Good Poker Hands Before Flop

  1. Good Poker Hands Before Flop Dance
  2. Good Poker Hands Before Flop Gif
  3. Good Texas Hold'em Hands
  4. Good Poker Hands To Play
  5. Best Poker Hands Before Flop

Betting Rounds:Before The Flop : Flop : Flop Hands : Turn : River

You will often discover that your hand was dominated from the beginning. Also, the more hands you throw away before the flop, the more likely that when someone happens to get 4 of a kind or a straight flush, or some other monster hand, you will not be in on the hand to pay them off. A good example of an overplayed hand is Ax offsuit. If you ever wanted to know some of the odds and probabilities of Texas hold'em poker, from the chances of flopping a flush (0.8%) or set (12%) to the odds of an overcard coming on the flop when. Before the flop, all you need to think about is your hole cards, the action before you, and the players waiting to act after you. Falling foul of that looseness after the flop.

Before

As much as you might like them, there are no hard or fast rules for when it comes to playing hands on the flop like there are when you are playing preflop.

However, you can use this (super) guide to help you classify the strength of your hand on the flop and form the appropriate plan of action to help you make all the right moves at the table.

Playing a weak hand on the flop.

If your hand matches the following criteria...

  • No pair.
  • No draw.

Then your plan of action is going to be pretty straightforward...

  • Do not bet or raise.
  • Do not call bets or raises.
  • Forget about trying to make any fancy plays.
  • Fold unless you manage to see the turn card for free.

If you have a weak hand with no potential, there is no reason for you to continue with the hand. You may well be tempted to try and throw a bluff out there and hope for the best, but I can guarantee that this is going to be a losing play in the long run. You may get lucky once or twice, but you will be leaking money away by trying to fight with cards that are going to be as effective as spoons in battle.

You can't win every hand in poker, and if you try to do so you will be losing money. Letting hands go and saving your money is key to adding that little extra to your overall winnings at the end of the day.

It can be really tedious when you had a great hand before the flop like AK or AQ, but you should realise that the hand is going no where and prepare to throw it away when the flop doesn't fall your way, and the “outside of the box” factors (see playing the flop) aren't looking good. Save that money for when you hit a better hand on another flop.

Playing a mediocre hand on the flop.

Mediocre hands are always the hardest to play. They're even worse than useless hands, because at least with awful hands you know where you stand and what to do with them. But with a half decent hand that is right in the middle of everything, you can feel pretty lost and confused. A few examples of mediocre hands are:

Low end.

  • Middle pair.
  • Low flush draw.
  • Low straight draw.
  • Top pair, weak kicker. e.g. A4.

High end.

  • Top pair, good kicker. e.g. AK.
  • Strong flush draw.
  • Strong straight draw.
  • Bottom two pair.
  • Low three of a kind.

Low-end mediocre hand strategy.

With a low end mediocre hand, you will really need to err on the side of caution and play the hand as you would if it were a weak hand (as if you haven't hit anything). It's nice that you managed to get some piece of the flop, but it doesn't tie you to the hand. If you are able to see a free turn card then fantastic, but other than that, be happy to fold the hand to any action.

High-end mediocre hand strategy.

If you have a high end mediocre hand, you will need to really start considering “outside” factors in the hand, such as; your table position, how the flop might have helped your opponent and the stack sizes. This is because the actual strength of your hand is going to do very little to help you make the best decision, so you will need to rely on other important factors to determine whether it is best to play on with the hand. Also, don't forget about pot odds when you have a flush or straight draw.

If your position is good and you feel that you have a good opportunity to win money from the hand, then by all means play on. However, if it all seems pretty hazy and your position isn't great, then folding may well be the most sensible play. Practice makes perfect when it comes to deciding whether or not a hand is going to be profitable; it's not something that can be easily taught in one article!

Good Poker Hands Before Flop Dance

Mediocre hands don't win big pots, so don't get too involved if there is a lot of action and the pot is getting bloated.

Playing a strong hand on the flop.

  • Top two pair.
  • A set. (3 of a kind whilst holding a pocket pair).
  • High 3 of a kind
  • Straight
  • Flush
  • Full House

...and so on.

Hitting a big hand on the flop in Hold'em is always going to be great fun (especially on the flop), and you probably think that you don't need any advice on how to play a big hand. However, whilst it going to be difficult to end up losing money, it is good to know how to make the most of the situation to try and extract as much money from your opponent as possible.

Hands

A fundamental rule to remember is that you do not build a big pot by checking and calling. The best way to build a pot is to bet and raise to help your opponents place as much money in the pot as possible. This means that more often than not, slowplaying and trying to be tricky with your betting just prevents you from creating a sizeable pot for you to win.

Don't fear the possibility that your opponent will fold if you bet. It's better to win big pots occasionally than tiny ones more often.

It is tempting to slowplay because of the fear of chasing your opponents out of the hand, but the majority of the time you have to remember that if your opponents are not prepared to put money in the middle on the flop, it is unlikely that they will do so on future betting rounds. You don't want to go over the top with your betting, but simply play strong poker and put money in the middle with well-sized bets.

The only time you should think about slowing down is when it is clear that you have the deck crippled, and it is impossible for any of the other players at the table to have a hand that is worth playing with.

Playing flop hands overview.

Not much of an overview here, this article is long enough. Just remember that practice makes perfect, so don't be afraid to learn when you are playing poker, it's all part of the game. Refer to the flop strategy article for more help on playing the flop in Texas Hold'em.

Good Poker Hands Before Flop Gif

Playing a hand.

Go back to the sublime Texas Hold'em guide.

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Good Texas Hold'em Hands

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In movies the key to winning at poker often is reading your opponent’s body language. “I don’t need to look at my hand, I saw you look at yours.” While you can’t make a living solely by noticing when a player reaches for his Oreos after he bets, every piece of information helps. And there is a surprising amount of information available from watching the other players even after you fold, especially in No Limit Texas Hold Em.

How Can I Read Hands in Poker Pre-Flop

You can start with whether the player seems comfortable or uneasy. Are their body and eyes relaxed or does the player seem stiff? Then see if you can find patterns in other players’ behavior, and notice when they deviate from those patterns. What did they do differently and why? Where are they looking? Be careful as well to distinguish how they act when the action is on them, while they are waiting for action and after they act. The same behavior may mean different things in each instance.

Good

Good Poker Hands To Play

What are specific things to look for? Well start before the flop by watching other people look at their cards. How long does the player look at their cards? Players that see two Aces tend to keep their hand close to the table and put their hand back down quickly. There is an almost instinctive fear that other people may see their cards. Players looking at hands closer to the bottom of their opening range may lift their cards higher and perhaps look at them a split second longer.

Notice what the player does after they put their cards down. If the player looks at or touches their chips, that may mean they intend to play that hand. Notice how they look at or touch their chips. See if you can discern a pattern correlated to when they raise or call.

And definitely look to your left. The information about what people may do after you act is potentially more valuable since the players to your right will have acted before you. Notice if any of the players look at their hands before it’s their turn to act. If so, then watch them do so whenever you can. If you see that a player to your left is likely to call, you may want to play your drawing hand and see if there is a multi way pot, or raise to chase them out. If you see they are going to raise, you may want to tighten your range. If on the other hand, you can tell they are going to throw away their hand, you might play more aggressively.

Best Poker Hands Before Flop

These are a few basic concepts pre-flop. In the next part, we’ll talk about other things to pay attention to after the flop.