Most of your important decisions in Texas Holdem poker take place on the flop. That’s why the ability to analyze the flop is essential for your long term results in Texas holdem poker.
You will not get anywhere in Texas holdem if you aren’t able to read the flop properly. Reading the flop means knowing what hands it makes possible, knowing what your own possibilities are as well as your opponents’. You must also understand how the texture of the flop influences the game, that is, how threatening the flop is – to you as well to your opponents.
There are a number of patterns you need to be looking for on each and every flop. They may show up alone or in combinations. Each of those patterns, or structures, gives rise to a certain type of post flop play, all of which you must learn to master.
Let’s walk through those patterns one at a time.
Possible straights
If there are three cards with two gaps or less between them, someone may have a ready-made straight. For example, if the flop comes 9-8-5, T-9-8, or 3-2-A.
Of course, the chance that someone actually has a made straight depends on what precise cards arte required. Q-J-T makes a lot more straights than 7-5-3, since it’s much more likely that someone who has stayed in to see a flop has A-K, K-9 or 9-8 than 6-4 in the hand. Hands like 6-4 are very often thrown away preflop.
This kind of board is pretty infrequent though, and if it’s you who have the straight, you typically won’t get a lot of action from the opponents, since the straight is so obvious and the pot is usually relatively small at this stage.
Possible flush
If all three cards are of the same suit, someone might have a made flush. Just like with the straights above, this doesn’t happen often, and if you have a flush here you often won’t get paid a lot, unless an opponent has another flush that is lower than yours. Which is really rare.
When you flop a made straight of flush, you may be tempted to slow play it in order to entice a bet from another player rather than scaring everyone off. That might be okay, but don’t overdo it. Your hand is never the absolute nuts, there are always cards that may come on the board that will look really bad for your hand.
For example, if the board pairs, your flush may not be good anymore, or if you have a straight and the board flushes.
Pairs on board
With a pair on the board, a lot of dangerous hands become possible: quads and full houses as well as trips and two pair. Once the board is paired, the value of straights and flushes go down, the value of straight draws and flush draws too.
If you get a lot of action on a paired board, you must be able to lay down for example a flush. At the same time, a paired board is a good bluff opportunity, both for you and your opponent. So don’t fold your flush automatically. Think it through!
Also remember that when a pair is on the board, hands like three of a kind and two pair are much weaker than if the board is un-paired. You may be up against one of those super strong hands just mentioned, or else someone may simply have the same trips with a better kicker.
Straight draws
If two board cards are within two gaps or closer, someone may have flopped a straight draw. This means that if you have a made hand, like two pair or trips, you’ll need to protect your hand. Meaning, you have to bet properly to put any drawing hands to the test.
This doesn’t mean that you should bet twice the pot or even move all in, that may be a bit over-protective. Just make a well sized bet so you don’t give away free cards to the drawing hands. Then, if a card arrives that could have filled someone’s straight, then you need to decide if it’s actually the case or not. It’s not easy to separate made hands from bluffs – but that’s poker.
Flush draws
Flush draws are possible as soon as there are two cards of the same suit at the board. Just as with straight draws, a made hand needs protection through a decent bet.
If you flopped a flush draw yourself, you should be aware that there are usually nine cards in the deck that will make it for you, which means you have odds 4-1 on the next street and 2-1 if you get to see two more cards.
Also realize that if you make a flush on a later street, you’ll often not get paid very much since the flush is pretty obvious. People notice when there are three hearts on the board, and they typically won’t give you much action. Unless they happen to have a strong hand, like a lower flush.
Straights are often much harder to see. Imagine a flop of A-8-4. You bet out with A-K and get one caller. The turn comes a 6. The pot is getting bigger, and you want it. You bet and the opponent re-raises. Would you really put him on 7-5? It’s pretty hard to believe. Also, players often may not even notice that a straight has become possible.
If a player draws to a straight and a flush simultaneously, there may be as much as 15 cards that fill at least one of those hands.
Of course, both potential straights and potential flushes give players opportunities to bluff. If you consider drawing to a flush, check if a straight draw is also possible, in which case you have a second way out if you don’t make your flush: representing the straight.
High cards or low cards
If the pot comes with one, two or three high cards, chances are that someone has made a connection to his or her hand. At the flop, high cards are much more likely than low cards in players’ hands, since people tend to fold hands with low cards preflop.
