Far too many players ignore flop texture when playing Texas hold'em. Why so many players ignore texture continues to amaze me. After all, a flop's texture is free information when you're trying to connect the dots by evaluating the board's composition in conjunction with the range of cards your opponent could be holding. While it's easy to abstractly assign a range of hands to your opponent, the texture of the flop goes a long way toward delineating the range of hands he is likely holding, along with those potential hands that might have been dashed by a texture that won't help his hole cards at all.
Poker players who bet and call without regard texture are making a costly mistake, and these are the very players you want to play against. When you take board texture into account and are able to assign a more precise hand range to an opponent because his broader range has been modified by the board's texture, your reads on your opponents will be all the more accurate for it.
Dry and Wet Boards
- It's said that the term flop came into existence due to the sound the dealer makes when he 'flops' the first three community cards on the table. As this became colloquial, 4th street became known as the 'turn,' while the river is a much older term that comes from before community card poker games were even played.
- If they find it difficult to size their bets during the post-flop stage, this may work in your favor. In the pre-flop stage, it'll end up biting you in the behind. Bet Sizing in the Post-Flop Stage of Texas Hold'em. Let's take a look at what happens post-flop. If you raise in the pre-flop stage, a continuation bet is expected.
The first thing that should come to mind when thinking about flop texture is whether you're looking at a dry or a wet board. While further refinements can be made when examining boards, step one is determining whether the board is dry or wet. Dry boards are those that offer few drawing possibilities while wet boards are rife with drawing possibilities. Boards in between are neutral.
Flop, turn and river In Texas hold'em, the cards placed by the dealer on the board is called community cards. The community cards are dealt in three phases, which namely is the flop, the turn and the river. This is not the case in all poker variations, but you will face this order in the most popular games, such as Texas hold'em and Omaha. Texas hold'em is played by a rotating dealer and the player on button receives last action on all post-flop streets of play. Once the hand completes, the player with the dealer button will pass it to the player left to him or her. The Blinds (blind Bets) There are two blinds in Holdem: a small blind and a big blind.
Dry boards generally have one big and two small cards, or three small cards that do not support a flush draw, and while a ragged board might support a straight draw, it's unlikely that your opponents would be holding cards that connect with such a flop.
Examples of dry boards would include:
Look at those flops. There just aren't many hands that coordinate with them. While someone holding would love the first flop, and an opponent with in his hand would have flopped a set with the latter board, you really can't assume your opponent has either of those hands. You have to begin assessing your opponent's hand by assigning a range of hands to him, and when you do, the ranges supported by these two flops are quite narrow.
Playing Into a Dry Board
When examining a ragged, low flop, it's important to account for whether anyone raised before the flop. If there was a raise before the flop and callers – especially cold callers as opposed to players who called and then called again when the pot was raised behind them – there's a far less likelihood that a low, ragged board was the answer to anyone's prayers.
If the raiser was in early position, and most or all of your opponents cold-called the raise, you can discount the possibility of a straight anytime you see a dry, low, ragged board, and anyone who comes out betting is either representing an overpair or bluffing.
A dry board can also contain a pair, and a flop like is dry in the sense that it does not support any draws. That doesn't guarantee a win for you. After all, someone might have taken a flyer with a hand like and is now sitting pretty with a hand no one suspects him of holding. Even if someone hung around with , he's probably now in the lead with two pair, even with a somewhat dicey kicker.
Wet Boards
Wet boards are the opposite of dry boards; they're heavy with draws and well coordinated. Here are a couple of examples of wet boards:
These two flops have two big cards that would pair-up with the kinds of big cards most hold'em players are fond of, plus they support flush draws, along with a couple of straight draws. In fact, if these flops hits someone perfectly, that person already made his straight.
The more coordinated a wet board is in terms of supporting straight and flush draws and the greater the number of players in the pot, the more a wet board makes it difficult to envision winning with a hand like top pair, top kicker.
Boards like this have cards that reside in what's referred to as the playing zone. The playing zone is just what you think it is: the area of the deck where players find cards they want to play, and it's usually cards ranging from jack through ace, or ten through ace. When most players are dealt two cards in the playing zone, they're going to look for a reason to play them, and only a big raise, or a raise and a reraise will dissuade them.
Board Texture and Continuation Bets
Reading the board's texture is very important when considering whether you should make a continuation bet. It's not difficult at all to do this. If the flop hit you hard, you're going to bet; that's a given. But the flop figures to miss you more often than not. If, for example, you raised before the flop with A-K, you're only going to like the flop one-third of the time. But by evaluating the board's texture and the range of your opponent's likely cards, you'll have a good handle on whether you should bet when you miss the flop.
Dry boards garner more folds then wet boards because there fewer combinations of hands to connect with them, and when you're the pre-flop raiser and know that the flop is very unlikely to have helped your adversary, you can make a continuation bet knowing you have a good chance of forcing your opponent to fold. Even if he thinks you might not have connected with the flop, there's always a chance that you're sitting there with a big pocket pair. You, on the other hand, know he had nothing before the flop and probably nothing on it.
