We all would assume that everyone knows to not hit the “forward” on an email if you don’t want another person seeing the contact within the message. And we all make mistakes but when representing such a huge company like Full Tilt Poker.

But what happened apparently that a player by the name of Jimmy “Gobboboy” Fricke contacted Full Tilt Poker in hopes that they may want to sponsor him after taking second at the Aussie Millions last year.

Fricke proposed that in exchange for wearing Full Tilt gear they would sponsor him in main events. I am sure that he was prepared for a simple yes or no answer but what he got was so much more.

As it turns out, Jimmy got back bad news stating that Full Tilt Poker doesn’t currently taken solicitations for sponsorships. They continued that if they were interested in him at some point in the future, they would contact him.

Sounds polite enough and sort of generic right? Wrong. There is more to it then just that as at the bottom of the email is the emailed response of other Full Tilt employee who was explaining their reasons for why Jimmy should not be given a chance.

“The guy’s a freak and a very weird dude. He is also quite young. I think we should stay away.

Howard”

Well, that certainly sounds more like water cooler gossip then something that should be included in a formal email. Could it be that more and more gaming operations aren’t being careful about mistakes, or are these mistakes being made on purpose in an attempt to get a bigger message across?

DON’T FORGET TO BET THE RIVER

Do NOT get in the habit of checking on the river simply because you have a good—but not unbeatable—hand. This is another huge mistake that mediocre players frequently make. If you think you had the best hand on the turn you should almost always bet the river, unless the river put a four-flush or a four-straight on the board. Example: you have KsKc, and the flop comes Qc Tc 7s. You bet and get two callers. The turn is the 5s. Again you bet, and again the same two players call. The river brings the 6c.

Definitely bet here. If someone had flopped a flush draw there’s a good chance they would have raised earlier on which means it’s less likely that 6c has made someone a flush. Also, just because a low limit player calls the turn or river doesn’t mean they have a big draw. You could easily be up against a hand like J9 and a hand like Qh 8h. Bet your hand, and collect from the queen.

This dynamic changes if there are four or more players at the river. With three or less, bet just about any hand that was worth a bet on the turn, providing the river wasn’t too terrifying. Against four or more, however, you have to start worrying about the flush. After all, it’s unlikely that everyone has either a Q or a T, and in a game where players will often play any two suited cards before the flop you have to keep an eye out for a flush when the third suited card hits. Against one or two players, however, and often against three, we go into ‘auto bet’ mode on the river. If we liked our hand on the turn, then we like it on the river. It’s as simple as that.

IF SOMEONE CHECK-RAISES THE TURN IN A MULTI-WAY POT, STRONGLY CONSIDER FOLDING

This may seem to contradict Lesson #5, yet we can assure you it does not. In Lesson #5, we were discussing the merits of checking (thereby taking the risk of giving a ‘free card’ to hands that have draws that can beat you) versus betting. In this case, we’re discussing those times when you’ve bet, and subsequently been raised by a player who initially checked. Now obviously, it always helps to ‘know your opponents’. But in most low limit games, a player will only check-raise the turn for one reason; to get more money into the pot with a very strong hand.

Consider this example: you have AcAs and there’s 3 other players who see the flop with you. The flop comes Th 9s 5h. A player in front of you bets, you raise, a player behind you calls your raise, and the original bettor calls. The turn brings the 3h. The player in front of you checks, you bet, the player behind you calls, and now the player in front of you springs to life and raises! What’s your play?

In our experience you should strongly consider folding. In a higher limit game, where the players are typically more advanced, you’ll often have to call here, since the pot has gotten big and it’s possible that your opponent is making some kind of play. But in the lower limit games this is fairly uncommon. Occasionally you’ll be shown a strangely played KT here, but more often then not you’ll be looking at either a flush or a hand that flopped big. Low limit players, as a rule, aren’t in the habit of making speculative check-raises on the turn. When they employ this play, it’s usually because they have the goods. Also, note that you have no ‘outs’ to improve to a hand that will beat the hand your opponent is representing. If your aces were hearts and diamonds, instead of clubs and spades you would unhesitatingly call, since there are either seven or nine cards (depending on whether or not he’s already made a flush) that could improve your hand to the best hand.

