Playing Beyond the Flop
Playing Beyond the Flop
Playing Beyond the Flop
In Texas Hold'em the flop is the moment that defines the rest of the hand. One of two things happen when the first three community cards are displayed. You will either miss the flop entirely and fold your hand or you will flop a hand that is worthy of continuing on. That's it. The flop defines your hand; ignoring the first three community cards is a dangerous road to ruin. Playing beyond the flop, however, does not always require the best hand possible. In fact, there are two types of hands that may be played profitably beyond the flop, made hands and strong draws.
Hand Requirements to Continue
Remember, you will either hit the flop or you won't. If you don't and you are in the hand for a small amount it is best to get out of the way. If you do, however, there are four flops which have value and are worthy of continuing.
You flopped the nuts, the best hand possible at that moment.
You flopped a draw to the nuts.
You flopped the probable best hand.
You flopped a draw to the probable best hand.
Condition 1: You Flopped the Nuts
Lets say your hand is AhKh and the flop comes JhQhTh. In this case you flopped the stone cold nuts and you better hope your opponents caught a flush or a draw to a heart flush so you might get some action. Or say you flopped AdAc7s. Your trips are the nuts at the moment but are subject to getting outdrawn. You have also flopped the nuts if any three hearts show up on the flop.
Condition 2: Flopping a Draw to the Nuts
Using the same hand, the AhKh, you flop QdTc6s. You have a draw to the nut straight. That draw is, however, a four-outer requiring a jack to make the straight. A stronger straight draw would be an up and down draw where you have a card at either end of the draw that will make your hand. But that is for condition 4.
Let's say your hand is the QdKd and the flop comes JdTd6s. Now any diamond makes your flush (an Ad makes the absolute nuts) so you have 9 outs plus any of the remaining 3 queens or 3 kings add 6 more outs for a total of 15 outs to this draw. This is a strong draw to the possible best hand and a draw to a possible best hand.
Condition 3 and 4: The Probable Best Hand or a Draw to the Probable Best
Here things begin to get a bit tricky. Just what is meant by the probable best hand? Well, there are nearly as many opinions about that as there are poker players. Also influencing your decision of what flops to play should be the nature of the table and the patterns of your opponents. Is the table tight or loose? Is your opponent tight or loose, passive or aggressive? Is the board highly textured or uncoordinated? What is your tolerance for risk? These factors constitute the heart of profitable or unprofitable decision making. For purposes of this discussion, I will provide some examples of highly textured flops and some hands that may accompany these boards and some uncoordinated boards and some hands that might accompany these boards. I am not going to discuss speculative hands such as Q8 offsuit or 89 suited.
The Flop is AJ7 Rainbow
You hold AA. You have flopped a set, normally a very strong hand. It is most likely the best hand at this moment but there are some problems here. Someone holding a QK or KT or QT has flopped the nut straight draw. If a K, Q, or T show up on the turn some caution bells should go off in your head.
Your hand is QQ. The ace is the worst possible overcard in this case. Fold to anything but a C-bet and then just call. You are probably beaten here but one more card may just hit your hand and make you the best. If there are more than two players ahead of you in the pot make the big laydown and get rid of these trouble queens.
You hold AK offsuit. Good news here, you flopped top pair with top kicker. This hand is likely good but does not play well against more than one opponent. Remember that playing with a single ace is no big deal, even when that ace pairs. With this board, there are straight possibilities that beat you, JJ or 77 have you crushed at the moment. You are no good against a loose player playing J7. Get out of the way if you the hand is played with more than one opponent.
The Flop is A94 Rainbow
Unlike the example above where there are potential straight draws making the board textured, there are no obvious straight or flush combinations on this board making the board uncoordinated.
You hold AK. This is good news. Your hand is likely the best hand at the moment. You must be wary of someone holding a mid pair like 99 or even a small pair like 44. Also, someone from the blinds may have played something like 94 which would be a problem as well. Your AK plays well against 1 or 2 opponents but quickly looses value against 3 or more opponents.
Your hand is AA. You are likely to hold the best hand here. Play for a large pot.
Your hand is KK. With the exception of someone holding an Ax in their hand, you have a very strong hand. Because your hand may be beaten by the Ax or 99 or 44 or ever A9, A4 or 94 you should play this pot with a degree of caution. Your hand plays well against 1 opponent. Two or more opponents and a big laydown is something to think about.
You hold 88. The two overcards are dangerous. Your only real hope is spiking an 8 on the turn. Fold if there is a bet, even a C-bet before you. This hand is a disaster.
A Post-Flop Decision Checklist
If you hold a strong draw like AK and you flop a pair (either one will do) giving you top pair and top kicker, bet out 75% of the time and check-raise the other 25% of the time. Remember that mixing up your play makes you harder to read.
If you hold two overcards to the flop but no pair and no draw check and fold if challenged unless you have a strong read on your opponent and when you sense weakness just call.
Resist the temptation to just call when you have made a big hand. Raises are in order here. By the same token, resist the temptation to call when you probably should fold. Mistakes post flop are generally more expensive than pre-flop.
When you are about to call ask yourself if folding or raising wouldn't be a better option in this case. In short, make sure that calling is not an extension of your ego.
When truly undecided about how to play your hand post-flop the best option is generally the conservative one. Fold when the pot is small and you are not getting the right price to call and raise when the pot is large and you are getting the right price to call.
If you completely miss the flop and you were the pre-flop raiser, resist the temptation to C-bet against 3 or more players. Develop the discipline to check and fold even with big cards because it is the right thing to do.
If you were check-raised on the flop give up all but the monsters unless you are heads-up. Strong draws and probable best hands play better against one player and do poorly in multi-way pots.
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