So go ahead and c-bet into that dry board and watch your opponent fold most of the time. In fact, if your opponent plays hit-to-win, fit-or-fold poker, you'll take down the pot almost every time. Just remember not to vary your bet size too much when c-betting as compared to when you have a real hand, so your opponent can't gauge the strength of your hand by the size of your bet.
Using Texture to Raise Aggressive Opponents
Sometimes you can raise an aggressive opponent on the flop based on your own drawing possibilities and the board's texture. Suppose there was a raise before the flop and you call from late position with a hand like . We'll assume both blinds folded and the flop is . The flop's texture does not support a flush draw, so you need not worry about that. And while you don't have a hand yet, you do have a straight draw along with two overcards that might propel you into the winner's circle if you pair either of them on the turn or the river. You've got lots of ways to win.
Your opponent probably raised in front of you with a pocket pair or two big connecting cards. Based on probability alone, chances are your opponent has big cards rather than a pair and if he does, he whiffed on the flop. If he has A-K, A-Q, A-J, K-Q or a medium pair like 7-7 or 8-8 and comes out betting, he might even fold to your raise, and you won't have to see the turn or river to win the hand. The flop's texture, coupled with the equity present in that combination of a big draws plus overcards, along with the likelihood that your opponent didn't really like the flop, gives you a good chance of taking it down with a raise.
On the other hand, suppose you raised with only to see a flop of . Even if the blinds check to the raiser, you're staring straight up at two overcards right in the playing zone. You have no draw to speak of, and are probably going to check, hoping that anyone who acts after you will also check so you can see a free card in hopes of turning a set.
Now we'll assume you open-raised with from late position only to see a flop of . A low-card flop tends to hit callers rather than raisers, so a continuation bet is probably the way to go here, because the flop probably missed your opponents just as it missed you. But if you make a bet and are called, figure your opponent for a pocket pair or a draw of some sort, since these are the very kinds of hands that would call in this situation. When that happens you'll have to be wary of any turn card that appears to support hands of that nature.
If the turn card is a big one – an ace or a king – it will appear scary to anyone on a draw or holding a small pair, so it presents you with a good opportunity to take a stab at the pot. But if the turn is a low card, you're better off checking and probably souping your hand if your opponent bets.
Awareness of the flop's texture – as well as the texture of the board on the turn and the river too – is a powerful tool for assessing the possible strength of your opponent's hand. Poker machine ringtones free. Texture, along with betting patterns, the number of players contesting the pot and their playing styles, goes a long way to raising your game far above that of a simple hit-to-win strategy, and gives you a number of ways to identify opportunities to bluff, bet on the come, or check and fold, and each of them can win or save money for you in the long run.
Related Lessons
By Lou Krieger
The author of many best-selling poker books, including 'Hold'em Excellence' and 'Poker for Dummies'. A true ambassador of the game and one of poker's greatest ever teachers.
Related Lessons
This article covers ways to improve your results after the flop playing Texas holdem, but you can use the same information to improve your play in any poker game with a flop, like Omaha. Many poker strategy articles focus on playing tight before the flop, and playing all of your hands in an aggressive manner.
But the best Texas holdem players know how to play well after the flop, and this is where they make most of their profits. While playing tight before the flop is very important, it's only one of many areas you need to do well in if you want to win more playing poker.
Aggressive play is good in many situations, but the best poker players understand when they should be aggressive and when it's more profitable to back off and let an opponent lead the way. It's dangerous to blindly follow any piece of poker advice, because there's almost always an exception.
Here's a list of four ways you can improve you post flop play in Texas holdem.
1 – Fold More Pre Flop Hands
The best way to improve your post flop play in Texas holdem is to put yourself in the best position to win at the start of the hand. This means that you need to stop playing hands that don't have a good chance to win after the flop.
You're going to learn more about expectation and expected value in a different section, but you need to look at every starting hand and try to determine if it's profitable to play it. In other words, if you were in the exact same situation with your current starting hand hundreds of times, would you make more than you lose if you enter the pot every time.
Most poker players don't look at starting hands this way, but this is actually the exact situation you're in. Over the course of your life you're going to play many poker hands. Instead of playing hundreds or thousands of different playing sessions; you're actually playing one long game of poker that never ends until you die.
This means that you may play the same starting hand hundreds or thousands of times.
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Most Texas holdem players know that pocket aces and kings are profitable to play in the long run, and hands like seven two off suit aren't profitable. But what do you know about pocket sevens? Are they profitable in the long run? Will this effect your casino bankroll management?
In some situations pocket sevens are profitable, and in some situations they aren't. The key that unlocks your long term profits is learning when questionable hands can be played for a profit and when they can't.
Many things go into learning this, but for now you can start improving by playing fewer starting hands. Until you start winning consistently, only play your best starting hands, and only play most hands from late position.
By improving the average value of your starting hands, you improve your chances to have a good hand after the flop.
2 – Use Your Position Better
The best Texas holdem poker players are always aware of their position and know how to use it to their advantage. Winning poker players know that they can only play their top starting hands in early and middle position, because these positions make you weak and you can be manipulated by players in later positions.
