Play Better Poker

Your in a game of Hold-Em and were dealt Pocket Aces.  Things are pretty sweet right?  Until the flop comes and there is a flush draw that you don’t have.  Great.  Preflop play is more or less cut and dry.  Most players are going to fold 7-2 off suit instead of seeing the flop and bet big with AA. The flop is where things start to get difficult though.  The greatest change in the game occurs when the flop comes down since now three of the five cards are down.  Playing the flop correctly is most of the times going to decide whether or not you win the hand. 

                The first key to great flop play is play tight!  If you missed the flop do not be afraid to fold.  Putting more money into a pot you don’t think you can win is always a mistake.  If you had QQ and the flop comes A K 2  and one of the players ahead of you bets a substantial amount, you should fold.  Yes what you had preflop was one of the top ten hands in the game so it sucks to let something that good go but putting any more money in is a mistake.  (unless of course you think they are bluffing.  Remember that all advice in poker is situational.) If you missed your flush or straight draw stop chasing it!  If you were going for a flush and only got one card, the odds against you at this point in time are 25 to One against.  Seriously, fold a lot on the flush and save yourself a lot of money. 

                The second key is to be aggressive.  The minimum you should be betting on the flop is three times the big bet.  That bet is substantial off to scare of anyone just calling to see the turn.  It is a good feeler bet too.  It is likely that anyone with a monster hand will re raise you here. Do not get the idea of slowplaying a hand here.  It is never a good idea to let people see another card for cheap so you can “trap” them.  If they were chasing a flush or straight draw and caught it now you are in trouble. 

                The third key to proper flop play is recognizing what situation you are in and playing it from there.   There are three types of situations you could be in.  A trash hand, a made hand or a drawing hand are the three situations you can end up in.  A trash hand is a hand that has nothing going for it anymore and no real chance of improving.  These hands should be trashed.  A made hand is a hand that is already made.  For instance if you had a pair of twos and hit a third two.  A made hand is when you think you have the best hand on the board right then.  A made hand should always be raised.  Pay attention to the other players and look for what they are doing.  That will give you great indicators of how strong your made hand actually is.  A drawing hand is a hand that is not yet made but has strong possibility of being completed.  there are two ways to play a drawing hand.  If you have lower odds than the number of players remaining in the game you should try and see the turn for as cheaply as possible.  For instance there are 5 players in the hand and the odds that you will hit the card to make your hand are 1 in 6 then you should try and see the turn for as cheaply as possible.  If the odds that you will make your hand are smaller than the number of players in the hand you should try and get everyone to put as much money as possible in the pot.  This is because mathematically it works out that if you have a 1 in 5 chance of winning (5 people in the hand) and a 1 in 6 chance it does not add up to bet a lot.  Reverse the situation and mathematically you are going to win in the long run. 

                Playing the flop is the first really tricky part about hold-em.  Most of what you want to be doing on the flop is raising or folding. Most beginners make the mistake of playing hands past the flop that they really shouldn’t.  Figure out what situation you are in, fold the hands that should be folded and be very aggressive.  Do these things and you are on your way to being a winning player.