. So usually if you do take a stab at the pot with a bluff on the flop and are called, you should often check and fold on the turn if you do not get any help. If there is some obvious draw you think your opponent might have, you may consider betting through the river if it doesn't get there.

You should never bluff when you are relatively new to the table. Players are often suspicious of new players and will be quick to call you with marginal hands. You should begin by playing solid poker and simply try to get your money in when you have the best hand. After you have showed down some legitimate hands and taken down a few pots, you may begin to notice the action slow down when you bet or raise. Observant players will see you showing down solid hands and be more likely to fold when you bet or raise. This would be a good spot to change gears by playing a little looser and sneaking in an occasional bluff against a tight player that is capable of folding. If you get caught, that is no problem, you just quit bluffing and immediately go back to tight solid play. Now you are in a position to get more action on your legitimate hands because you have been caught bluffing.

You can also read an entire article on bluffing in poker by clicking on the highlighted link.

Aggressive poker is the best strategy

You want to play your good hands very aggressively on the flop. When the flop does hit you, if you came in with an appropriate hand, you are looking to make something like top pair with a good kicker, an overpair, or better (or you flop a good draw). When you will win more than your fair share of what is going into the pot, you should bet and/or raise (or check raise), whatever will get the most money in the pot and the most players out. If you bet and are raised, don't be afraid to reraise if you think your hand is best. However, if you raise a player's bet and you get reraised on the flop, just call or fold if you think you are beat, but don't make it four bets. You are either beaten, or you would like to raise or check raise on a later street.

Gaining information from your opponents

Flop bets are cheap and you get valuable information by player's reactions to them. Pay attention to your opponent's actions for all betting rounds. Playing a pot is like having a conversation about your hand, but you can only use the words: check, bet, raise, or fold. These words contain information that you will want to consider. Here is an example of such a conversation on the flop. Imagine any flop with no pair, and no possible straight or flush.

• Player A bets. "I flopped at least middle pair."
• Player B calls. "I caught a piece too, but I'm weak or I flopped a draw."
• Player C raises. "I have top pair with the good kicker, an overpair, or better"
• Player A reraises. "I have something like two pair or better"
• Player B folds. "My hand is not that good, and my draw is not worth it."
• Player C caps it (makes it 4 bets). "I have the top set, which is the absolute nuts right now."

At anytime Player A or C could have called instead of raising. In that case, they would be communicating something like "I can't beat the hand that is being represented." However, what is said by each player's actions can easily be misinterpreted, and of course a player might not be telling the truth. Most of the time however, players will be telling the truth with their actions, it usually pays better. And, you should have an idea of what players over play their hands and bluff. It is a profitable assumption that you are usually getting correct information unless you have reason to believe otherwise.

If you get raised on the flop, look at the flop cards and try to figure out what the raiser might have. You should have some indication based on how they came into the pot. Were they in a blind? What position were they in? Did they raise before the flop? Did you raise and they called cold? Or did they call after being trapped half way in? If this player raised preflop, they might have a big pair or big cards that paired the top card on the board? What kind of hand would you raise with if you were in their place? Did they call after many limpers indicating a possible small pocket pair or suited connector? If the flop contains two connected cards, maybe they made two pair, if not, maybe they have a small pocket pair and made a set. Is this a late position raiser with a possible straight draw or two-flush on the board indicating a possible semibluff? Was this player given a free play from the big blind? In that case, they most likely made something like two pair, but they could be holding any two cards.

You have been given a lot of information up to this point. Take advantage of it and use it to try to put your opponent on a hand. If you don't have a strong hand and/or a good draw when you get raised, consider folding out immediately. If you think your hand is best, reraise and see if they cap it. If you raise and are reraised, just call (or fold), but don't make it 4 bets even if you think you have them beat, just call; don't tell them you have them beat by making it four bets. There is really no benefit to cap it here. You know they will not fold, and you give away valuable information. If your hand is really that strong, you want to act weak here so you can collect more bets later with your monster hand. Wait until you see another card and then jack it up on the big betting rounds if you are sure you have the best hand (see below).

Protecting your hands and getting rid of drawing hands

When it is checked to you, a bet on the flop is often correct even with a middle pair or some hand that you are not sure is best (advantage of position). You may very well have the best hand, and your bet may win the pot right there. If someone raises you showing strength, you can fold out your weak hand immediately, where as if you just get called, your opponent(s) are more likely to be drawing.

An exception to folding to a raise might be when you think a late position player is trying to get a free card, or an aggressive player is trying to steal. If you get callers, you will probably want to check your hand on the turn if you do not improve. Unless you think your caller is probably drawing (maybe you got one caller who initially checked in front of you and there is a flush or straight draw on the flop), in that case, go ahead and bet it on the turn if the draw doesn't get there (then show down on the river). You may run them off on the turn and/or you may still have the best hand.