On the other hand, when you play most of your hands with position on your opponents you can manipulate them and use your position to your advantage. Consider all of the advantages that having position at the poker table gives you.
The largest advantage of having position is that you have more information than your opponent or opponents have when you have to act. You already know what your opponents did before you have to act, so you have additional information. This is a strong advantage that winning poker players understand.
Another advantage is when you're the last to act; you have more control over the pot size.
Learn how position changes the value of your starting hands and it makes it easier to decide which hands to see the flop with and which hands you should fold early.
3 – Pot Odds and Expectation
The most profitable tools in every poker player's belt if they want to win more are pot odds and expectation. And these tools are of the most value after the flop.
When you see the flop, you know the value of five out of the seven total cards that you're going to use to make your best five card hand. You also know how your opponents have played the hand up to this point, so you have a large amount of information.
Texas Holdem Flop River
With this information you can start formulating the odds of winning the hand, make correct decisions based on pot odds when one of your opponents makes a bet, and use expectation, or expected value, to make all of your decisions.
Pot odds are a simple way to determine if you should call a bet. You compare the odds of winning the hand, either with your current hand or improving to a better hand, with the size of the bet against the size of the pot. Every winning Texas holdem player uses pot odds to some degree, so if you're not using them now the best way to improve is to learn how to use pot odds.
Expectation or expected value is the most important concept you need to learn. Expected value can be assigned to every decision you make at the Texas holdem tables. It starts before you receive your starting hand, and runs throughout each hand until the showdown.
Every decision you make at the poker table is either profitable or unprofitable. When you raise with pocket aces before the flop it's profitable because in the long run you're going to make more than you lose. If you limp into the pot with two seven, it's a negative expectation play because you're going to lose more than you win in the long run.
Texas Holdem Flop River And Casino
When you make decisions based on pot odds after the flop, you're using expected value. If the pot odds are correct, it's profitable to stay in the hand. When the pot odds aren't correct, the most profitable long term play is to fold.
The odds are high that you're not currently using expectation and expected value as well as you can. Learn how to improve your use of expectation and it automatically improves your post flop results at the Texas holdem tables.
4 – Bluff and Fold Less
If you only see the flop with hands that show a long term profit, use your position at the table correctly, and use pot odds and expectation, most of the hard work to becoming a profitable post flop Texas holdem player is done. The only two things you need to know to complete your transformation are you need to bluff less and fold less after the flop.
The reason I include both of these things in the same section is because they're closely related.
As it turns out, if you play your hand correctly through the turn, your decision on whether to fold on the river should almost always be made before you see the river. If you know you're behind and have received the correct pot odds to stay in the hand, you either hit your hand and bet or miss your hand and fold.
If you reach the river and have a decent hand, it's rarely correct to fold to a reasonable sized bet. You only have to catch your opponent bluffing a small percentage of the time when you have a decent hand to make a call profitable.
This is also why you need to bluff less after the turn. Your opponent or opponents only need to catch you bluffing a small percentage of the time in order for bluffing to be a bad play. Of course, there's a big difference between making a semi bluff on the flop or turn and making a naked bluff on the river.
Semi bluffs are often profitable, but naked bluffs are dangerous. The only time you should consider making a naked bluff is when it has a very high chance of success.
If you only see the flop with hands that show a long term profit, use your position at the table correctly, and use pot odds and expectation, most of the hard work to becoming a profitable post flop Texas holdem player is done. The only two things you need to know to complete your transformation are you need to bluff less and fold less after the flop.
The reason I include both of these things in the same section is because they're closely related.
As it turns out, if you play your hand correctly through the turn, your decision on whether to fold on the river should almost always be made before you see the river. If you know you're behind and have received the correct pot odds to stay in the hand, you either hit your hand and bet or miss your hand and fold.
If you reach the river and have a decent hand, it's rarely correct to fold to a reasonable sized bet. You only have to catch your opponent bluffing a small percentage of the time when you have a decent hand to make a call profitable.
This is also why you need to bluff less after the turn. Your opponent or opponents only need to catch you bluffing a small percentage of the time in order for bluffing to be a bad play. Of course, there's a big difference between making a semi bluff on the flop or turn and making a naked bluff on the river.
Semi bluffs are often profitable, but naked bluffs are dangerous. The only time you should consider making a naked bluff is when it has a very high chance of success.
When it comes to folding on the river, if you find that you have to make this decision often, you need to consider what you're doing before the river that's creating the issue. This is almost always an indication that you're making mistakes earlier in the hand.
Conclusion
The best place to start improving your post flop results at the Texas holdem tables is to stop playing weak starting hands. Learn how to use your table position to increase your chances to win, fold less on the river, and bluff less after the flop and your results will also improve.
Finally, learn how to use pot odds and expectation and you're going to see immediate improvements. Few poker players use pot odds and expectation; and few poker players win in the long run. These two things are related, and if you want to win you're going to need to start doing what winning players are doing.
