This Flop Brought to you by Satan...
Something that comes up all the time in Texas Hold'em is when you start a hand before the flop with
great cards and the best intentions, for example...
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Big Slick himself, finding his way into your hand in a pot capped by other people before the flop.
You and four other friendly players see the flop for 4 small bets a piece. In most low limit games
there is an extremely good chance that this is the best hand pre-flop, however the flop comes...
Now what you have is a club flush draw with no clubs(!) and two overcards. Your hand right now is
Ace high and that's about it. What to do next is a problem that people at all levels of poker ponder
over constantly.
With four other players in the pot you should probably check and fold to any bet, but most low limit
hold'em players won't do that. Certainly with the pot as large as it is (20 small bets between you)
it certainly seems prudent to look at another card for a single bet. And in fact you can do that if
you can be sure you'll be able to see that card for one bet, but keep in mind that the pot was capped
before the flop. Unless you are on the dealer button you will have no idea how many bets you are
getting yourself into on this flop.
The second half to this problem comes after you do stay to see the turn with this hand and then you
catch a card. Let's say in this situation the turn comes:
Ah, sweet victory! one of your six outs has arrived (not including runner runner J Q non diamond
to make you a straight). The problem now is what to do--certainly you can bet it but what happens
when you get action from the other players? In a typical low limit game people are seeing flops with
all kinds of aces and yes that most certainly includes Ace Six, Ace Seven and Ace Ten! You were
behind on the flop and the turn can very easily seal your fate of calling one or more bets a round all
the way through the river to a showdown you cannot win.
Also of course on this particular board there is a flush draw and a possible made straight so you may
be drawing entirely dead with this hand.
Check and fold to a bet unless you have good reason to believe you can get to the river very very
cheaply.
Any time you are tempted to call a bet on the flop with overcards only remind yourself of what kind
of game you are in. You can be up against anything--no matter what kind of junk has fallen on the
flop someone may (and often times against several opponents) HAS hit their kicker on one or both of your
overcards effectively killing them. Pick a better spot!
As Johnny Cochran said in the famous O. J. Simpson trial, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
Likewise in Hold'em poker if the flop doesn't fit you must plain old quit.
Don't say no to overcards entirely!
However, having overcards CAN be useful when combined with one or more draws, for example if the
flop had come instead:
your hand is much stronger. Any Queen will give you the nut straight, you have a backdoor nut (the fact
that it is nut is critical in considering it) flush draw, and an Ace or a King will sometimes win the hand for
you alone. With this flop the fact that you have two overcards in addition to your draws is an important
factor that should allow you to see the hand through to at least the turn, but if you don't see improvement on
the turn you should let the hand go there.
Other Famous Flops that Missed
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A special note on this flop, although you do have a gutshot straight draw it is not to the nuts and
you are working against a possible flush draw as well. Let it go.