That said, there are plenty of times you’ll have to call in this type of situation. This occurs when the pot has gotten huge, say over 15 big bets (in a 3-6 game that would be a pot over 90 dollars), or when your opponent has shown a tendency to overplay his hands. When the pot is enormous you often have to call because making an incorrect fold would be a disaster. Also, you’ll have a clear call when you’re holding a hand that has outs to the hand that your opponent is representing. If, for example, the flop gave you a set of nines (3 of a kind), you’ll absolutely have to call, since you’ll improve a full house or four of a kind about 22% of the time. When you have two pair you’ll improve a full house about 8% of the time, which means you should call when the pot contains 10 big bets or more (see the article on Pot Odds for details on how to make this kind of calculation). As a rule, you’ll want to lean towards calling if:

a) you can improve to a hand that will beat the hand your opponent is representing, and/or

b) your hand is such that it can beat a fair number of the hands that your opponent might reasonably have. For instance, if you had T9 you’d probably call, since your opponent may simply have an inferior two pair, and there are four cards still in the deck (any nine or ten) that will give you a very strong hand.

Note: we know how hard it is to lay down an overpair (a pocket pair higher in rank than the highest card on the board) on the turn. Yet, if you keep track of the times the check-raiser has you beat, compared to those times when he’s making a move at the pot, you should find that the former outnumber the latter by at least a margin of 8 to 1. Again, this is simply our experience; as the saying goes, ‘your mileage may vary.’ The important thing here is to at least consider folding, and not to blindly continue on with the hand.

Welcome to the second flop quiz! As with all the quizzes here, you’ll get the most out of this quiz if you think through why you are answering each question the way you are. If you haven’t taken the first flop quiz yet, take that one first.

1. You have Qs Js in middle position. Two players call, you call, and the button and both blinds call. The flop comes: Qd Jh 6h. The first player bets, and the second player raises. You should:
a. call with the intention of raising the turn
b. raise

2. You have Kd 7d on the button. Four players call to you, you call and one blind calls. The flop comes Td 6d 5s. The big blind bets and two players call. You should:
a. call
b. fold
c. raise

3. You have As Qd in middle-to-late position. Two callers to you and you raise. Both blinds call. The flop comes Ts 9h 6h. The small blind bets, the big blind folds, and the next player raises. All fold to you. You should:
a. call
b. fold

4. You have Ts Tc in middle position. Two callers to you, you call, and the button and both blinds call. The flop comes Th Td 8h. All check to you. You should:
a. check, with the intention of check raising if someone behind you bets.
b. check, with the intention of dumping as much money as possible in the pot on the turn
c. bet

ANSWERS

1. Answer: B.There are a lot possible hands out there that could be drawing to an inside straight, and you’d like to get these hands to fold; if being forced to call three bets cold on the flop won’t persuade them to muck, then nothing will. Further, while you probably won’t get a flush draw to fold you’d like to charge him as much as possible to continue with the hand while he’s still an underdog. Notice that the pot only has nine small bets in it when the action gets to you, and that by raising you’ll put an additional three bets in, thereby giving someone who wants to draw only 4:1 on their money (the twelve small bets that are in the pot after you’ve raised verses the three small bets they have to put in to continue with the hand). By giving your opponents these kinds of horrible odds, you’ll have a chance of getting hands like Ac 6c, or Ad Td, to fold. Since these are hands that you’d like to see fold, as they’re draws are ‘live’ against your hand, it behooves you to charge them as much as possible.

Remember: anytime you three-bet a flop with a big hand you’re probably making the right move. Raise this puppy to the hilt.

2. Answer: C You’ve got nine outs to the flush, and a probable three more outs to the king. With what appears to be a twelve-out hand, you’re going to improve your hand by the river around 40% of the time. When your odds of improving are this good you can comfortably raise for value.

In the first flop quiz we discussed raising with hands where you wanted people to fold. With a hand like this, however, you want people to call. If you hit a diamond you have a big hand, and if you don’t hit one you have nothing. Thus, you’d like to have other players along for the ride, since that increases your chances of having someone around to pay you off if you do hit. Note that there are no players left to act between you and the player in the blind who lead bet the flop, so a raise here won’t knock anyone out (players who have already called one bet will almost always call a second bet here). Also, if the turn is a brick everyone might check to you, thereby affording you the luxury of checking along with them and looking at the river card ‘for free’. If, however, you do hit on the turn, you’ll be betting a big hand into a pot that’s three bets bigger (assuming the blind and the two other players call your raise) then it would have been if you just called the flop.

