The Power Play on the Flop - Examples of utilizing power plays on the flop to win the hand

In my last column, I discussed using the power play in no-limit hold'em tournaments – making a big bet, raise, or reraise – to shut out your opponent(s) when you prefer winning the pot immediately rather than playing it any further. The power play can be attempted at any stage of the tournament – early, middle, late, and at the final table. At a shorthanded table or the final table with only a few players left, you are more likely to be called when you make a power play. The two types of players most likely to call are an opponent who has you greatly out-chipped and a player who has so few chips that he is forced to commit the balance of his stack to the pot in order to play the hand.

Watching players push in huge stacks of chips at the final table on television can be quite exciting. Of course, these power plays are made when the table is shorthanded, because only the final six players are in action during most televised events. Actually, when you make a power play, it doesn't matter whether the table is full or shorthanded. The timing of the play may be different, however. For example, when the table is shorthanded, you will normally see a player make a power play on the flop. In this scenario, a player raises before the flop and is called in one spot. Then when the flop hits the board, the initial raiser makes a big-bet power play to try to shut out his opponent.

Before the flop, the power play is used as a reraise. For example, Player A raises and Player B has a medium pocket pair and makes a power play by reraising. He has decided that Player A has an A-K or A-Q and he wants to win the pot right there. If his read on his opponent is correct, he hopes that Player A will release his hand. If he gets called and the flop comes with small cards – no aces, kings, or queens – Player A is in trouble. If he checks and Player B bets, he will normally give up his hand. But if Player A check-raises, Player B must decide whether Player A is making a play at the pot or actually has a hand. In most cases, if Player A has a high pair such as J-J or Q-Q, he will bet to try to win the pot right there. He doesn't want to give Player B a free card in case he reraised before the flop with A-K (two overcards against a pocket pair).

Now, let's look at a different scenario. Suppose you have pocket kings and made a big bet before the flop. One player called your raise. The flop comes J 10 4. You do not want drawing hands in the pot. If your opponent called your big raise with A-K or A-Q, you want to drive him out of the pot right now. With this flop, he might have picked up a flush draw, a straight draw, or even a gutshot-straight draw. You don't want him to call your bet, so you must make a large enough bet that he will not have the right odds to call with a drawing hand.

For example, if there is $1,000 in the pot before the flop, you must bet a minimum of $1,500-$2,000 on the flop in order for your opponent to realize that he should fold because the pot is not laying him the right odds to draw to his hand. If your opponent has A-K, he is drawing to the three aces left in the deck and a gutshot straight (the four queens left in the deck), for a total of seven outs twice. If you do not make a big enough bet, he could have the correct odds to make the call. With $1,000 in the pot, if you bet $1,500-$2,000, you will be taking away his pot odds. If he calls, he has greatly overpaid for the privilege of drawing and is taking far the worst of it.

Provided we pick up enough chips with our power plays, I'm sure we'll meet in the winner's circle one day soon.

Tom McEvoy is the co-author (with Don Vines) of How to Win No-Limit Hold'em Tournaments. You will often find him in action at the poker table at www.pokerstars.com, where he is a spokesperson.