The “ flop ” in No Limit Holdem refers to the three community cards After the preflop betting phase, crucial decisions arise on the flop that can determine the flow of the hand. Therefore, excelling in flop strategy can greatly enhance our overall winrate.
With this in mind, this article focuses on guiding players to improve their decisions when facing the flop. We will delve into our top five strategies for flop play . in No Limit Hold’em.
TIP 1 - CONSIDER POSITION
It's astonishing to see how many strategy guides offer tips on when to play flops without taking into account the player's position. This oversight likely contributes to the fact that many players utilize the same continuation betting strategy regardless of being in or out of position. continuation bet This situation should definitely not be the norm. While a skilled player might continuation bet about 65% of flops from an advantageous position in a single-raised heads-up scenario, they would typically continuation bet only around 35% or even less when positioned disadvantageously. Thus, comparing in-position and out-of-position strategies for the flop isn't particularly useful; they should be treated distinctly in our gameplay approach.
Generally speaking, being out-of-position when facing the flop can be quite challenging. To counteract this disadvantage, players should employ a tighter strategy and be more inclined to fold. A competent player will likely fold more often against continuation bets when out of position.
TIP 2 - TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUR HOLE CARDS
The flop presents a key moment where we must decide which of our hole cards we will continue to play through subsequent betting rounds. Ideally, we want to select cards that will help us maximize our chances of realizing our equity while minimizing those of our opponents. Thus, we should pay close attention to the characteristics of our holdings.
For instance, consider this flop scenario - hole cards rather than their raw-equity.
In this situation, the specifics may vary; we could be evaluating a continuation bet, contemplating a check, or even thinking about donk-betting. Which hands should we prioritize in a single-raised pot with standard stack sizes? Well, that largely hinges on our analytical criteria. From a purely equity standpoint, the A6o generally outperforms a hand like Nine-high. However, most would likely find that having 9c8c is the more favorable option.
Board: Kh7c2s
Hand 1: Ac6d
Hand 2: 9c8c
What’s the reasoning behind this? It offers a greater potential to - floating b) push our opponent out of their equity share by the river.
These enhanced advantages are often referred to informally as \"increased playability\". This arises from the 98s' ability to collect outs that could form a strong five-card hand by the river. Notably, drawing any Jack, Ten, Five, Six, or Club gives us outs to achieve at least a pair by the river. This accounts for 22 out of the remaining 47 cards in the deck. If we also consider the possible Eight or Nine that could appear on the turn, which may help us secure a winning hand or, at the very least, set us up for a two-pair or trips by the river, we’d find that over half of the deck supports our turn strategy.
- a) fully realise its equity
On the flip side, the A6o can only improve by hitting a pair of Aces or Sixes. Even in such cases, it’s often unclear if these pairs would hold up against superior hands in our opponent’s range. Given the lack of solid improvement opportunities for many river cards, we frequently end up folding before reaching the showdown - leading to poor equity realization.
The 98s is far more advantageous and lucrative to play. One major reason for this increased playability is the clarity it provides. When we achieve a straight or flush, we find ourselves in a position to play aggressively for stacks. Conversely, if we don’t hit, we can confidently assume our hand is not the best, allowing us to choose between folding or bluffing, based on the situation. In contrast, A6o often leaves us in a gray area where our hand might be strong or weak, obscuring our strategic decisions. straight or flush TIP 3 - TAKE INTO ACCOUNT STACK DEPTH AND STACK-TO-POT RATIO
An exception to the preference for 98s in the previous example could arise if we find ourselves dealing with shallow stacks. The shallower our stack, the more vital raw equity becomes. In such cases, holding the A6 might actually be more advantageous than having the 98, as we wouldn’t need to navigate the troublesome late-game decisions that the A6o presents when we lack sufficient chips. opponent’s range Conversely, when our stacks are deeper, our inclination towards strong equity hands like the 98s grows even stronger. Not only do we retain solid improvement potential, but the depth of the stacks also yields increased implied odds if we succeed in forming a strong five-card hand by the river.
Additionally, during deeper stack scenarios, we may engage in more aggressive bluffing tactics, as the potential to intensify pressure on opponents in subsequent betting rounds increases. With particularly deep stacks, we might even contemplate overbetting in later rounds. Our opponents must adjust by folding more frequently on the flop to account for this increased risk (a concept known as “
Despite feeling proficient with standard flop strategies, it's essential to recognize that this isn’t the most critical factor. Any insights we gather about our opponents should take precedence over our customary flop strategies. For instance, we might typically avoid a continuation bet with certain holdings on the flop, but if we observe that our opponent folds over 60% of the time to such bets, it may be wise to adjust our strategy and go for the cbet.
Analyzing our opponent's statistics and tendencies can also reveal chances to exploit unconventional tactics like donk-betting. Perhaps we typically check to the preflop raiser, which is a common approach, but we notice that a specific opponent tends to fold 60% of the time to donk-bets.
Instead of strictly adhering to our standard strategy, we should be willing to adapt based on our reads of the situation. backdoor TIP 5 - TAKE INTO ACCOUNT RANGES AND PREFLOP ACTION
Even with identical hands on the same flop texture, our decisions can vary significantly. Why is this? Because our choices hinge not only on our own hand but also on the range of our opponents. To consistently make optimal decisions on the flop, we must carefully evaluate the leverage ”).
TIP 4 - CONSIDER OPPONENT
within our opponent’s range based on their preflop actions.
Let's analyze the scenario: Hero opens with a raise from the button to 3bb. The small blind folds, and the villain cold-calls from the big blind. cold-caller How many combinations of strong value hands (top pair or better) might the villain hold in their range?
When we inspect the board without factoring in preflop action, a variety of hands might belong to the villain, such as 12 combinations of AK, 6 combinations of Aces, 3 of KK, 3 of JJ, and so forth. However, considering that the villain only called preflop, our analysis shifts significantly.
It's quite probable that the opponent would have opted for a three-bet if they possessed AA, AK, KK, or JJ. Therefore, we can confidently rule out these hands from their range. So, what strong hands might they have on this flop that could have cold-called from the big blind against a button raise of 3bb? Perhaps, KJ and 22; that might be the entirety of their holdings. Thus, the reply to our question becomes 12 combinations. That includes 9 combinations of KJ and 3 combinations of 22.
Of course, these points are merely general principles for approaching the flop. Mastery of flop play necessitates a thorough breakdown of every conceivable flop scenario and a tailored analysis. The broader the spectrum of variables considered, the longer our evaluation will take, but our strategic proficiency on the flop will undoubtedly improve. types of poker hands Nevertheless, the recommendations above have been thoughtfully curated to underscore some of the most frequent pitfalls players encounter on the flop and serve as an excellent foundation for improvement.
How do we know Villain’s range?
Timothy \"Ch0r0r0\" Allin is a seasoned player, coach, and author. Since his journey began in 2006, he has successfully built his bankroll from the ground up without depositing a single dollar. After competing successfully in some of the toughest scenarios in the poker world, he now shares his insights and strategies through the 888poker magazine.
Let’s consider a quick example -
TIP 2 - TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUR HOLE CARDS
Board: KcJd2h
TIP 3 - TAKE INTO ACCOUNT STACK DEPTH AND STACK-TO-POT RATIO
TIP 5 - TAKE INTO ACCOUNT RANGES AND PREFLOP ACTION
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FLOP PLAY - SUMMERY
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