3. Answer: B. You have about a 10% chance of spiking an ace or a queen on the turn, but you’re only getting pot odds of 6.5:1. Even with your implied odds you’re not getting enough of an overlay to call. Also, the ace or queen of hearts could be bad cards for you. In sum, you’ve missed the flop and your opponents haven’t. Fold here and look for a better spot for your money.

4. Answer: C. Bet now. The flop is coordinated, which means there are probably at least a few players who have at least a piece of this flop. Since almost everyone is drawing dead to your hand, you’d like to collect as many bets as possible from your opponents. Also, note that nobody is going to dream you’ve got quads, since 99% of all Hold ‘em players would check here, worried that a bet might ’scare off’ customers. But notice that anybody who could make a quality second best hand on the turn will happily call a bet here. Nobody’s folding a hand like Jd 9d, or Ah 3h, or even something like Qs Js. Since your chances for really collecting big money on this hand lay with the possibility that someone could make a big second-best hand you might as well bet, since you’re not going to scare these people off. In other words, anyone who has a hand that you’d like to see continue on is going to continue on, whether you bet or not. Thus, you might as well bet.

Further, as we mentioned in the first flop quiz, there isn’t a player on the planet who is going to think your bet represents quad tens. In fact, by betting here they’ll think you don’t have a hand that big. If someone hits a straight or a flush on the turn they might give you a ton of action, as they may assume you’re just overplaying trip tens. Mediocre players often slowplay the nuts on the flop, even if the situation doesn’t warrant it. By playing your hand ‘fast’ here your hand will gain some ‘deception’ value, which could parlay into big profits on the turn and/or river.

HOW DID YOU DO?

3-4 Correct
If you answered 3 or 4 of these questions correctly, and you’ve already scored well on the first flop quiz, you should feel good about the fact that you are already a better poker player than a good majority of those you will find in online poker rooms. As always, make sure you really understand the analysis and then move on to the next lesson. Don’t forget the recommended reading,

1-2 Correct
If you answered one or two questions correctly, and you did well on the first flop quiz, you should still move on to the next lesson. Some of these concepts might become clearer to you if you see how they apply throughout the turn and the river.

0 Correct
What happened? If you scored well on the first flop quiz, and got 0 correct here, you probably got lucky on the first quiz and don’t really understand the thinking behind the answers. Winning players do their homework. Invest a little time – your wallet will thank you later.

DON’T STOP BETTING BECUASE A SCARE CARD HITS

Slowing down on the turn is almost always a huge mistake, especially if nobody has yet shown any signs that the turn card helped them. For example: you have AdAh and there’s 3 other players who see the flop with you. The flop comes Kc Tc 6s. You bet this flop, the first player callers, the next player raises and the third player folds. You reraise, the original caller to your left calls, and the raiser calls. Now the turn brings the 8c.

You need to bet here. Do not check. While the third suited card might scare you, in a low limit game you can’t be at all sure that either of the other two players have now completed a flush. It’s entirely possible that the original caller has a hand like AT, and the flop raiser has something like KJ, in which case you’re still ahead. If you checked at this point instead of betting you run the risk of letting these worse hands improve on the river for free. Instead, what you’d really like is for both of these hands to fold now, and at least one of them—probably the AT—will often do just that if you bet. By this time the pot has gotten fairly large, so you’d be happy to take it now. If, however, neither player has any intention of folding, you at least collect another bet those times that they continue on with the hand. Again, this point can’t be overemphasized; if you can’t make them fold, at least charge them the maximum to continue on.

If you’re raised on the turn, you’ll have been put to a decision. Against some players you’ll have to fold here, and against others you’ll go to the river. But poker, at its core, is a game that requires its participants to make these tough decisions. If you shy away from making them by simply checking and calling here, you can’t beat the game in the long run.

This quiz is designed to illustrate some of the more important concepts that govern winning play on the flop. Here’s your chance to put some of your play analysis skills to work so when you answer the questions, we recommend you put some thought into why you are choosing a particular answer and compare your answers with the analysis that follows.

