Playing The Flop in Online NL Texas Holdem Poker: Actions and Reactions
players consider the turn to be a more important round of betting since it is more expensive, but it is often the mistakes you make on the flop that create further
mistakes on the turn and river. For example, if you make a weak draw on the flop and hit it on the turn only to lose to a better hand, it was probably a mistake on the
flop that led you to lose several bets. Lets look at the most important considerations you should evaluate on every flop.
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• The strength of your hand - How strong is your hand? Does it need to be protected? Can you slowplay? If you are drawing, how strong of a draw do you have?
• The type of flop - How strong is your hand relative to each type of flop? In general, the following types of flops are dangerous unless they give you a very strong hand: all high cards, a high or low pair, three-suited, and threeconnected. Two-suited flops or two related high cards also present dangers that require you to fold most of your weak draws.
• Number of opponents - The more opponents you are against, the higher the chance an opponent has a strong hand. Against three or more opponents, you should normally assume that an opponent has a strong hand if they bet; therefore, against multiple opponents you need to limit your play to either strong hands or strong draws (unless the pot is very large, in which case you might be able to call with weak draws). You can consider bluffs and semibluffs against one or two opponents since there is a chance that no one has been helped on the flop. Bluffs against three opponents rarely work and are not recommended against four opponents.
• Possible hands of opponents - You should try to determine the possible hands of your opponents based on their positions, the preflop betting, and the betting so far on the flop. Once you have an understanding of their possible holdings you can determine the relative strength of your own hand. Remember, the more players there are in the pot the more likely it is that someone has a strong hand such as a set or two pair. One important consideration when you are drawing is to evaluate the possibility that your draw is counterfeited. When you draw and hit your hand you want to win!
• The pot size - The size of the pot can have a big impact on the strategy you choose. When you have a very strong hand, you can .sometimes slowplay when the pot is small, but should play it strongly when the pot is large. The pot size may dictate how you try to protect a vulnerable hand. Larger pots give you better pot odds to make more draws than small pots. Always be aware of the size of the pot when making decisions.
• Cost/Potential cost of bet - Paying two bets can decrease your pot odds a lot. Always evaluate your position relative to the remaining players in the pot.
Many times you need to fold hands that you would otherwise call when there is the possibility of a raise behind you. For example, when an early position player bets and you must act with a gut-shot draw, you should usually fold if there are many players behind you who could raise. With every flop, you should go through some basic thought processes. First, evaluate the type of flop and then the strength of your hand relative to that flop. Next, compare your hand to the possible hands of your opponents. Finally, determine your best strategy based on the pot odds you are receiving. On the Internet you have about 20 seconds to evaluate all this information and make your decision!
Let’s look at some examples to show how top pair can cither be a strong hand or very weak depending on the type of flop. Notice how A♦ T♣ changes in value
depending on the flop. T♦ 5♥ 2♣. This is a very good flop for A♦ T♣. You have top pair with the best kicker. There are no flush or straight draws available to your opponents. T♦ 5♥ 2♥. This is a good flop also, but now you could be against a flush draw. T♦ 5♥ 5♣. Whenever a pair comes on the flop and you don’t have trips or a full house, you should proceed with caution. The risk is dependent on the number and position of the callers. If you are against a strong early position player, a T55 flop should not be too dangerous. If there are five callers in the pot including the two blinds, then a T55 flop would greatly diminish the value of your top pair.
-T♦ 9♥ 9♣. This flop also has a pair but now there are even more problems. The pair is relatively high, so it is more likely that a player would be holding a 9 than a 5.
Many players will play J9, T9, Q9s, etc., whereas they generally fold hands with 5. The flop is also two-connected, so you could be against a straight draw.
-T♥ 9♥ 9♣. Add a flush draw to this very dangerous flop. T♦ 9♥ 8♣. Another very dangerous flop. You could already be against a straight or at least a good straight draw. Hands such as KJ, AJ, KQ, and QJ are all dangerous hands to your pair. You should probably fold if you are against several opponents and one or two of them are showing a lot of aggression. T♥ 9♥ 8♣. Add a flush draw to make this flop even more dangerous. T♥ 9♥ 8♥. Can it be any worse? You have top pair but must worry about flushes, straights, and overcards. If you are not already beat and drawing dead, any heart, K, Q, J, 9, 8, 7, or 6 could be bad news.
