After the flop – nobody raised before the flop Strategy: No-Limit

The pot on the flop ► With a raise ▫Two players limp ahead of you ($0.25), you have a strong hand and you raise to 6 BB ($1.5), both opponents call. The pot is now $4.85. ► Without a raise ▫Two players limp ahead of you ($0.25), you also call ($0.25) and the big blind checks. The pot is $1.10. Never go broke in an unraised Pot!

What do you want to hit with an unraised pot? ► How you end up with an unraised pot ▫You are in the big blind and you check. ▫You limp with a speculative hand from the middle or late position. Small pocket pairs Suited aces with a small kicker Suited connectors Face cards ► You should generally limp “first in” only with small pairs! ► What you want to hit on the flop ▫Strong hands that you can play a big pot with. Three of a kind Strong draw Two pair

How strong is your hand? ► Important factors ▫What kind of cards do you have? ▫How many opponents are you playing against? ▫What is your position on the table? ▫How are your opponents playing? ► Hand categories ▫Worthless hands ▫Weak draws ▫Strong draws ▫Medium made hands ▫Strong made hands

What influence do your opponents and position have? ► Your opponents ▫A top pair with a middle kicker is often strong against one opponent. ▫Against, e.g. four opponents, however, this will usually be beaten. ► Your position ▫How many opponents will act before you and how many after you? ▫It is considerably more profitable to play in position than it is to play out of position. ► How your opponents play ▫How easily does your opponent fold? ▫How often will he try to bluff you out of the hand? ▫If he doesn’t give up on the flop, when does he give up? The more opponents you have, the stronger your hand must be.

How do you play on the flop? ► General rules ▫Never play passively on the flop with a made hand. ▫Don’t set any traps for your opponents. ▫Do not call any bets with a medium made hand. ► Unraised pots are rarely bluffed, thus… ▫…if you are ahead, protect your hand and get money from weaker hands. ▫…if you are behind, you should fold.

How do you play on the flop? ► Worthless hands ▫You should fold these types of hands. This means, you check or fold to any bet from your opponent.

Example#1: On the flop – worthless hand Hero (BB) $25 SB $25 UTG1 $25 UTG2 $25 CO $25 Hero (BB) $25 SB $25 UTG1 $25 UTG2 $25 CO $25 Preflop: Flop: ($1.25) SB checks, Hero checks, UTG1 bets $1, UTG2 calls $1, 2 folds, Hero folds. UTG1 calls $0.25, UTG2 calls $0.25, 4 folds, CO calls $0.25, 1 fold, SB calls $0.15, Hero checks.

How do you play on the flop? ► Worthless hands ▫You should fold all hands in this category. This means, you check or fold to every bet from your opponents. ► Weak draws ▫You can try a semi-bluff every once in a while, if you’re up against the right opponents, and if you are in position. ▫A semi-bluff makes sense if your hand can still become strong and/or you can easily force your opponent to fold.

Example #2: on the flop – weak draw Hero (SB) $25 BB $25 UTG1 $25 MP1 $25 Hero (SB) $25 BB $25 UTG1 $25 MP1 $25 Preflop: Flop: ($1) Hero checks, BB checks, UTG1 checks, MP1 bets $0.25, Hero calls $0.25, BB calls $0.25, 1 fold. UTG1 calls $0.25, 2 folds, MP1 calls $0.25, 4 folds, Hero calls $0.15, BB checks.

How do you play on the flop? ► Worthless hands ▫You should fold all hands in this category. This means, you check or fold to every bet from your opponents. ► Weak draws ▫You can try a semi-bluff every once in a while, if you’re up against the right opponents, and if you are in position. ▫A semi-bluff makes sense if your hand can still become strong and/or you can easily force your opponent to fold. ► Strong draws ▫With strong draws, you usually have an equity of ~30%. ▫You should always act with strong draws, if you are in position, and your opponents check. ▫If somebody bets before you, you can call, if you have enough Implied Pot Odds or the pot odds are good. ▫It is not advisable to raise bets made before you, when holding a draw.