1. You have 8c 7c in the big blind. An early position player raises, two players call, and the small blind folds. You call. The flop comes Js 9c 4s. You should:
a. bet
b. check and call
c. check and fold
d. check and raise

2. You have As 3s in the small blind. A middle position player raises, and four players call. You call and big blind calls. The flop comes Ah 9c 5s. You should:
a. bet
b. check and call
c. check and fold
d. check and raise

3. You have As Kd on the button. There are two early position callers and the player on your right raises. You make it three bets. The small blind folds and everyone else calls. The flop comes Ks 7s 4d. All check to the player on your right who bets. You should:
a. raise
b. fold
c. call the bet with the intention of raising on the turn
d. call the bet with the intention of calling the turn and river

4. You have As Ad on the button. There are two early position callers and the player on your right raises. You make it three bets. The small blind folds and everyone else calls. The flop comes Js 7s 4d. All check to the player on your right who bets. You should:
a. raise
b. fold
c. call with the intention of raising the turn
d. call with the intention of calling the turn and river.

5. You have 9h 9c in early position. One person calls, and you call. All fold to the button who raises. Both of the blinds call, the other early position player calls, and you call. The flop comes 9s 6h 4h. You should:
a. bet
b. check with the intention of raising
c. check with the intention of calling, and betting the turn
d. check with the intention of calling, and check raising (or lead betting) the turn

ANSWERS

1. Answer: C. You have a gutshot draw and a back door flush draw, which gives you about a 22% chance of improving to a strong hand by the river. But notice that any ten could give someone a higher straight, and that the hand that would make this higher straight—namely, KQ—is a hand that many players will call a raise with. Thus, the odds of this hand actually being out are probably slightly higher than usual. Also, the Ts could be a disaster. Even if the pre-flop raiser bets and everyone calls you’re only getting about 11:1 on the call, which isn’t all that much of an overlay.

2. Answer: This is a toughie, as you could make a case for all four options. Betting is OK here, so long as you feel you could comfortably call the raise and fold on the turn if you check, there’s a bet and a 3 didn’t drop on the turn. Otherwise you’re looking for one of the other three options. Typically, I check in this spot. If the pre-flop raiser bets and two other players call I might fold, since I have to worry about my kicker. If the pre-flop raiser bets and only one (or no) players call I’ll either check raise the flop or call the flop bet and lead out on the turn (with the intention of folding if I’m raised). If any of your opponents are maniacs you’re probably going to have to show this hand down, which means folding at any spot is out of the question. If your opponents are reasonable, however, the above technique should yield the information you need in order for you to play the hand well.

3. Answer: A or C. Well, ‘b’ and ‘d’ are out of the question. That leaves you with ‘a’ and ‘c’. I’d probably raise here. The argument for ‘c’ is that the player to your right will bet again on the turn, thereby giving you a chance to raise the turn and charge the field two big bets to continue with the hand. However, if you raise here he’ll probably check the turn, and you’ll only have the opportunity to charge the field one big bet on the turn. The idea is that your flop raise won’t get anyone out of the pot (since the pot is getting huge), but that a turn raise will get them out.

This logic is fine, and it works perfectly if the man on your right will bet the turn no matter what. But players like that don’t grow on trees (instead, they grow in a pond). If the player on your right has something like QQ, or JJ, he might check the turn because of the king on board. This means you won’t have the opportunity to raise him on the turn, and your play is essentially ruined. By raising on the flop you’re basically announcing that you’ve flopped big; this makes it less likely that someone will ‘make a play’ at you on the turn (by check raising you, or by lead betting) if a scare card comes, since they’ll figure you’re going to the river with your big hand anyway. In a spot like this you want people to play their hands in a fairly straightforward manner from here on out, since anyone who gets ‘tricky’ might convince you to fold the best hand. This is a mistake you don’t want to make in a big pot.

4. Answer: A or C. As with the previous hand, ‘b’; and ‘d’ are simply not options you should consider. Now in the last hand I recommended raising. But things have now changed. With a jack high board it’s much more likely that your opponent has a hand that he thinks is best (something like QQ, or AJ) which is actually in deep doo-doo. This makes it that much more likely that he’ll bet the turn. Further, a call by you here screams “I have AK”, since most players will just call -but not raise- with two big overcards if they put in the last raise pre-flop and are bet into on a flop that missed them. Since your opponents will think you have AK here they’ll be much more inclined to bet the turn with either the second best hand, or even next to nothing, in the hopes that they’ll get you to fold. Of course, when you suddenly spring to life on the turn they’ll have to rethink things. But by then it will be too late, since you’ll have accomplished your objective; i.e., forcing the rest of the field to call two big bets.

