The Post-Flop Mistake Everyone Makes

If you want to increase your poker skills and learn to crush the games, check out Jonathan Little’s elite training site at PokerCoaching.com/CardPlayer.

This article is inspired by a mistake I consistently watch poker players make. Most of these players are completely oblivious to this blunder. This error is difficult to notice, especially for those who play in the small- or middle-stakes games, because the vast majority of the player pool all does it.

But once a player becomes enlightened to this leak, they instantly become able to improve their mindset, allowing them to focus on other strategic elements of poker.

The mistake I’m talking about is implementing an overly simple post-flop strategy. Let me explain.

Most amateurs either play post-flop in a blatantly straightforward manner, or blindly continuation bet on the flop with their entire range. These players are incredibly easy to play against because their strategy is so transparent.

In the distant past, most players would make a continuation bet only when they flopped a hand they thought had significant value. This allowed competent players to indiscriminately apply pressure whenever their opponent checked. Clearly if you only bet with your good hands, you will get crushed by your observant opponents because when you bet, they will fold unless they have a premium hand or are getting the right price to outdraw you, and when you check, they will apply aggression and steal the pot.

Over time, most players figured out that if they continuation bet every single time, they become more difficult to play against. The only problem with that strategy is they have an overly wide range including all sorts of junk when they bet. This allows their observant opponents to apply pressure in spots where the board should be bad for the bettor’s range, resulting in them frequently getting outplayed in sizable pots.

of continuation betting with every hand, or only with just your best hands, I suggest you continuation bet ALMOST every time, except for when the board is bad for your hand and it should also be good for your opponent’s range.

As the preflop raiser, you will find that you should usually not continuation bet with your junky post-flop hands on boards that contain all middle cards, such as J-9-7, 9-8-6, or 8-7-3. This is because when you raise, your range will mostly consist of big pairs and big unpaired cards. On middle card boards, you will usually have a hand that is tough to play if your continuation bet gets called or raised.

It is also quite easy for your opponent to have a strong hand on these boards because the hands people typically call raises with contain lots of implied odds hands, such as J-9 suited, 8-7 suited, or 7-6 suited.

Quite often, the best play is to check-fold when you have nothing and your opponent could easily have something. Of course, if you elect to have a check-folding range, be sure to mix in some check-calls (with marginal made hands like top or middle pair) and check-raises (with effective nut hands and draws) to ensure your opponent cannot automatically bet and take down the pot when you check.

While applying aggression is usually a strong strategy, when the board favors your opponent, you must proceed with caution. ♠

Jonathan Little is a two-time WPT champion with more than $7 million in live tournament earnings, best-selling author of 15 educational poker books, and 2019 GPI Poker Personality of the Year. If you want to increase your poker skills and learn to crush the games, check out his training site at PokerCoaching.com/cardplayer.