Some Flop Play

There is a myriad of situations in which you fail to flop top pair or better, or you fail to catch a flush draw or an open-end straight draw. In many of these situations, it is unclear as to how to proceed or how you should react after others have acted. The texture of the board, the pot size, the number of opponents, the previous betting action, the current betting action, and, of course, your own hand play a critical role in determining your proper course of action. The following set of hands all deal with flops that give you a pair lower than top pair without an open-end straight draw or a flush draw. Since the hands were taken from live play, not all of the actions leading up to the problem in question are always fully correct, but they are usually reasonable.

Hand No. 1 ($30-$60 game): You are in the big blind with the 6 5. An early-position player raises and only the small blind and you call. There is $180 in the pot and three players. The flop is A 6 3, giving you middle pair and a backdoor-flush draw. The small blind checks. What should you do?

Answer: Bet. In a three-way pot, you should bet the flop with middle pair and some backdoor possibilities despite the presence of an early-position preflop raiser and an ace-high board. By betting, you can represent an ace, so you may win the pot outright, and you have outs when you get called. This board does not figure to help anyone who doesn't have an ace.

Hand No. 2 ($30-$60 game): You raise an under-the-gun limper from early position with the J J. Only the cutoff calls until it gets back to the under-the-gun limper, who now three-bets. You call, as does the cutoff. The flop arrives with the Q 10 8, giving you a gutshot-straight draw in addition to your pair. The under-the-gun player bets. What should you do?

Answer: Raise. You should attempt to get the cutoff out of the hand and create some dead money. If the limping reraiser has A-A or K-K, it is unlikely you will get three-bet given that board and your early-position preflop raise. Furthermore, you have six outs to beat A-A or K-K. If the bettor has A-K, you are raising with a better hand.

Hand No. 3 ($40-$80 game): You are in the big blind with the A J. You are new to the game and everyone is a stranger to you. An early-position player opens with a raise, and everyone folds to the small blind, who calls. You are getting 5-to-1 pot odds to take a flop and see three cards, knowing the raiser could have a hand that dominates yours. Nevertheless, you are a good player and can get away from this hand if you flop something like top pair and get heat. You will not stay married to it and pay off all the way to the river when this unfortunate scenario unfolds. This is why you are sitting in a $40-$80 game. For these reasons, you call. There is $240 in the pot and three players. The flop is K J 3, giving you middle pair with top kicker, and a backdoor-flush draw. The small blind checks. What should you do?

Answer: Check. Betting is not a bad play, but it is still wrong given this flop and an early-position preflop raiser yet to act. This flop will connect with many hands that an early raiser might have. He figures to have something like A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, 10-10, A-K, or A-Q. Between your hand and the flop, there are 22 hands that give him a better hand than yours and only 18 hands where you are in the lead. Another consideration is that this flop has both a two-flush and two cards loosely connected in the playing zone. Thus, it is unlikely that betting will win the pot outright for you. The only hand an early raiser might have that he would fold is pocket tens. Even in this unlikely case, a free card to a player who has only two outs to beat you is not the end of the world. With A-Q, he will call with his gutshot and an overcard against an opponent who could be betting a flush draw or a straight draw. On the other hand, if he has one of the 22 hands that beat yours, he is likely to raise. When you bet and get raised, you are paying two bets to take a card off, which hurts your odds. You have five outs, which is an 8-to-1 shot. If you check, your opponent figures to bet virtually every time, given his preflop raise and having only two opponents who have checked to him here on the flop. Now when you call, you are getting better pot odds. Furthermore, if you check and it gets bet and raised back to you, you will be happy you did not lead and can fold. While it is occasionally correct to bet a hand with which you would call, this is not one of those situations. You want to take a card off cheaply, given this board, your position, and the previous betting action.

Hand No. 4 ($10-$20 game): You are in the cutoff seat with the K K. An early-position player limps in and you raise. The button, both blinds, and the limper call. There is $100 in the pot and five players. The flop is A 5 3, leaving you with your pocket pair. Both blinds and the limper check. What should you do?

Answer: Check. The ace overcard, the two-flush, and the fact that you have four opponents makes betting a bad idea. With only one or two opponents, betting would be clear. With three opponents, betting becomes borderline. Don't be fooled by all the checking, since these players were merely "checking to the raiser."

Hand No. 5 ($20-$40 game): A middle-position player opens with a raise, and you call with the Q J. The small blind also calls. There is $140 in the pot and three players. The flop is K Q 7, giving you middle pair. The small blind goes all in by betting, and the preflop raiser calls. What should you do?

Answer: Call. You cannot give the all-in player any credit for having a hand. He is most likely on some kind of a draw and will almost always have a worse hand than yours. The preflop raiser just called and did not raise the flop bet. You should call.

Hand No. 6 ($10-$20 game): An early-position player limps in, and you limp in from middle position with the A 9. Everyone else folds. There is $35 in the pot and three players. The flop is 10 9 3, giving you middle pair, top kicker. The big blind bets and the early limper calls. What should you do?

Answer: Fold. This is a situation where the pot is small and the likelihood of being up against a better hand like top pair makes calling unwise. Between the bettor and the caller, someone could easily have a pair of tens or better, giving you only five outs at most, which is an 8-to-1 shot, and you are not even getting 6-to-1 on your call. Now, add in the presence of a two-flush, which could kill one of your outs or set up redraws against you at the river, and you won't win all of the time even when you do get lucky and hit.

Hand No. 7 ($30-$60 game): You are in the big blind with the 3 3. This is a sixhanded game. A middle-position player opens with a raise, and this guy is a top professional. You are the only caller. There is $140 in the pot and two players. The flop is 6 6 5, giving you two pair. What should you do?

Answer: Check with the intention of check-raising. Your opponent figures to bet. This flop is unlikely to have helped a preflop raiser, but easily could have helped someone in the big blind. If you lead out, your opponent will figure you for a 5, a pocket pair, or a straight draw. He will not put you on trip sixes. But if you check-raise, you may well get him to fold if he has just overcards, out of fear that he is drawing almost dead. Of course, if he calls, you will be betting the turn regardless of what comes off.

Editor's note: Jim Brier has co-authored a new book with Bob Ciaffone entitled Middle Limit Holdem Poker. It is available through Card Player.