Tournament Practice Flops
How to Read, bet & Play On the Flop
Being able to read the flop correctly is critical in determining the strength of your hand and how to play it. In no-limit holdem, it is especially important to play correctly on the flop because so few hands are played to the river. Most experienced no-limit players prefer winning principles the pot in one of two places either before the flop or on the flop.
When you hear a player say, "I couldn't tell where I was at in the hand," he means that he had trouble deciding how strong his hand was in relation to the play poker card game on the flop and the cards that his opponent(s) might be holding. "I had trouble putting Joe on a hand," means that, based on his opponent's actions Before the flop and on the flop, it was difficult to determine the strength of Joe's hole cards.
In this section we will show you some flops and lead you through a though process that will help you to determine how to bet and play certain types of hands when various types of flop are dealt.
Keep in mind that the following factors always affect how you play and bet any hand you are dealt:
. The strength of your hand
. The betting action in front of you on the flop
. The number of players who can act after you
. The nature of your opponents
Now let's look at some practice flops and go through poker a thought process that will lead to the best possible decision on how to play and bet several types of hands for each flop.
As you look at each flop, ask yourself:
. What is the nut hand for this flop?
. What are the possible drawing hands that would make the nuts on the turn or river?
. Who might have the best hand or a draw to it?
We use the player poker types listed in Part Three as shortcuts to describe the opponents you will be facing on each of the following tournament flops. In each of the following scenarios, you have $1,000 in chips. The blinds are $10-$25 and you are playing in the first round of the tournament.
Flop One
One High Card/ Two Low Cards/ Unsuited
SCENARIO 35
You are sitting in middle position with:
You raised to $100 before the flop. Only the Big Blind called, making a $210 pot. You have flopped top pair/ top kicker. On the flop, the Big Blind checks to you.
What's Your Move?
Analysis
Two kings with an ace kicker is a fairly strong hand. Since you are against only one player, there's a good chance that you have the best hand at this time unless your opponent flopped a set. It is unlikely that he flopped two pair unless he's a loose player who might call a raise with an 8-7, K-8 or K-7 suited.
The Strategy We Suggest
If he checks to you, bet $150-$250. If he makes a normal bet ($150-$250 for this $210 pot), move in on him. If he makes a small bet ($50, for example), raise him four to six times the amount online poker game that he bet ($200 -$300).