Many, many players will insist that raising here is optimal. And, truth be told, you can make an argument for that. But it’s important to understand that when you’re raising for the purpose of getting people to fold (and this is usually your primary objective when the pot gets big), there’s no sense in raising when anyone who would call one bet will call two, and anyone who will fold for two bets would also fold for one. In a case like this you’re not going to get anyone to fold who wasn’t already planning to do so, which means one of your main reasons for raising has been eliminated. Thus, if you think that by just calling here you can entice your opponent into betting the turn, and you think that the rest of the field will think twice about calling two bets on the turn with a marginal hand, you should strongly consider delaying your raise until after the turn card drops.

5. Answer: A. Bet your hand. Notice that if the pre-flop raiser raises your bet (and he will raise if he has an overpair), the rest of the field is going to be looking at calling two bets cold. As with the last example, there’s no guarantee that anyone who has a hand that you’d like to see fold will in fact fold for two bets. However, because of your position relative to the pre-flop raiser, there’s no obvious way to be sure the rest of the field will be forced to call two bets cold on the turn if you just check and call the flop. If you call the flop, then lead bet the turn, the pre-flop raiser may just call your turn bet with a hand as big as an overpair, since he may be afraid that you’ve slowplayed a monster (which in fact you have). If you were on the pre-flop raiser’s left, you could make an argument of just calling a flop bet with the intention of raising a turn bet, since in this scenario you could force the field to call two bets cold. But that’s not the case here.

A good rule of thumb is this: If the player who is most likely to have a quality hand is on your right, you can consider just calling on the flop with the intention of raising the turn. If, however, that player is on your left, you usually can’t consider this play, since you can’t be sure he’ll raise on the turn for you if you bet the turn. Also, notice that in this case you’re in great shape if the pre-flop raiser raises your flop bet. You’ve got the nuts right now (always a nice spot to be in), and if either of the blinds or the other early position player calls the pre-flop raiser’s flop raise you’ll be able to then make it three bets, thereby charging them a small fortune to continue with their goofy draws. Almost anytime you can get three bets into the pot on the flop with a big hand you should do so, as there’s no guarantee that everyone will be as in love with their hands on the turn as they are on the flop. As we have mentioned in previous lessons, the whole idea behind poker is to charge your opponents as much as possible to continue with their hands when you have a big holding.

HOW DID YOU DO?

4-5 Correct
Congratulations! You’ve got a good grasp of the fundamental concepts that are required for successful play on the flop. If you not only answered the questions correctly but also understand why each correct answer applies, take this solid knowledge base and keep going! Take the second flop quiz and consider some of the recommended reading which will provide you with even more in-depth analysis.

3 Correct
This was a deliberately hard quiz designed to show you all the considerations that an advanced player will make on the flop. If you answered three questions correctly you’re likely on the right track. Just make sure you understand the analysis. Go back and review some of the earlier lessons if you feel you need to. Then move on to the second flop quiz.

1-2 Correct
If you answered 1 or 2 of these questions correctly, we encourage you to look over the explanations of the correct answers carefully. Note how your position in the hand, the size of the pot, and the previous actions of your fellow players greatly affect your decisions. Review these concepts and try taking the quiz again thinking through your answers carefully.

0 Correct
Take heart, tadpole. Maybe you’re used to an unprofitable playing style and are having a hard time making the transition. Or perhaps you just need to read through the lessons more carefully. Don’t fret, you’ll get there.

One of the more unique attributes of low limit hold ‘em is that the pots often get so enormous before the flop that anyone who got even a sliver of help from the flop is frequently justified in continuing on with their hand. For the player holding pocket aces, this can be incredibly frustrating, since it can seem like the river brings one miracle card after another—all of which help our opponent without helping you.

Alas, there is nothing you can do about this. If you have pocket kings, and our opponent has pocket fives, and your opponent has decided that he’s going to go to the river with his hand no matter what, then there’s nothing on God’s green Earth that you can do when he catches a five on the river. But, there are plenty of occasions where your opponents will take a look at the turn with a long shot draw, but will not look at the river IF you’re able to charge them two big bets on the turn to continue with their hands. Thus, it often makes sense to just call (or even check) on the flop with a fairly big yet vulnerable hand, with the intention of slapping your opponents with a raise on the turn. While this play lets them see the turn cheaply, it goes a long way towards keeping them from looking at the river. And when the pots get big, taking a few calculated risks early in the hand is often a good idea if it improves your chances of winning the pot.

