ONLINE POKER TOP10 Beginner’s Tips Fixed Limit Holdem – Part II - Betting The Flop

Betting The Flop

The first betting round happens before the flop. Assuming you are playing hands according to the rules of what constitutes a premium, strong, or mediocre, etc., hand, the way you play these hands in what position is very important. If you have one of the hands you should be playing, now what do you do after you see the first three community cards (the flop)?

After the Flop is when the second round of betting takes place, this is where you should fold weak hands and only bet with strong hands that have the potential to win. While this may sound logistically simple, this is the phase where players lose the most money by making the wrong decisions.

The first mistake many players make is trying to trick or trap their opponents by disguising and not betting their strong hands. When they do this, they cost themselves money by not betting and building the pot and also giving their opponents a free draw to beat them. Yes, you may make more by check-raising, but if the other players don’t bet, you have failed to maximize the value of your hand and making the pot bigger. It is better to bet your strong hand and hope your opponents will raise, so you can then reraise.

Next are the players who stay in with a weak hand. These ‘calling stations’ virtually call away stacks of chips just hoping to get lucky and win the pot. Then there are the players who bluff too much and get caught. Remember, especially when playing low-limit poker, it is extremely hard to run a successful bluff because your opponents will often call with weak hands.

Let’s explore how to play your hands on the flop.

When you have two-pair or better, generally you should bet and raise at every opportunity. The exceptions are if there is flush or straight on the board, in this case your two pair may need to improve to win the pot. A lot of raising action could mean you are up against a set (three of a kind) or another hand better than yours. If there are no possibilities however that could beat you, then by all means bet and raise all you can. An example would be if you hold A-A and the flop is A-A-7 then there is no hand that can beat yours; you have a monster also known as the nuts (best possible hand).

What do you do when you have top pair or an over pair? Bet or raise just once, if another player raises however, you should just call.

How do you play a monster draw?

A monster draw is any strong hand that 15 community cards will complete it. A good example is a draw to a flush/straight/straight flush while you already hold top pair. With so many ways to improve your hand, there is an excellent chance that you will hit one of your draws and win. When you have such a draw, you should bet and raise as often as you can unless you think your opponent has a better hand already made; in which case you should only raise once, and then call until you make your hand.

How do you play a strong draw?

Strong draws are: Flushes, Open-ended Straights, and Double gut-shot straight draws. Although they are not as strong as monster draws, these draws are good enough that you should play them aggressively so they will bring you the most profit if you hit them. Therefore when you have one of these draws, you should bet and/or raise once, then if another player raises, you should just call.

Weak draws include Gutshots, Overcards and medium pocket pairs. These are generally hands not worth playing, but there are exceptions due to the fact that combined, they make a strong draw. If you have one of these draws and you raise before the flop, you should bet the flop when you have no more than two opponents with the goal of getting them to fold. If your opponent bets or raises, you should call only when the pot is at least 10 times the amount you will put in to call.  If your hand is a combination of a Gutshot with Overcards, you should play it like a Flush draw or an Open-ended Straight Draw - bet or raise once, if there is a raise after you, just call.

Now that we have examined the worthier cards and draws, we will look at the worthless or trash hands.

Many times on the flop you will have a worthless hand, no matter how good your hole cards were to start with. When this happens and you find yourself with no pair and no draw, your decision should be a simple one – fold. But what if you raised before the flop and are now against two opponents? Then you should bet just once to bluff and try to get the opponents to fold, in the hopes that they don’t have a winning draw either. If another player bets or raises before you however, then you should always fold.
In summary the principle of betting on the flop is simple; when you decide to play a hand, be aggressive and apply pressure with strong hands and fold the weak ones.