Betting on the Flop

Betting on the Flop

Betting on the Flop

Earlier I discussed pre-flop betting. Pre-flop you hold two cards in your hand with five cards to come. You have little information about the strength of your opponents' hands other than their observed tendencies and betting on the current hand. That being the case you bet on the strength of your hand based on position and your comfortable range of hands to play from that position. Once the flop comes your situation is more clearly defined. Either you hit the flop or you didn't. The strength of your hand is now far more clearly defined. You can determine the odds of your hand improving by the river. In many respects, betting on the flop is quite easy. You either have a made hand or you don't. You either have a strong draw to a straight or flush or you don't.

If you were first to raise and the action checks to you a standard continuation bet, or C-bet, of about half to two-thirds the pot is in order even if you didn't hit the flop. Remember that you will not connect with the flop around 70% of the time. It is likely that your opponents at the table didn't connect either and a C-bet takes down a small pot. Most players that stuck around to see the flop fold and your C-bet simply helps them to do so.

If you are first to act and there was a raiser after you and you did not hit the flop then simply check. If the raiser posts a C-bet then you can decide whether to fold or not. Generally, if you do not have a hand on the flop and you are facing a raise then the proper thing to do is fold. On the other hand, you face a C-bet from a very loose player in late position you may just want to test that bet with a check-raise. I wouldn't do this often but perhaps between 20% to 30% of the time (between 48 and 60 seconds on your watch to randomly determine 20% and 42 and 60 seconds for 30%). Playing back at a loose player is often enough to take the pot away from him.

If you have a made hand or strong drawing hand after the flop you should almost never give away a free card. To check with a strong hand is known as slow playing your hand. You may check with the idea of check-raising when the action comes back to you but if everyone checks then you have just given up on a strong tactical move and you have allowed others to make their hand with a free card on the turn. Betting your strong hand, on the other hand, will eliminate players with weaker hands and sometimes even players with better hands than you. With a made hand or a strong draw a standard C-bet is in order.

If you showed strength before the flop then a C-bet is in order even if you missed. Your C-bet represents strength which is often enough to run other players out of the hand. Be careful here though if it seems likely that another player completed a drawing hand that would have you beaten. Say, for example, you hold KhKd. You raised pre-flop and you were called by one opponent. Now the flop comes Ks7s2s. You are excited that you now have a set of kings but the three spades could complete a nut flush for someone holding As9s and you are drawing pretty much dead to the case king or to the board pairing. While you still have 7 outs (3 sevens 3 deuces and 1 king) those 7 outs make you a nearly 2.5:1 against to improve on the turn and a 6:1 dog to improve on the river. If your opponent bets strongly before you after having acted passively pre-flop or raises your C-bet to represent a flush it is generally best to believe him and fold. The flop introduces another skill set, that of analyzing the texture of the board.

On the other hand, just because the board looks scary to you doesn't mean that it doesn't look just as scary to your opponents. It is likely that someone holding an As will look at the board above as an opportunity to draw to the nut flush but it is also likely that someone holding an AcQd will bet out aggressively on the spade board to represent a strong draw or an made flush. Remember that poker is a game of deception. Since you don't know what your opponent has in the hole his bets tell a story. If that story is congruent with the known facts, the way your opponent plays, his normal betting patterns, and the like then it is likely you will believe him. It is, however, not wise to always fold to aggression. Sometimes, you must play back with a strong hand. I generally decide before I sit down about how often I am willing to play back with a set, a straight draw or a flush draw. That number averages 25% with a 5% variance plus or minus. I wear a watch with a large sweep second hand and let the watch decide when to play back. If I never play back then I will be raised and driven out every time. By playing back a reasonable number of times I eliminate that possibility on later streets.

It is also good to look at the odds of hitting hands on the flop. The odds, for example, of being dealt 2 suited cards above a Ten are around 32:1 against while the odds of 3 suited cards of any rank are 18.3:1 against. That being said, the board no longer has the same power it had and playing against that board to see the turn may just buy you a free river card.

So betting on the flop, while in many cases, is rather standard, it is not impossible to bet creatively and take down the pot then and there. New conditions arise that require basic knowledge of odds for improving, pot odds or the price the pot is offering you to continue, and board texture all come into play.

POST COMMENT

Battery Change Peoples Ideas, Has Made A Test Driving in France Making Calendars Fit For All Seasons The Benefits Of A Craft Activity Kit What's the FDA Going to Say About Four Loko? The Duplicate Gray Water, Just How Can It Be Used? How to Prepare A Surface for Powder Coating 5 Reasons Why Ron Santo Belongs In The Hall Of Fame Seagate one TB Exterior Very difficult DRS How To Extend The Youthful Functions Of Your Skin 150 Years of Shock Best Way To Kiss