Let’s look at an example. You have pocket 9’s on the button, and call after four other players have called. Now the small blind raises, and all call to the man on your right who three bets. You call, and all call. Seven players to the flop for three bets each. The flop comes Jh 9h 6d. All check the the man on your right who bets.

You should just call here. Although most players will raise, in an attempt to protect their equity in the pot, it’s important to note that anyone who has a draw to a hand that would beat you will call two bets here just as easily as they would call one. A hand like Kh Ts, for example, is probably going to see the turn no matter what. So is a hand like Td 7d. However, while these hands are going to see the turn no matter what the price, they may not go to the river if they’re faced with the prospect of paying two big bets. If you just call the flop here, the player to your right will probably bet the turn as well. Now you can raise and charge the field two bets. If, however, you raised here, there’s a good chance that the man on your right would check the turn, which means you’d only have the opportunity to charge the field one bet. If a player goes on to beat you on the river you have lost a lot if he would have folded for two bets on the turn.

In order for this play to work, you need a couple things going for you. First, you want to be fairly sure that the turn bet is going to come from your right. Second, be confident that there are plenty of possible hands your opponents could be holding that will call two flop bets as easily as they’d call just one. Also, check and make sure the pot is big enough (say, larger than 13 small bets or so) to justify taking this kind of risk. If the pot is small, you’re better of raising the flop, which will make any of your opponents’ calls on the flop a horrible mathematical mistake.

IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE BEST HAND, PLAY IT LIKE THE BEST HAND!

The message of this lesson is simple; when you catch a big flop, and you think you have the best hand, don’t be afraid to start dumping money in the middle. There are times when you’d rather hold of on raising until the turn, in hopes that the double sized bets will dissuade your opponents from continuing to the river, but getting as much money as possible in the middle on the flop when you have a big hand can never be that much of a mistake. (We’ll talk about the exception to this in the next lesson).

One mistake average players make is to ’slowplay’ (pretend they don’t have a good hand by not betting) big hands on the flop in hopes of extracting more bets on the turn and river when the bets double. In some cases, such as those hands where the pot is being contested by only a few players, this might be the best strategy. But most low limit games often find five or more players looking at the flop, and at least a couple of these players will often have to draw to a hand that can beat you. With few exceptions, if someone has a relatively legitimate draw to a big hand (a flush draw, for example, or an open ended straight draw, or even an inside straight draw), you’d prefer that these players folded on the flop. If you can’t get them to fold (and in the smaller games this can be difficult indeed), your second-best scenario is to at least charge them as much as possible to continue on with their hand. If you have a hand like AJ, and the flop comes AJ8, or AQJ, you’ll want to charge the straight and flush draws as much a possible. You’re holding a big hand, and likely have over a 50% chance of finishing with the best hand, but you’re still vulnerable. If by raising and reraising you can get a hand that would have ’sucked out’ on you (caught an improbable but winning hand) to fold, you have obviously gained tremendously.

The larger point we’re trying to make here is to play your big hands strongly, since you’ll usually be able to accomplish one of two desirable objectives; either you’ll convince the other players to fold, or you’ll increase your net profit on the hand those times that they miss their draw and you win. Players who bet the flop with a hand like top pair with a big kicker (example: holding KQ, and catching a flop like Qc 8c 4d), then meekly call when raised, just don’t stand a chance of beating the game long-term. Remember; you won’t catch many flops that fit your hand, so when you do it’s imperative that you collect as much money as possible. With a hand like top pair, top kicker (i.e., you have AJ and the flop comes jack high, or you have AK and the flop brings either an ace of a king), don’t be afraid to reraise. If you’ve flopped an even stronger hand, like three of a kind, don’t hesitate to raise someone else’s reraise. Yes, sometimes you’ll get outdrawn, and lose more than you would have if you’d simply called. But you’ll end up dragging a nice sized pot often enough to more than compensate for the money you lost on the ’suck outs’.

This is where the hand usually defines itself; as a result, the play on the flop is usually more complicated then the play on the previous and future rounds. Although the following are some guidelines, we won’t pretend to have given you everything you need to know here. We could devote five hundred pages to the play on the flop, and still not cover everything.

