Middle Limit Texas Holdem Post Flop Strategy

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The flop gives each player that is still in the hand three cards to go along with their two hole cards. These three additional cards will have a big impact on your hand and on the eventual winner of the hand. Preflop your hand might have been pocket Kings but once the flop comes down 8-9-10 it completely changes how powerful your hand is. Once the flop comes down you’ll have either a good hand or a bad hand.

So what makes a good hand on the flop? A good hand on the flop is one where your hole cards have connected with it giving you a good made hand or a good draw.

I consider a good made hand to be top pair or better. A good drawing hand would be an open end straight draw or a flush draw.

There are times where you’ll get a phenomenal draw such as a flush-draw with two overcards or a straight-draw combined with a flush-draw. A flop that connects with your hole cards like this are considered a premium hand and should be played aggressively.

Postflop you should expect that there will be fewer players in the hand because several have probably folded preflop. You’ll also have seen how the players still in the hand acted preflop. Did they call, raise or reraise preflop?

You will also have several additional things to be aware of after the flop:

How many players are still in the hand?
If there are still several players still left in the game then there is a very good chance that one of your opponents has connected with the flop in a big way. At the very least they are on some kind of hand that should rate pretty well.

How do your opponents play?
Knowing if you are up against an aggressive or passive player helps you to select how you will play the hand and the opponent.

What is the nature of the flop?
You will want to evaluate the number of draws that are on the flop not only for your hand but also what hands your opponents may have or what hands they are trying to make.

What is the size of the pot?
You should understand the concept of pot odds. Also, when the pot is small there are times when you will be able to get an opponent that has a bad hand to try to pick it up. By doing so, they’ll be adding more money to the pot. You should also realize that when the pot is large, it becomes more difficult for you to steal the pot.

A common decision that you will be up faced with quite often on the flop is how to deal with a raise. If you think that you are beat and have little chance to improve to the best hand then you should fold. However, if you are getting the correct pot odds to make the call then you should call the bet. If you are on a big draw or you feel that you have the best hand then you should raise/re-raise.

When deciding how to play my hands postflop I always consider the number of opponents that I am up against, what are their likely hands, did I hit a piece of the flop, and has the pot been raised. If I’m up against only three players and the pot is unraised and I am on a good draw, I am definitely going to raise the pot. I might even pick the pot up right then and there.

Now, if the pot has been raised and high cards come down on the flop, I consider this a pretty dangerous situation. It is pretty common to find that someone has top pair in a raised pot after the flop. Many players love to play their high cards and call hands with them.

In a situation where there were no high cards on the flop and I draw a middle pair (8-8, 7-7…) I will want to bet to protect my hand. My strategy here is not to let anyone see free cards or to play cheaply.

If my hand misses the flop then I would most likely fold my hand. First, I’d assess the number of outs that I have, will those outs improve me to the best hand or not and I will also look to assess if one of my outs not only improves my hand but does it improve one of my opponents hands? An out should really only be considered an out if it only improves your hand to be the winner. If it also improves someone else’s to beat yours it is not really an out.

Let’s take a look at some specific situations on the flop:

Playing Overcards
In this situation, my hole cards are A – Q and the flop comes down K-8-7.  This pretty much misses my hand and not only that, there were five other players seeing the flop. It’s a pretty good bet that someone connected with the flop especially if others raise, re-raise and/or call the bets. The question here for me is, do I stay in the hand and put more money into the pot to see if I will hit a card on the turn? Remember the bets on the turn are now double. In this instance, I’m pretty sure that I’m beat and will just toss my hand away.

Flopping an Overpair or Top Pair
If I flop an overpair or top pair with a good kicker then I have a strong hand that I will play aggressively. My goal here is to raise the pot and drive players out of the hand. Reducing the number of opponents that are up against me lessens the chance that someone might hit a card on a later round to beat me.
 
On occasion, even though I have flopped top pair, my opponents may have hit it as well with a set, a flush or a straight. You’ll need to read the flop, the number of opponents in the hand and there actions. Several opponents in the hand that are betting or calling are a pretty good indication that I’m likely beat. Unfortunately, I’ll have to fold my hand. Betting a hand that I have little chance to win with, no matter how strong it seems at first, is just throwing money away.
 
Drawing Hands
Drawing hands can vary greatly. The main thing that I look at is how strong of a draw am I on. Is it a high end open straight or straight flush draw, or is it trying to pair middling cards? The rule of thumb is that the stronger your draw the more aggressively you play it.
In general you will find that if you’re two hole cards are part of a draw it will be much more powerful than if only one hole card was part of your draw. This is especially true in an open ended straight draw.

Using the open ended straight draw example, if you are the favorite to win with two cards to come you should be aggressively raising and re-raising. However, if you were to flop a gutshot straight draw it is highly unlikely that you don’t have the correct pot odds to call with and should fold your hand.
 
Single Suited Flops
A single suited flop is when the cards on the flop all are of the same suit – three hearts, three spades etc…

If you don’t have a card of that same suit, in all likelihood your opponent does. This is obviously a very dangerous situation and one where you will most likely end up folding especially to a raise. Your top pair against this flop goes way down in value as does your overpair, straight etc… Unless of course you’re close to hitting a royal flush. Playable hands in a single suited flop would include two pair and also sets because you can still end up with a full house and win the hand.

Middle, Bottom or Second Pair
When you are holding one of these three hands after the flop, look at pot odds and implied odds to guide if you should play or if you should fold your hand. Playing small pairs post flop when you miss the flop is a big mistake in middle limit holdem especially when 2 or 3 higher cards than yours appear on the flop. The pot that you would have to win has to be huge to make it worth your while. This will rarely be the case. You will usually end up throwing way more money into these pots then you will win.

One of best plays that you can make after the flop is folding especially when you are not getting a good price to call or when the hand that you are trying to make can not win.

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