Example #3: on the flop – strong draw Hero (SB) $25 BB $25 MP3 $25 CO $25 Hero (SB) $25 BB $25 MP3 $25 CO $25 Preflop: Flop: ($1) Hero bets $0.8, BB raises $2, 2 folds, Hero calls $ folds, MP3 calls $0.25, CO calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.15, BB checks.

How do you play on the flop? ► Medium made hands ▫If your opponents check to you, you should bet. If somebody raises after you, fold. ▫If somebody bets before you, call. If an opponent raises, fold. On the turn you will decide how you should continue to play your hand. ▫If no draws are possible, and you have three or fewer opponents, you can also just call every once and awhile.

Example #4: on flop – medium made hand Hero (BB) $25 SB $25 BU $25 Hero (BB) $25 SB $25 BU $25 Preflop: Flop: ($0.75) SB checks, Hero bets $0.6, BU calls $0.6, SB folds. 7 folds, BU calls $0.25, SB calls $0.15, Hero checks.

How do you play on the flop? ► Medium made hands ▫If your opponents check to you, you should bet. If somebody raises after you, fold. ▫If somebody bets before you, call. If an opponent raises, fold. On the turn you will decide how you should continue to play your hand. ▫If no draws are possible, and you have three or fewer opponents, you can also just call every once and awhile. ► Strong made hands ▫Before you decide to fold a strong made hand on the flop, be very certain that you are, indeed, beaten. ▫ Essentially speaking, you should get highly active with such hands, and try to build a large pot. ▫If you are raising an opponent’s bet, then the size of your raise is calculated with the formula: Raise = Pot (including all bets) + 2 * opponent’s bet

Example #5: on the flop – strong made hand Hero (MP1) $25 SB $25 BB $25 BU $25 Hero (MP1) $25 SB $25 BB $25 BU $25 Preflop: Flop: ($1) SB checks, BB bets $0.7, Hero raises $3.1, 3 folds. 3 folds, Hero calls $0.25, 3 folds, BU calls $0.25, SB calls $0.15, BB checks. Formula for a raise: Size of the pot + 2 * opponent‘s bet Raise= * 0.7 = 3.1 Formula for a raise: Size of the pot + 2 * opponent‘s bet Raise= * 0.7 = 3.1

How do you play on the turn? ► Nobody bet on the flop ▫If you didn’t have anything before, but hit a made hand on the turn (like a top pair), then you should bet. ▫If your hand hasn’t improved, fold in response to any bet. ▫If you hit a draw, you need the right pot odds to continue playing. 11:1 for a gutshot 4:1 for a flush draw 5:1 for an OESD ► Somebody bet on the flop ▫You should fold with a medium made hand if you have multiple opponents on the turn, and one of them bets. ▫If none of your opponents bets, you have two options: Check after turn, call river Bet turn, check after river ▫You can call with a draw if your pot odds are good, and you are sure that nobody will raise after you.

Example #6: on the turn - draws Hero (BU) $25 SB $25 BB $25 MP1 $25 Hero (BU) $25 SB $25 BB $25 MP1 $25 Preflop: Flop: ($1) SB checks, BB checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets $0.8, SB calls $0.8, 2 folds. 3 folds, MP1 calls $0.25, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.25, SB calls $0.15, BB checks. You check: - You take a free card. - You keep the pot small. - You see two cards for the price of one. You check: - You take a free card. - You keep the pot small. - You see two cards for the price of one. Turn: ($2.6) SB checks, Hero bets $2. You bet: - You assume that your opponent will fold or you will hit your flush on the river. - If your opponent calls and you don’t hit, you give up on the river. - If your opponent raises, you should fold on the turn. You bet: - You assume that your opponent will fold or you will hit your flush on the river. - If your opponent calls and you don’t hit, you give up on the river. - If your opponent raises, you should fold on the turn.

Example #7: on the turn – medium made hand Hero (BB) $25 SB $25 CO $25 Hero (BB) $25 SB $25 CO $25 Preflop: Flop: ($0.75) SB bets $0.5, Hero calls $0.5, SB calls $ folds, CO calls $0.25, 1 fold, SB calls $0.15, Hero checks. Turn: ($2.25) SB bets $1.5, Hero folds...