This kind of flop leads to a lot of action, and you have to be well aware of your chances as well as the dangers involved. Fasten your seat belt!
High cards also present you with some bluff potential, since they look scary to the other guy. Of course, this is a sword that cuts both ways.
On the other hand, if the flop holds low cards only, it’s very possible that it missed all players. If you raised preflop with a high pair, you’re probably still good after a low flop, even if it actually missed you as well. You can play your overpair strongly here.
On the other hand, the fact that it’s hard to lay down premium starting hands against low boards has given rise to a whole new strategy concept – set mining. This consists of taking flops with low pairs and hoping to hit a set. Then the idea is that your opponent who’s playing a strong starting hand will pay you off big time even though he missed the flop, since he can’t get away from his premium hand and the low board looks innocuous.
For set mining to show long time profitability, a few requirements must be in place. The opponent must have a strong hand. For example, a raise in early position from a tight opponent is a good signal of strength. Also, both you and the opponent must have big stacks, so you can win really big when you hit your set – to compensate for all the times when you miss (7 out of 8 times).
Combining the board and your hand
As a last step in the Texas holdem flop analysis, you should compare the board to your own hand. This can led you to some pretty strong conclusions.
For example, if the flop comes Q-J-6 and you have a pair of tens, the risk for straight draws is much decreased, since you hold half the tens need to form a straight. You have straight blockers.
Or if a player raises preflop, you have an ace in your hand and the flop comes A-A-5, it’s suddenly quite unlikely that the opponent has an ace – there’s only one ace left unseen.
Once you have learned to read the board, this kind of combined analysis is the next step to perfection in texas holdem.
If another poker player is going to give you free information as to what they might be holding, you’d be a fool not to take it. This is what tells are all about. If you notice your opponent doing any of -the following, it’s likely something you can use to either win a pot or avoid losing to a huge hand.
Shaky Hands
This is probably the most famous of all tells because every movie or TV show that has an episode featuring a poker game uses it. If you notice a player’s hands shaking after looking down at his cards or after the flop hits, they likely have a monster. Unless you’re holding the nuts yourself, you should likely fold whenever you see your opponent’s hand flopping around. If you’re a hand shaker you need to either get yourself under control or train yourself to do the same shakes when you’re bluffing.
The Speech
Using “The Speech” is all about being a good actor. Here’s an example of what poker pros refer to as “The Speech”. We were playing a home game the other night when one player glanced at his cards, declared that he needed a break and shoved all his chips into the middle. I threw my low pair into the muck, but another player decided he would call. The speech-giver flipped over A-K suited, which gave him two pair on the board with only the river to come. he went on to win the hand proving his speech was total crap. Whenever a player uses “The Speech”, they’re almost always full of it and have a big hand.
Betting Trends
Many bad players give away the strength or weakness of their hands by the way they bet. Picking up on this betting trend requires a good memory, but it’s well worth it. One trend I picked up from a fellow player made it easy to identify his buffs. Whenever he had a good hand, he would put in a large bet or raise about three or four times the big blind. However, almost every time he attempted a bluff or a pot steal, his bets would be gigantic, always more than give times the big blind. Picking up on these betting trends will help you cripple players who fall into these habits.
Chip Glances
When the cards are being dealt or the flop is being laid out, don’t look at the cards, look at your opponent. Specifically, watch where their eyes go. If your opponent immediately glances down at their chips, that usually means they have a hand and they’re thinking about how much to bet. If you catch a player studying your chip stack, that also means they’ve probably got a big hand tucked away. When they’re checking out your stack, they’re usually trying to determine how much of it they can take with their monster hand.
Questions
Don’t be fooled by players that appear clueless and ask what the bet is or if it’s their turn to wager. Unless they truly are distracted by something, this could be an act to make themselves look dumb and vulnerable to a big bet. This is just another fake-out by your opponents, so don’t fall for it.
Chip Toss or Chip Slide
The way a poker player puts their chips into the pot can give away how good or bad their hand is. If a player casually tosses their chips into the pot, they’re likely trying to hide the fact that they’re holding a monster hand. If they forcefully push their chips into the middle, this tends to be a sign of weakness. The aggressive push is an act to try and compensate for their junk hand.
Slow playing has been called trapping or sandbagging. It’s the act of not betting a big hand to scare off your opponents. You want them to catch up and build a hand, which they’ll be willing to call a bet with, or will be willing to make a bet of their own that you can later raise.
