Playing The Flop in a No Foldem Holdem Game
At a table where the majority of people are seeing the flop hand after hand it is difficult to know "where you are" with many traditionally strong hands. Are you ahead or behind? If your opponents not only see too many flops but continue passively past the flop with both weak and strong holdings many times you'll be betting blind with these hands with no feedback from your opponents.
Certain plays that make sense against sensible opponents (for example raising with middle pair when the pot is already large to force people out with overcards) don't make sense if you don't force people out. Instead you are often generating money for the two best hands at the table.
You should be suitably aggressive with your stronger hands (top pair high kicker and better), but in most cases it is better to abandon your weaker hand early before you've committed money after seeing the flop.
Below are some example hands that may appear on first glance to be fairly strong, but are actually trap hands which more often than not will have you paying your opponents off throughout the entire hand.
No Foldem Holdem Examples:
What you are looking for on the flop is a good reason to continue. First let's talk about what isn't a good reason to continue.
| You Hold: | And The Flop Is: | |||||
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And you see any action at all get out. Don't even waste one call. Your ten might be the best hand, but most likely it isn't, and your odds of turning that J into a straight on the river isn't especially enticing, and finally if you do somehow get two pair then you may just have made someone a straight. Notice how no matter what cards hit you (with the exception of another ten) you really aren't able to be aggressive with this hand at any point and you'll never know exactly where you are. Two of your other opponents may have you drawing dead to a chopped pot--this is exactly where you don't want to be.
A slightly worse situation which happens very frequently is this...
| You Hold: | And The Flop Is: | |||||
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You are going to want to call, and if you can see the turn card for a single bet go ahead (it's a waste of a bet but maybe it'll help your conscience and once in a blue moon you'll catch a King on the turn) but keep in mind you are almost certainly beat and there's a fair chance you are dealing with two pair (including 5 2) and even a wheel straight.
The problem is you waited SO LONG for those kings. It isn't fair! Well maybe not, but throw them away and sit out the next few hands if throwing them away bothered you.
The Flush Monster
A staple of our strategy is the suited ace. In a table (of whatever limit) where five or more people pay to see the flop (and often stay to see the turn and river as well!) the value of the suited ace goes up. Way up. In fact, your overall expectation with a suited ace may be greater than when you have pocket aces because you will almost always play the hand all the way through with aces but you can easily dump a suited ace on the flop if it is not favorable.
| You Hold: | And The Flop Is: | |||||
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You can drop this hand if there is much action on the flop. Your kicker will kill you on the river even if your one pair survives. This is a trap that your friends around the table would call all the way for. Sometimes you'll find out when all is said and done that you had the best hand but most of the time you'll be able to chuckle to yourself about your good and early laydown. It is SO important to be able to lay down a hand like this early in a multiway pot. Once you've paid to see the river and realize your hand is no good it is too late...
Let's bring back our friend Ac 4c...
| You Hold: | And The Flop Is: | |||||
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This time it is reasonable to pay to see the turn. Note that you have a backdoor flush draw and a pair with an overcard to the flop. Also note that there is no "good" straight draw on the board (the best draw would be something like 5h 6h). On the turn you should dump your hand if you don't get a club a four or an ace.
Finally, one more time for our pal.
| You Hold: | And The Flop Is: | |||||
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Even without the ace of spades which gives you top pair in addition to the nut flush draw you should be thinking about how to get money into the pot. Depending on your opponents this might involve you letting them raise you or you raising yourself. Always let them do the raising if they are willing. Your dream situation is going to be one where you get "caught" between two people in a raise war with each other. Be sure to call on the river whatever the result of this hand is since you'll often find other flush draws betting "on the come" especially if they hold something like Qc Jc or 3c 4c (a flush draw with a gutshot straight draw)
Why Flushes Are Better Than Straights
A flush draw, especially (especially!) an ace high flush draw is superior to a straight draw for two main reasons. First there is one more out for a flush draw (9 completing flush cards for a four-flush vs. 8 completing straight cards for an open ended straight).
Second, and more importantly, a completed straight draw can be destroyed on the turn or river by "counterfeiting" Counterfeiting is when one of the cards in your hand which completes the straight comes on the board.
| You Hold: | And The Flop Is: | |||||
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The nut straight! yeeehaw! Yeehaw indeed. Of course you are in there betting and raising and then... on the turn...
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| Flop | Turn |
Your hand is still fairly strong, but anyone with any jack has the same hand you do. In addition you run the not insignificant risk that there is a lurker with
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the proud new owner of the (and your!) nuts.
On the other hand, if you flop the nut flush you are going to have the nut flush on the river. Period. Bigger hands could appear (a pair on the board or cards that support a straight flush) but your flush, by definition, cannot be counterfeited.
Why Straights Are Better Than Flushes
Since we just said flushes are better than straights this section may come as a bit of a surprise to you. Well, nut flushes are better than straights any day. You should feel much more comfortable drawing for a third spade on the board when you hold a suited ace (of spades) than you should for any kind of straight draw by itself.
As we pointed out before, nut straights can be compromised with more cards to come, but nut flushes cannot.
On the other hand you can flop (or draw to) the nut straight with any connector (two consecutive cards like 6 and 7) or even any one or two gap combination (like 6 and 8 or 6 and 9). For example if you hold:
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and the flop is
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then you, my friend, have the nut straight! You don't have the greatest starting cards in the world but you have done it this time! Three gap combinations (like 6 and 10) cannot ever form the nut straight, since if your dream comes true and you flop 7 8 9 then you can still be beaten by J 10.
The crucial difference is that with flushes having an Ace high flush is crucial, but with straights you can have the nuts with a much wider variety of cards. To make the point using the above example of 69 let's say the turn comes
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| Flop | Turn |
and the river is:
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| Flop | Turn | River |
now your hand has "improved" into a diamond flush, but the value of your hand has greatly declined. Now any person holding two diamonds where one is greater than a 9 will win the pot.
Another aspect of straights is that they can be difficult to see on the board and you will get much more action on a board of 8 5 7 rainbow than you will on a board that contains three cards of the same suit.
For these reasons you should always play a straight fast when you get it.
The One Card Straight
A situation you want to avoid (that many many people will not try to avoid) is the one card straight. That is when you form a straight using only one of the cards from your hand.
For example you hold:
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and the flop is
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many people you play with will reason the hand this way: I have a pair, and a gutshot straight draw (any Queen). Really your only remote chance of scooping this pot would be for you to catch another jack. You are almost certainly beat right now. If you catch a ten to give yourself two pair you will be stuck with a hand that can be beaten by any Queen. If you catch a Queen then anyone with a ten will split the pot with you. So, in this case, even though a Queen will give you the "nut" straight there is a good chance you will not take the entire pot even if your four-outer happens.
If the situation is "if you don't improve you lose and if you do improve you split" then the correct action is "fold."
A Good Reason To Continue
First the obvious cases. If you are playing an Ace with a high kicker then you most want to see your kicker on the flop and next the ace itself. In either of these situations you usually want to make it very painful for people to draw since there is a very good chance you have the best hand right now. This is often a good chance to use our friend the check-raise if you are in early position. If you are in later position definitely go for a raise and possibly a re-raise (with AK or AKs) and then bet out the turn if it is checked to you.
If you flop second or third pair with an overcard to the flop (especially an ace) you can continue if the betting is not heavy.
If you flop a four flush or an open-ended straight you can continue if the pot odds justify it, especially if you are drawing to the nuts.
If you flop a gutshot straight and the pot odds justify it and you ware drawing to the nuts then continue.
