Texas Hold’em Flop Strategy

The Flop

Most poker players love to see a flop. It’s where most people make their biggest decision on whether they will continue in the hand or not. It’s the place where a bet is often enough to win and where draws are often lurking. Freepokertips.co.uk is going to give you some basic Texas Hold’em flop strategy tips to help you navigate the second round of betting.

Miss the flop, get out the pot

One of the biggest mistake’s beginners make is continuing to the turn and river when they have no business doing so. If you have raised or called a raise before the flop and completely miss, don’t be afraid to fold. Many beginners have a nice starting hand like A-Q, see a flop of 7-9-3 and start calling bets. Why? You have nothing. Moreover, think about your opponents’ likely holdings. Do you really think he has less than an ace high? Of course, not. You can safely fold if people start betting and you have not made a pair.

Straight and Flush draws are great to semi bluff

An open-ended straight draw is where you have 4 cards in a row and have two ways to make a straight. A flush draw is where you have 2 of a suit in your hand and 2 more appear on the flop. These are great hands to play aggressively, particularly if the other players are checking. By betting these hands, you can potentially represent a top pair or better hand and win it later. Better yet, you might hit your flush or straight on the turn and bet it for value. These flop bets are known as “semi-bluffs” as they are not quite a pure bluff. You are half bluffing.

An open-ended straight draw is approximately 32% to hit by the river. A flush draw will hit around 36% by the river.

Check-raised? Put on the brakes!

There are so many nothing pots available. This is quite basic Texas Hold’em flop strategy but consider a limped pot and they check to you. Regardless of your hand, consider a small bet to win it right there. A check usually means they are check/folding so feel free to take that as a green light to bet something. It doesn’t need to be a massive bet, even 30-40% of the pot. There are lots of these “nothing pots” in Texas Hold’em if you look for them.

More people in a hand, the stronger you need to continue…

My final Texas Hold’em flop strategy tip is this – consider how many opponents are on the flop with you. If you are in a pot with 4 people and have a top pair, weak kicker – it’s probably not all that good. When chips start flying and its multi-way, it’s time to take notice and think about what they may have…Many beginners make the mistake of overplaying top pair hands when all the evidence points to someone having better.

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