LESSON 3: PLAY ON THE FLOP

The flop changes the entire texture of the hand. What might have been a powerful 2-card hand pre-flop can be rendered nearly worthless by an unfavorable flop. Let's say you raised pre-flop from early position with



from early position, got 4 callers, and the flop came



Disaster: not only did you miss the flop entirely, but its texture is extremely dangerous. There are all sorts of straight and flush possibilities that can hurt you, and you should just check, and fold if one of your opponents bets.

Raising

Although you should be cautious when the flop misses you completely as in the example above, be aggressive when you flop a strong hand. In short, you want to get your money into the pot when you have what you think is the best hand, and charge your opponents for trying to draw out on you. Let's say you hold



in late position with 5 players seeing the flop, which comes



This is an outstanding flop for you: you have top pair and top kicker, and it's likely that you have the best hand. Note, however, that your hand is hardly invincible. Your opponents could easily be holding hands like Jack-nine, or King-Queen and you don't want to let them see another card cheaply. You need to bet here, and should even raise if someone bets ahead of you.

Slowplaying

Sometimes you flop a hand so strong that it's worth simply checking or calling instead of raising, in order to conceal the strength of your hand, and hammer your opponents on the turn and river when the bet size doubles. Let's say you hold



and the flop comes



Congratulations, you just flopped a monster hand, and unless somebody holds a pair of Kings, you will nearly always win this pot, so your primary concern should be how to get the most money into the middle. Against a field of many loose opponents, you should probably go ahead and bet, since they will likely call a bet with any pair. If you're lucky, someone might hold a hand like King-Queen, and raise you. But let's say there is just one other player in the hand, and you know she plays rather tightly and will likely fold if you bet (unless she holds a King). In that case, it's probably best to check the flop (feigning weakness), and allow her to see the turn for free in the hopes that it will improve her hand and give her a reason to call your bets on the turn and river.

Important: The key to a proper slowplay is only employing it when you aren't concerned that allowing your opponents to see the turn for free will give them a winning hand. Imagine that you again hold



but this time the flop comes



You once again have a set of 8s, but unlike in the previous example, your hand is very vulnerable to a multitude of draws. Opponents with hands like Jack-Queen, nine-seven, or any two spades would love to see the turn cheaply. Don't let them! Bet and raise this flop aggressively, ensuring that if your opponents want to try and draw out on you, it will cost them dearly.

Advanced Topic – The "Free Card" Raise

Earlier in this section, you learned that you need to bet and raise your strong hands on the flop to force out opponents' mediocre holdings that might improve to monsters on the turn. There is another situation in which raising from late position with a drawing hand can prove profitable. Let's say you hold the



on the button in your $2 / $4 game, and the flop comes



You have an open-ended straight draw, and any Ace or 9 gives you the strongest possible hand. There are 4 people to act ahead of you, and the first of the 4 bets. The following 3 all call. You are obviously happy to pay $2 to see the turn with your good draw, but consider the advantages of raising here, rather than simply calling.

Assuming the other 4 opponents all call your raise, it is likely that they will all check to you on the following betting round, reasoning that you have a very strong hand. If the turn brings an Ace or a 9, you're obviously happy to bet again, as you hold the "nuts". But if the turn is a card that doesn't help, you can happily just check behind all of your opponents and see the river for free, hoping for that elusive Ace or 9.

Notice that this betting sequence allowed you to see both the turn and the river for $4, whereas if you had simply called the $2 bet on the flop, you would likely have had to pay at least another $4 on the turn (assuming the same opponent who had bet the flop had led out with another bet on the turn).

The "free card" play can be very effective when used properly, and is relatively difficult to defend against, because when you are last to act you have a positional advantage on the entire field of opponents.

Next Lesson: Play on the Turn>>