Monster hands rarely get a lot of action, so this is done to mislead your opponents and make them think you have nothing. Slow playing usually means checking the flop and the turn, and then making your move on the river after other possible hands could have been built.
It’s a common practice, but many players don’t know when the time is right to slow play a hand. If you slow play the wrong hands, it can backfire on you and end up costing you dearly when a player draws out an unlikely hand because you didn’t bet.
Here is a look at three different situations and how best to play each. The situations are specific, but it’s the process of recognizing your hand’s possible vulnerability that is important.
1. You have Ad, Jc and the flop is Ah, 9h, Js.
Many would think that having top two pair would be a good time to slow play your big hand. However, the flop presents a couple of dangers. First, there is a possible flush draw out there, and although somewhat unlikely, a possible straight draw as well. You do have four outs to a full house, but this hand is vulnerable. Against a hand like 10h, 8h, it is only a 52% chance to win, and 52% is not a time to be slow playing a hand. Try to save your slow play situations for 80% or better.
2. You have a hand like 6h, 6d and the flop is K, Q, 6.
It may also appear to be a slow-play situation. This is also a bit vulnerable because we know that players play big cards. The straight draw is a real possibility, especially if someone raised pre-flop. You have to worry about less cards, and you have more outs to full house, but if you do slow play this hand, you had better be ready to muck it if a 10, J, 9 or A come off on the turn or river. It’s best to get this hand over after the flop if possible and try to escape any beat that might be coming your way.
3. You have A, A and the flop is A, 7, 2 rainbow.
The best slow-play situations are where it’s unlikely to be out drawn. You have the nut hand and there are no possible draws, so slow playing the flop would be the best move. If the turn is a card that creates draws, which it usually is, a bet should be your next play. If you make a full house on the turn, then you can continue your slow play to the river. Keep yourself in a safe position ahead of possible draws and this play will be profitable most times you employ it.
Slow playing is one of the easier strategies to learn in poker. It’s a profitable move because you usually have a monster when you employ it. If done correctly, it can certainly help you collect a few extra chips that you would not have collected if you bet your big hand earlier on in the hand.
Keep your slow-play spots for situations where you have at least 80% to win or it can be the wrong move, especially in multi-player hands.
Semi-bluffing is one of the first steps that new poker players take after realizing they need to stop being calling machines and employ some creativity in there game. properly working these opportunities could be the difference between a good session and a great session. not every table is right for profitable semi-bluffing, but when you find one that is, it can pay at a much higher rate than the expected one or two big bets per hour.
The concept of the semi-bluff is simple. Instead of calling a bet and hoping for a card to come because you have outs, you bluff at the pot instead. It’s called semi-bluff because you still have outs to win the hand, but currently have nothing or very little.
This play has three advantages. By betting, you often pick up a pot because no one else has hit the flop. Secondly, you often control the size of the bet by betting out because players (especially the one currently in the lead) will be fearful of the bet and will usually just call, allowing you a cheaper draw than the current leader may have bet. And finally, you mask what your hand is by betting on a draw. If that draw hits, you’re in position for a big payoff from an opponent who has been letting you bet into their lead because it will be difficult for that player to put you on your hand.
Semi-bluffing would include betting out flush and straight draws, as well as betting second pair and even two over cards, if there were no previous bets. This aggressive method is only profitable if the players at the table react the way you want them to.
It’s required that you know your opponents and that you create the illusion that you are a tight player. You do this by only showing good cards at showdown. If you can establish yourself as a tight player, tight opponents will fold to your bet.
Once you start to bet your draws and small pairs, your opponents will stay away and you will pick up lots of small pots. This can go on as long as your opponents allow it.
Remember, never show any of these rag hands you’re winning with, just because you’re getting everyone to fold. You will still continue to get good starting hands that will pay you at showdown, make sure these are the hands everyone gets to see. It’s important to maintain the illusion of a tight player to maximize your semi-bluffing opportunities.
The best semi-bluff situations are when the flop has come off in a manner that would not help a hand of big cards. Most players that see a flop are playing big cards. Let’s say you decided to play 8, 9 and a flop like 7, 2, 4 comes off. This is often a good situation to bet because your opponents are likely to be on two over cards. Depending on the size of your bet, you can force the other players off the pot, or if you do get called, you could hit your straight for a big payoff.
The semi-bluff is the grinder’s meat and potatoes. It’s a tactic used by most players of quality to some degree. Employ it in your game and you’ll see how it can pay off in a big way.