The flop is another spot where most bad players lose a lot of money. When you enter a pot, you should have a pretty good idea of what kind of flop you’re looking for. Unfortunately, you usually won’t catch it. When this happens—and it will happen a lot—you can generally fold the hand and be done with it. For instance: you have Ac Jc, and the flop comes something like Kh 8h 7c. In this spot your play is usually to check and fold. You can’t be sure a jack will be good if it hits, and an ace might give someone two pair. Also, you’re susceptible to flush and straight draws even if you do hit on the turn. Another example is when you have a hand like 88 and the flop comes 9c Qc 2h. You should fold. You’ll see a lot of players who ‘marry themselves’ to big starting hands, and stubbornly continue on, calling bets and even raises, when the flop has missed them completely. Don’t become one of them. Remember that one of the basic concepts to playing hold ‘em successfully is to lose as little money as possible when you do not have the best hand. People who often ‘chase’ (keep playing with the hope that their miracle card will come on the turn or river) are not consistent winners.

That said, there are spots where you might decide to stick around to see the turn. For instance, if you have Ac Jc and the flop had come 9c 6h 3d, you might call one bet in order to see the turn. The reason is that although the flop did not do much to help your hand, it probably didn’t do much to help anyone else’s hand either. An ace on the turn will probably give you the best hand (although beware of someone playing a hand like A3, since an ace will help them more then it helps you), and it’s unlikely that a jack will give someone two pair, unless they’re playing precisely J9. Further, you can catch running clubs to give you the best possible flush.

Whenever you’ve ‘missed’ the flop (and by that we mean you’ve neither flopped top pair or better, nor a four flush or an open ended straight draw) and are considering whether or not to continue with the hand, you should ideally decide which cards will likely help you more than they’ll help your opponent(s) and calculate the chances of one of those cards landing on the next street. Consider this: each card has roughly a 2% chance of showing up at any given time, so the calculations aren’;t hard. For example, let’s say you have AK and have missed the flop (no A or K). If you think an A or a K on the turn will give you the best hand, multiply 6 (the number of A’s and K’s remaining in the deck) by 2 (the percent chance that either of these six cards will drop on the turn). Hence, you have about a 12.5% chance of improving your hand on the next card. These odds may not sound great to you, but as long as there are seven bets in the pot it would be correct for you to call. Since 12.5% the same as 7:1, you need around seven bets in the pot to justify the call. If you also have ‘running flush’ possibilities (as is the case with the above mentioned Ac Jc), you can usually safely add ‘1 out’ to the list of cards you’d like to see. So, instead of having six ‘outs’, you would have seven. You can use these same calculations on the turn when deciding if you should continue on and see the river.

Calculating your odds of getting the cards you want and weighing those odds against how much money you can expect to win if you do end up with the best hand is a whole subject on its own. If you decide you want to get really serious about the game, it is a concept you should learn. Or, if you like odds and math, this concept might appeal to you. For now, lets suffice it to say that the more money that is in the pot, the more “correct” it becomes for you to chase a little.

Correct preflop play is of vital importance to your overall success. After all, if you’re doing things right, the vast majority of your play will occur before the flop. Note that the questions in this quiz will not ask you things like whether or not you should call, fold or raise with 8 3 offsuit in early position. So if you don’t know the answer to that question, review the preflop lessons as you will not benefit from the information in this quiz. That said, onward!

1. You have pocket 7s 7h in middle position. Two players have limped in, and the action is on you. You should:
a. raise
b. call
c. fold

2. You have Jc Jd in the small blind. An early position player calls, two more players call, and the button raises. All the players involved in the hand are fairly loose. You should:
a. raise
b. call
c. fold

3. You have Ts 7s in early position. Two players have already limped in. You should:
a. raise
b. call
c. fold

4. You’re on the button, watching the sports ticker on CNN, when you look up at the screen and see Kd Qd. You notice that three players have already called. You should:
a. raise
b. call
c. fold

5. You have pocket 8’s on the button. Everyone folds to the player directly to your right (known as the ‘cut off seat’), who raises. You should:
a. reraise
b. call
c. fold

6. You’re in the small blind with 4c 4h. An early position player raises, and five players call the raise. The big blind is fairly loose. You should:
a. reraise
b. call
c. fold

7. You have Ac Ad in middle position. One player calls, and the next raises. You should:
a. raise
b. call
c. fold

8. You have Ac 6c in middle to late position. Four players have already called. You should:
a. raise
b. call
c. fold

9. You have Qd Td in middle position. An early position player raises, and everyone folds to you. You should:
a. raise
b. call
c. fold

10. You have Ad Js in the small blind. All fold to the button who raises. You should:
a. reraise
b. call
c. fold

11. You have Kc Tc on the button. An early player raises, one player calls and the action is to you. You should:
a. raise
b. call
c. fold

ANSWERS

1. Answer: B. With a medium pocket pair you’re usually looking to flop a set. Also note that your hand as no blind stealing equity, since there are already two callers.