Let’s look now at the main types of flops and the qualities and considerations of each, The purpose of this introduction to flop types is to help begin the thought processes that you should go through with each type of flop. Some of these flop types can be intertwined. For example, a flop with a high pair and a rag could also be two-suited, but these are discussed separately.
The main types of flops are as follows:
• Three of a Kind
• High Pair
• Low Pair
• Two-Suited
• Three-Suited
• Two-Connected
• Three-Connected
• All High Cards
• Rainbow with One High Card
• Rainbow of All Rags
Three of a Kind
Three of a kind flops like JJJ occur only once every 425 hands. If you are lucky enough to hold four of a kind, you should probably slowplay, although you could
play aggressively if you believe an opponent will give you good action with a high pocket pair. Pocket pairs are very strong hands since four of a kind is an unlikely
holding from one of your opponents. Obviously the higher your pair the better, and you must protect your medium and small pairs from overcards. In a heads-up
situation, another playable hand would be ace high, unless there was a preflop raise by an opponent with a possible pocket pair.
High Pair
A flop with a high pair such as QQT or JJ6 is always dangerous since many players play high cards. You need a full house or trips to feel comfortable with your hand. In most cases, when the flop is bet and called by a second player, you are usually beat if you do not hold trips or better. High pocket pairs are decent holdings if you feel that the risk of an opponent holding trips is low, This is mainly dependent on the number of players in the hand Against one opponent, a strong pocket pair usually is a good hand, but with four or five players seeing the flop you must play cautiously. Flush and straight draws drop significantly in value with a pair on the flop. It’s possible that you are drawing dead if an opponent already has a full house. For example, if you hold KJ with a QTT flop, you are drawing dead if an opponent holds QQ, TT, or QT. Also note that your straight draw only has four outs if an opponent holds AT or T9. Another problem with these flops is that even when you hit your draw on the turn, an opponent with trips has ten outs to beat you on the river. For these reasons, be careful playing flush and straight draws on the flop when there is a high pair. The exceptions are when you are relatively confident that an opponent doesn’t hold trips or you are getting exceptionally good pot odds.
Low Pair
Compare QTT with a flop of Q55. Most good players will not play a hand with a 5 unless they were able to see the flop cheaply from late position or the blinds. If the pot was raised preflop and there are not many opponents, you usually can worry less about a low pair on the flop. Conversely, if the blinds are playing or there are many players in the pot, proceed with caution as indicated in the high pair section.
Two-Suited
One of the first things you should always look for on the flop is whether or not it is two-suited. You can always play flush draws when there is no pair and there are at least two callers. In heads-tip situations, your draw is also almost always worth playing unless the pot is small and you are sure your opponent has a pair higher than the two cards in your hand. If you don’t have a flush draw, you must worry about other players having a draw. If there are several players who call a bet with a two-suited flop, it is almost guaranteed that at least one opponent has a flush draw. All hands go down in value against two-suited flops. This means that borderline hands with a rainbow flop should often be folded with a two-suited flop. Your stronger holdings such as top pair are usually still good hands, but you may need to fold if a third suited card comes on the turn or river. Overcards drop significantly in value with a two-suited flop. If you hold an ace or king of the same suit as the two-suited flop, you have a backdoor flush draw, which adds a little extra to your hand. In big pots against several players, the addition of a backdoor flush draw to an otherwise mediocre hand may make your hand playable. For example, middle pair with an overcard might become playable if you have a backdoor flush draw also and the pot is very large.
Three-Suited
Three-suited flops occur about 5% of the time. If you flop the nut flush, you can consider slowplaying the hand. Generally you should play flushes that aren’t the nuts strongly, since you need to protect your hand and can expect to get good action from players on draws. If you have a flush draw with one of the top two available suited cards, you can always play the hand to the river. Usually fold draws to the third or fourth highest suited card unless your hand has other possibilities, If you have a set, you can play it strongly if you feel nobody has the flush; otherwise, you still can play to the river drawing to a full house. All other hands should be played with caution. Straights are still playable in most cases. Straight draws are practically worthless unless your hand has other possibilities and you feel nobody has a flush. Middle or bottom pair should be thrown away in almost all circumstances. Top pair and overpairs should sometimes be played conservatively until the turn card, especially against several opponents. Overcards should almost never be played unless you have a good flush draw with your hand.