Make your bets big enough to fold to with over cards, and small enough not to break you if you do run into a monster and have to fold to a raise. Don’t be afraid to force the action when you can.
The average poker player gets together with his poker buddies once or twice a month and maybe plays a bit online. They treat poker like a game of pool or darts, and they think they’re good players, but they never take any steps to improve. Anyone can bet top pair and suffer beats, but if you want to be able to dominate your home game or become a winning player online or at the casino, you have to educate yourself and learn the advanced strategies of the game. There is plenty to learn about poker, and it takes years of play and reading before a person has an understanding of how to best play in most poker settings. Here are the most important advanced strategies to learn.
The first thing to do is to start to document your play. You can’t clean up your game without knowing exactly where your play is. You have to find out how much you’re losing and where and why you’re losing it. Documented poker histories show you where the leaks in your game are, allowing you to correct faults in your play over time until you’re playing the optimum way possible in every table situation. You can get stats of all your hand histories from online poker rooms, and you should track all your buy-ins and cash outs. Weak player lists can also come in handy.
You should also be learning about pot odds and practicing the hand percentages as you play. You should be trying to learn how to limit your gambling situations to where you have a favorable percentage of winning. And you should be learning about getting percentages on your stack size versus another in a tournament game. The mathematics of poker is something that every player can learn and implement. This adds consistency to your game and will improve your long-term results.
Recognizing better patters is another advanced poker strategy. This is how good players learn to put opponents on hands. Understanding how typical hands are played, especially from opponents who repeat their habits often, is the method that good players use to figure out what opponents are holding. It’s about taking the time to run through the entire hand so you can dissect what each action was on each street, in order to put them on a type of hand that would make the most sense. It’s also the best method for sniffing out a bluff that an opponent might be attempting.
The next level of poker playing also requires an understanding of bankroll management. If you’re serious about playing poker, you should be playing at the proper limits for the money you have. you should be playing in games where you have at least two hundred times the big blind, and tournament buy-ins shouldn’t exceed 15% of your total playing roll. Otherwise you put yourself into a situation where you can easily go broke from a bad run of cards. And being out of the game is not the way to get better.
There is plenty of literature available on how to get better at poker. Buy some books and learn the next levels of play. Study pot charts and practice putting other players on hands by the way they bet on each street. Learn to manage your money so you can stay in the game and keep records of all this so you can see where you make your mistakes as you play. If you can put all that together, success at poker will be part of your reality.
What type of poker player are you? What type of poker player are your opponents? If you can’t answer those two questions, you’re missing a key component of your game. Poker players are generally classified by two attributes – tight or loose and aggressive or passive. These combine to create the four main player types:
- Tight-Aggressive
- Tight-Passive
- Loose-Aggressive
- Lose-Passive
Most successful poker players fall into the Tight-Aggressive category. That is not to say that all successful players are Tight-Aggressive, because that is definitely not true. A Tight-Aggressive player will usually only see a flop with a solid hand. That is what makes them tight. When they do latch onto a good hand, they will bet very aggressively. Because they are tight, they do not bluff very often, and when they do bet, they should be taken very seriously.
A Tight-Passive player is sometimes labeled as a scared player. These players tend to only play very good hands, and they will only raise when they have a strong hand. Since they are not risk takers, these players are better suited for limit games than no-limit games. If a Tight-Passive player makes or calls a raise, you’ll usually want to get out of their way unless you’re holding a big hand.
A Loose-Aggressive player is sometimes referred to as a maniac because they will play almost any hand and bet and raise even when they have nothing. These players are outrageous bluffers, which makes it difficult to gauge when they are actually holding a strong hand and when they are making a bluff with nothing. Playing against Loose-Aggressive layers can be extremely frustrating and it can take extreme patience to take all of their chips.
A Loose-Passive players is also referred to as a “calling station” in poker slang. These players will call almost any bet with any cards, but they seldom raise or fold after seeing the flop. These players are almost impossible to bluff because it is so difficult to get them to fold.
Now that you know the types of poker players, try to classify yourself and your poker buddies into those categories. The most successful poker players don’t fit into one category precisely, because they are able to mix up their play and fit into different categories during a cash game or tournament. The more you are able to successfully mix up your style of play, the harder it will be for your opponents to get a read on you.