Example #8: on the turn – strong made hand Hero (SB) $25 BB $25 MP1 $25 MP3 $25 CO $25 Hero (SB) $25 BB $25 MP1 $25 MP3 $25 CO $25 Preflop: Flop: ($1.25) Hero checks, BB checks, MP1 bets $1, MP3 calls $1, 1 fold, Hero calls $1, 1 fold. 3 folds, MP1 calls $0.25, 1 fold, MP3 calls $0.25, CO calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.15, BB checks. Turn: ($4.25) Hero bets $3, MP1 raises $6.

How do you play on the river? ► Nobody has bet until now ▫Does a bet make sense, because there are enough worse hands that would pay you off? ▫Does it make sense to call a bet, because your opponent would bet with worse hands? ▫If you have at least a middle or a top pair, you can bet about 1/3 of the pot. ► There was already action in the previous betting rounds ▫You fold with an incomplete draw. ▫With a made hand, it depends on the board texture and the previous play of your opponent. Can you bet with your cards? Are your cards strong enough for a raise? Can you call at least one bet? ▫If you want to call a bet on the river, the more players that called before you, the stronger your hand has to be.

Example #9: on the river - draws Hero (BU) $25 SB $25 BB $25 MP1 $25 Hero (BU) $25 SB $25 BB $25 MP1 $25 Preflop: Flop: ($1) SB checks, BB checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets $0.8, SB calls $0.8, 2 folds. 3 folds, MP1 calls $0.25, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.25, SB calls $0.15, BB checks. Turn: ($2.6) SB checks, Hero bets $2, SB calls $2. River: ($6.6) SB checks, Hero checks. With a draw on the river, it doesn’t make sense to continue to play aggressively, because only hands that you would have beat anyway will fold.

Example #10: on the river – medium made hand Hero (CO) $25 BB $25 UTG1 $25 MP1 $25 BU $25 Hero (CO) $25 BB $25 UTG1 $25 MP1 $25 BU $25 Preflop: Flop: ($1.35) BB checks, UTG1 checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets $1, BU calls $1, 3 folds. UTG1 calls $0.25, 2 folds, MP1 calls $0.25, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.25, BU calls $0.25, 1 fold, BB checks. Turn: ($3.35) Hero bets $2.25, BU calls $2.25. River: ($7.85) Hero checks, BU bets $3, Hero calls $3. If no draws were possible on the flop, you should bet again on the river as an aggressor. If your bet gets raised, fold. If there is was draw on the flop, and it comes in on the river, take the free showdown as long as you are in position. If you are out of position, bet, and should someone raise it, fold. If there is was draw on the flop, and it comes in on the river, take the free showdown as long as you are in position. If you are out of position, bet, and should someone raise it, fold. If there was a draw on the flop and it didn’t come on the river, you can play “check/call for bluff induce” if you are in position.

Example #11: on the river – strong made hand Hero (SB) $25 BB $25 MP1 $25 MP3 $25 CO $25 Hero (SB) $25 BB $25 MP1 $25 MP3 $25 CO $25 Preflop: Flop: ($1.25) Hero checks, BB checks, MP1 bets $1, MP3 calls $1, 1 fold, Hero calls $1, 1 fold. 3 folds, MP1 calls $0.25, 1 fold, MP3 calls $0.25, CO calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.15, BB checks. Turn: ($4.25) Hero bets $3.5, MP1 calls $3.5, 1 fold. River: ($11.25) Hero bets $7, 1 fold. With a strong made hand, you should continue to play aggressively on the river, because you cannot assume that your opponent will bet if you check.

Summary ► Never play made hands passively on the flop ▫Information about your opponent’s hand strength is more important in unraised pots, than in pots where someone raised before the flop. ► You need a strong hand for a large pot ▫The pot is small and your opponent’s hand range is large. If you build up a large pot, then only do this with a strong hand. Never play for large amounts with a medium hand in an unraised pot!