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| How to Win at Poker: Strategy
These pages are a guide to Poker Strategy. The topics covered are: Game Selection, Starting Hands, The Flop, The Turn, The River, Top Pair, Middle Pair, Bottom Pair, Seat Position, Reading the Board, Bluffing, Odds, Pot Odds, Understanding your Style, Assessing your Game, and Tournaments. | |||||
Playing the FlopThe flop, the first three community cards in Hold`em, are where some of the most important decisions in the hand are made. After the flop, you know what 70 percent of your hand could possibly be, and your opponents know the same about their hands. How you play on the flop is especially critical in No Limit Hold`em, because a bet or call on the flop may commit you to a much bigger bet on the turn or river, possibly even all your chips. How should you play the flop in a No Limit Hold`em game?If you have raised before the flop and no one bets the flop before you, it is probably a good idea to put in a “continuation” bet, generally of about half the pot, just to see where you are. This is true even if your hand missed the flop. Some exceptions would be if the board is very threatening to your hand, such as three of a suit, or two over cards to your pair (if you have one). If you connected with the flop, you need to decide whether you should put in a big bet to discourage callers, or a smaller bet (or no bet) to keep others in the game. This largely depends on the kind of hand you made. If you flopped top pair, or if you have an over pair to the board, you usually want to bet big enough to get out possible flush and straight draws. A bet the size of the pot will usually do it. If you flopped a straight or flush, you should probably bet less and encourage your opponents to put money in with the second-best hand. Since you have the luxury of varying your bet sizes in No Limit Hold’ em, your goal is to make it mathematically incorrect enough so that when they call you it will be negative expectation for them to do so, but close enough that they will be tempted to do it anyway. If you bet the flop and are raised, you are probably facing either a very strong hand or a very strong draw. You need to decide if your hand is good enough to go all the way with, as you are likely to be put to a decision for all of your poker chips somewhere in the hand. Be sure to vary your bets. If you always bet half the pot when you miss and the whole pot when you hit, wary opponents will quickly catch on and outplay you every time. If the flop gives you a flush or a straight draw, you need to decide if it will pay for you to continue with the hand. If someone bets into you, you have three choices. You can release the hand, flat call, or semi-bluff, re-raising in the hopes that either they will fold, or they will call and you will make your flush or straight and win a big pot. Which you do will depend on a number of factors including the size of the pot you will win if you make your flush or straight, and the likelihood that the bettor will fold to a re-raise. Due to the complexities added to No Limit Hold`em by virtue of its betting structure, there is no hard and fast way to play the flop. It is very important to study your opponents and understand how they act and bet when they are strong as opposed to when they are weak, in order to help you make good decisions on the flop. | |||||
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