In real estate, it’s all about location, location, location. In poker, there’s a similar adage that says it’s all about position, position, position. If you’[re not taking your position at the table into account when playing Texas Hold ‘em, you’re likely playing hands that you should have folded.
At a full table of 10 players, position is divided into four categories before the flop. There is early position, middle position, late position and the blinds. Players sitting in the three seats to the left of the blinds are said to be in early positions. The three seats to the left of the early positions are the middle positions. The two seats to the left of the middle positions are the late positions. The blinds, of course, refer to the small and big blind positions.
The number one rule when it comes to position is the later your position at the table, the more hands you can play pre-flop. This all has to do with information. When you’re playing poker, the more information you have, the better decision you are able to make. If you knew what cards everyone else at the table has, you would have so much information you would never lost a hand at the showdown.
When you’re trying to decide whether you should play your cards or fold, the earlier your position at the table the less information you have. because of this, you should only play premium cards from an early position. Think of it this way: you can call the big blind with anything in an early position, but there are at least seven more players to act behind you. Are your cards good enough to call if one of them raises? If they are not, you have basically given away some of your chips. In an early position, you are vulnerable to raises throughout the entire hand.
If you’re in a middle position, you have seen more players bet or fold, and there are fewer players to act behind you. This means you can play lower-valued hands because you have more information on how the hand is going.
In a late position, your list of playable hands has increased even more. At one of the late seats, only the blinds are left to play after you. You have seen almost the entire table play, and you should have a better sense as to who may have good cards. You will also be in a late position in every betting round that follows, which allows you to react to how your opponents play the hand the rest of the way.
Late position is also a strong seat at the table because it is generally believed to be the best seat from which to attempt a bluff or attempt to steal the blinds. With only the blinds left to act, you can more easily attempt to steal the blinds or attempt a bluff later in the hand because you’ve seen the rest of the table play their cards. Pulling off successful bluffs or blind steals requires information on the rest of the table, and you always have the most information from a late position. Bluffing or attempting to steal the blinds from an early position or a middle position can be dangerous because there are so many players left to act that can call your bluff or break up your attempt at a blind steal.
Proper river play requires that before you act, you have an understanding of what has transpired over the entire hand. Whether you are making a bet or call, you should have an idea of what your opponent is likely holding. It takes experience to recognize where you stand in most hands, but perhaps we can get you started with the process of recounting the hand before you make your river decisions.
The most common situation in poker is when one player is betting what they think is the lead, and another is drawing to a higher hand such as a straight, flush or even a second pair or two over cards. If a player has been calling your bets and not raising you, you can usually count on them being on a draw. If a third club hits the board on the river, and they bet into you, you’re usually beat. Few players are savvy enough to chase fake draws so they can bluff the river. The same goes when an ace hits the river. Many players will chase with over cards and if one comes off, and you get bet into or raised, it’s rarely a favorable outcome for you.
If you have last betting position in the hand and the bet is checked to you on the river, making a bet is often not the best play, Unless you have the nuts or a really good hand you feel very confident about, making a bet on the river can backfire on you. If the person who hit their draw in the previous paragraph decides to check their new flush or straight, betting out will cost you what you bet and the price of the raise if you call. If the river card presents possibilities for you to be beat, you should just check the river and collect your pot, if indeed you have on it. Any hand that will call or raise your bets is likely to have you beat, and the inferior hands are most likely to just fold anyway. Check it off and don’t be greedy.
There are situations where it’s still a good idea to bet, even if a possible beat card has come on the river. Depending on how well you know your opponent’s play there are situations where betting your hand for value is the best play. Let’s say you have A, 10, and a tight opponent raised pre-flop. The flop is Ac, 10c, 6d and he bets heavy into you, which you call. it’s probable here that he has a big ace, likely Big Slick. The turn is 7h and he bets again and you call. If the river is the 2c and he checks to you, this would be the type of spot where betting your two pair for value would be the best play. It’s unlikely that your opponent was on a flush draw because of the pre-flop raise, flop bet and turn bet. Making a bet small enough to be called by the big ace is the proper play here.
There’s no chance to improve after the river has come. if you don’t have the nuts, you have to calculate where you stand in the hand before you throw your chips out there. The biggest rule is to check when you have a vulnerable hand if it’s been checked around to you, unless the hand’s betting patterns have revealed your opponent’s hand and you’re sure you have the best of it. Choose your river bluffs wisely. It’s not a high percentage play in Hold ‘em.