Two-Connected
An open-ended straight draw is a strong hand with rainbow flops. These draws become even stronger if you have overcards also. For example, Q♦ J♥ is a very strong hand with a flop of T♥ 9♠ 5♣. The only time you might consider folding an open-ended straight draw with a rainbow unpaired flop is when you are heads up, the pot is small, and you are sure your opponents have a pair higher than your two cards. If you don’t have a draw, you need to be worried that your opponents do, especially if the two connected cards are high cards. For example, if the flop has KQ, QJ, JT, T9, 98, or 87, there is a good chance your opponents have some type of draw or good hand (a common betting pattern for them is to play aggressively instantly although they did not raise preflop, this should raise questions). Since many players like to play connected cards, two pair is also a possibility. Two overcards increase in value when they give you a gut-shot straight opportunity.
Three-Connected
Three-connected flops are similar to three-suited flops and become very dangerous if they are two-suited also. Flopping the nut straight is not nearly as strong as
flopping the nut flush. First of all, someone could draw to a flush and beat you. Secondly, your straight could lose to a higher straight or may have to split the pot.
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Straights should almost always be played strongly and never slowplayed. If you are on a draw, be sure you are drawing to the high end. For example, holding
A6 on a 987 flop is not a very strong hand, as a ten will give you a straight but could give someone else a higher straight. AT is a much better hand, as a jack or 6 gives you the straight and you could only lose to specifically QT. Top pair and overpairs should be played with caution as you could already be against a straight or two pair. Any pair less than top pair should almost always be folded, unless your kicker gives you other possibilities. An over-pair with a straight draw is a strong holding as it minimizes the probability that someone has a straight or can draw to a straight. These hands are strong because you have several outs if
you are against two pair. For example, JJ or TT would be a strong holding with a 987 flop. If an opponent has two pair such as 98, any jack, ten, 7, or 6 gives you the winner. When the flop is two-suited as well, top pair and overpairs are weak hands unless you also have a draw. AA might be thrown away in this case against a couple of callers on the flop. Two overcards with a gut-shot draw can be played in some circumstances if they give you the nut straight. For example, QJ with a 987 flop is a decent drawing hand.
All High Cards
You need a strong hand to play a flop of all high cards such as AQ9, KQT, KJ9, or AT9. Drawing to weak hands is risky since an opponent could hold two pair or
possibly even a straight with these types of flops. A two-suited flop complicates the hand even further. Generally you need at least top pair with a good kicker or some type of straight draw to play your hand. The same principle applies when there are two high cards, although obviously this is not quite as dangerous.
Rainbow with One High Card
These types of flops generally do not help very many players, so the field is usually limited very quickly. Examples include K76, A82, and J54. These are good types of flops to try bluffs, especially when the flop is a rainbow. Top pair with a good kicker is a strong hand, as you do not need to worry about straight or flush draws. When you have at least a pair of kings or better, you are not too worried about giving free cards, so a check-raise can be a good strategy. Pairs less than kings should usually be protected since they are more vulnerable to free cards. Overcards can sometimes be played with these types of flops since there is less
risk that you are drawing dead.
Rainbow of All Rags
A rainbow flop of all rags, such as 8♠ 6♣ 4♦, 6♦ 5♠ 2♥ or 9♥ 6♣ 3♦ usually does not help anyone, unless they have hit a set or catch a decent hand playing out of the blinds. Sets or two pair are very strong hands with these types of flops. Limpers might flop a set, but this usually is not a concern against a preflop raiser. Overpairs should be played strongly to attempt to drive out your opponents. Overcards can sometimes be played depending on the situation and action.
A common situation is getting a free look out of the blinds and then flopping a small pair. For example, you hold 68 in the big blind and the flop comes 852.
Unfortunately, you must act first on every betting round. Your options with these types of flops are to bet out, check and fold, or check and hope a late bettor will
allow you to check-raise to try and minimize the field. Tend to bet out against one or two opponents and check against several opponents. If an opponent shows a lot of strength, then you should probably fold or possibly call a raise to see one more card.