2. Answer: B. I would just call here. You don’t want to get overly committed to this hand pre-flop, as you may have to get away from it if an overcard flops. Also, three betting probably won’t limit the size of the field since the players are loose. If you could get this pot heads-up, or even three-way, by raising I would probably do so. Otherwise just flat call and see how things develop.

3. Answer: C. Even with a few players already in you don’t have enough of a hand to profitbably participate. Calling here is a mistake often made by players who think they’re better than they are, and by very bad players who lust for action. Fold and don’t give it a second thought.

4. Answer: A. First, keep your eyes off the sports ticker! That being said, this is an easy raise. You have a big hand (you’ll hit a decent flop about 40% of the time), and you have position. Get some money in the middle.

5. Answer: A or C. When you’re still cutting your teeth you might want to fold here. Once you’ve gotten some playing experience, however, a reraise is definitely in order. You probably have the cut-off beat now, and you’d really like to get this pot heads up, thereby greatly improving your chances of winning if your hand doesn’t get any help. Calling here is just a horrible play; whatever you do, avoid option ‘B’.

6. Answer: A or B. Folding is out of the question. I’d strongly consider reraising, if only because a three bet might ‘tie someone on’ who didn’t really flop anything if you’re lucky enough to hit a set. Remember: anyone who flop only two overcards is almost always drawing dead to a flopped set. If the flop comes 8c 4c 2s, you’d like to have hands like Ks Jh, or Ad 9d, come along for the ride, since they have no chance of beating you. If hands like this would usually fold on this flop in a medium sized pot, but call in a big pot, then it behooves you to reraise. However, if the pot is only being contested by five or fewer players, a call here is probably in order. Folding is out of the question. Also note that this play is stronger when you’re on the button, since if you miss you may have a chance to take off a ‘free card’ on the flop, assuming everyone checks to you.

7. Answer: A. Here’s the tip of the day; don’t get cute with pocket A’s. The only time I won’t raise or reraise with aces is if I’m on the button, nobody has yet come in, and the blinds are unusually tight players. Otherwise playing ‘American Airlines’ before the flop is a no-brainer.

8. Answer: B. Top-notch players will often raise here (as will action players, and incorrigible maniacs), but they aren’t gaining all that much from the raise. I’d want to see the flop here, but I’d like to see it cheaply.

9. Answer: C. I know, I know, this hand looks so pretty that it’s hard to part with it. But you must realize that you’re opponent probably has a strong hand, and that flopping top pair could very likely get you into a whole lot of trouble. Remember the golden rule: DON’T COLD CALL RAISES PRE-FLOP. If you’re tempted to call, start looking for reasons to fold. If you can’t find any then look again. The only time you need to be cold calling pre-flop raises is if many players have already entered the pot and you have a hand that plays well multi-way. Otherwise fold or three-bet.

10. Answer: A. He’s probably on a steal, which means you’re hand is likely to be significantly better than his. Also, you’d like to blow out the big blind, which will improve your chances of winning unimproved.

11. Answer: C. If you’re unsure why check back with question eight. Cold calling raises pre-flop is an absolute guaranteed ticket to the poor house. If you’re going to start doing this, then send your money instead to the World Wildlife Fund. Manatees make for a better charity case than poker players.

HOW DID YOU DO?

8-11 Correct
Congratulations! If you answered at least 8 of these questions correctly, you should feel pretty confident that you know what you’re doing pre-flop. And heck – good preflop play is half the battle! Be sure you understand the reasoning behind the answers and then move on to the next lesson.

6-7 Correct
If you answered six or seven questions correctly, and you did so with a solid idea of why you were making these decisions you should still move on to the next lesson. Just be sure you understand the answers.

3-5 Correct
You’d really like to see a slightly higher score here before moving on. This is especially true if you got some of the more straighforward questions wrong. Review the hand rankings and the concept of position. Then come back and give it another shot.

0-2 Correct
Hmmm… If you got two or less correct, we’re guessing you haven’t really looked over the preflop lessons or have failed to understand the fundamental concepts of pre-flop play. Knowing how to play your hand before the flop (especially knowing when to fold) is really important if you expect to make any money, so go back and take another look at the preflop lessons.