Having a straight on the flop is a very strong combination. Remember, it’s not a full-house, so you should be careful because it is still vulnerable. Don’t play slowly with this hand. If your opponent has two pairs or a set, you know that those hands can easily make a full-house on the turn, which could leave you losing quite a bit of money. You need to play very aggressively if you have a straight on the flop and there are two cards of the same suit on the board. Bet 2/3-3/4 the size of the bank in a re-raise if there has been a raise. Your opponents may also have an open straight which they are trying to hit. Don’t let them get it for free.

Flush:

A flush on the flop is strong but obvious an combination. If you have a nut flush, attack with a bet of half the bank. If the flush is not nut, play aggressively and bet 2/3-3/4 of the bank. Re-raise or even go all-in if you don’t have a nut flush and the contender has raised. Except in the event that the contender has a "deep" stack (considerably more than 100ВВ). The best idea is to slow down in this situation and just call the bets.

Set (Three cards when you have a pocket pair):

Try to go all-in if you have a set on any flop, even if the contender has already hit a flush or a straight. You still have the opportunity to improve your hand to get a full-house or four of a kind. If there has been a raise on the pre-flop and the contender continues the attack on the flop, you don’t have to call to get more money from him. As a rule, a game of this kind will bring you less money than it’s worth. If the opponent is ready to lose a lot, he will do it on the flop. There may be a card on the turn which could make him change his plans.

A typical mistake of most beginners is playing sets slowly. Many people are afraid of losing contenders who are in the bank and betting big. The paradox is that, playing like that usually means they win less or even lose the big banks, allowing their contenders to collect stronger combinations without paying in much. You have to bet a lot to win a lot.

Trips (Three cards with a pair on the board):

Trips, like flushes, are very strong combinations, but obvious to your opponents. Play aggressively if you have trips on the flop. If someone has raised your bet, play carefully. If the trips have a strong kicker – an ace or a king, and the flop shows that the possibility of a full-house is little to none, play raise/re-raise up to all-in. For instance: you have A4, the flop is 4-4-2. However, if you have: 9J, the flop is J-J-Q, don’t be too optimistic about your hand. You could call a re-raise and analyze the opponents’ moves.

The strength of this combination increases considerably if there have been raises on the pre-flop. The lower your trips, the stronger your hand. When the pot has been raised, the game on the post-flop is more aggressive and people rarely pay attention to the possibility of such trips, especially if the trips are made up of low cards. For instance: you have 45, the flop is 5-5-Q.

Page 3 of 5 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 3 4 5 | Next