If you get a call on the flop with a weak hand and are not sure if your opponent is drawing or has a little something now (maybe top pair with a weak kicker), check and call. You may induce a bluff, and you may still have the best hand, but you definitely want to minimize what goes into the pot when your hand is weak. As always, it depends on the board and what you think your opponent(s) might have.

Small and mid pocket pairs

This is kind of similar to the play of medium pocket pairs that miss on the flop. These hands can be tricky to play. You might have the best hand now, but you could easily be beat (now or later) and have very little chance to improve. If you don't flop a set with your pocket pair and there are overcards when more than one opponent sees the flop with you, you should check and fold to any bet. If you are in late position and it is checked to you, you can bet to see where you are, you might win it right there (again the importance of position). If you get called on the flop, you can bet the turn if the flop makes you think your opponent is drawing and just check and show down on the river.

If you get raised at any time, you should usually fold. There are really few cases where you play your medium to small pocket pair to the end. No set, no bet is a pretty good rule of thumb, especially when more than one opponent sees the flop. Automatically calling to the end with pocket pairs is a big losing play. You will almost always want to get off of them on the flop when you miss.

If you can get heads up before the flop, your pocket pair is stronger; the bigger the better, and you can play it a little more aggressively. If your opponent has unmatched cards, they will not pair on the flop about 2/3 of the time. Every card under your pocket pair makes your hand stronger. Your opponent might have a smaller pocket pair. As a rule of thumb, you can bet out (out of position) if there is only one overcard to your pocket pair and it is not an Ace. If you get raised, fold. If it is checked to you (in position), bet. If you are in position and it is bet to you, raise. If you get reraised or your opponent bets out on the turn, you should fold. If your opponent checks on the turn giving you a free card, you can take it and call if they bet into you on the river and the board is not too threatening. You should be getting pretty good odds to call here if you have any chance to have the best hand and your check might have induced a bluff. If it doesn't look like the turn helped your opponent, you can bet again there and just show down on the river.

When you play a pot with a fair amount of action preflop, and you don't know if your hand is best, if the flop looks favorable usually check and call to the river and show down your hand. If you raised preflop with a big hand like QQ, an opponent made it 3 bets and got heads up with you, and the flop came with all small cards you should usually check and call your way to the river. Giving free cards here is not so dangerous because you might already be beat and have a very small chance to improve. There is enough money in the pot to give you at least 2 to 1 payoff odds if you do have the best hand. You might also induce a bluff from your opponent by checking. If you had made it 3 bets preflop with QQ, you are now heads up on the flop, and three undercards come off you should bet and/or raise on the flop. If you bet and get raised, you should reraise and get their reaction (since they didn't cap it preflop). If your opponent plays back, you're back to check and call, but if your opponent slows down you should bet again on the turn if an A or K doesn't come off, and just showdown on the river if you don't improve. It depends how well you know your opponent, but if there is a lot of action and you are not sure you have the best hand, usually check and call your way to the river unless it comes down real bad.

In a similar situation with QQ in which an A or K comes on the flop, you should fold to any action, especially if more than one opponent sees the flop. If it is checked to you, you will of course bet, but if you get raised or someone bets into you, you will usually want to fold right there. The most likely hands you face will contain an A or K. Many players raise and call raises with these hands, and someone could always have a bigger pocket pair. Once your pocket pair is beat, you have a dismal 8% chance to make a set on the turn and river combined. Automatically going to the end with pocket pairs when overcards flop is a big time losing proposition.

Sometimes you will flop a monster, like when you have a big pocket pair and make the top set on the flop, You might want to slow play these types of hands if and only if there are no good draws on the flop. If there is any type of straight or flush draw on the board, forget slow playing, bet and/or raise. You cannot afford to give a free card here, and with possible draws out, you are more likely to be called. But if you flop a full house, the nut flush, or nut straight or some other huge hand, and there is no danger in giving a free card, you may want to check and call on the flop and keep as many players in as possible and wait until a later round to reveal strength. The free card you give could make one of your opponents a second best hand, and you may induce a bluff by checking.

If you flop a draw, you will usually want to check, and call if and only if it is profitable (See chasing below). If you flop a draw, you can bet or raise in late position as a semibluff with the intention of checking on the turn and taking a free card if you miss. Don't do this too often though, good players are very familiar with this type of play and will make you pay if they suspect you of trying to get a free card. You can find other profitable places to bet as a semibluff, like taking a stab at the pot with a bet when the action is checked to you on the flop. If there is any chance that everyone will fold, you have two ways to win the pot when you bet a draw. Everyone may fold, or you may complete your hand if called. In a loose game with opponents that call too much, you should seldom semibluff or bluff.

Next: Figuring out the Odds in Texas Hold'em