Post Flop Play
Once you have had the dilemma of whether to play your hand Pre- flop you now have the same decisions to make again whether to carry on playing the hand after the flop or to get out and fold you have to determine whether you have got the best hand and whether anyone else has hit a hand on the flop from here you decide whether you are going to show strength of the flop and raise or re-raise, whether you feel you your opponent doesn’t have the strongest hand on the board and you fancy your chances at a Bluff, you could also try and calculate both your Implied and Pot Odds on the amount it would be worth while betting to hold out for a possible flush or straight draw or finally if you think you are well a truly beat you could fold and get out of the hand all together.
One of the ways to show the strength of your hand post flop and extract money at the same time is through the check-Raise. This method becomes successful if you are playing in a Early position where you have a player behind you that keeps over playing there position or if you are confident that a opponent behind you is going to bet into you. If you check this then allows you to play an appropriate raise to extract the most money possible the only slight set back with this is if a player calls that tend to have a half decent hand them selves or are either an inexperienced player who is waiting for a flush or straight draw so if you are going to play the check-raise I would advise playing it only if you have the “nuts” post flop.
Another play that you could consider post flop is the “flop Raise Trick” this is where you are in a late position, and there are a couple of players in front of you who have flat called this gives a perfect opportunity to raise with hands like a flush or straight draw. This is good because the players who flat called are likely to now check down the turn giving you the opportunity to either catch your desired hand or further show strength in the form of a bluff. This can be played because you have already showed strength in pervious rounds of betting so other players on the table are going to be warey of the hand you are holding. This method will only work if you have a established a tough tables image, if you are a loose player who calls every bet you will get called if you try to play these types of plays. But if you have established a good table image this method can become profitable played at the right times.
The third play you could consider post flop is the Bluff, this is another play that not only needs to be times correctly but relies on you having a good table image, and being able to “read” the other players on the table. It would not be wise to try and bluff a player who is looking for a check raise opportunity, so for these reasons there is a element of caution and skill needed to use this method correctly, a bluff can be used for two reasons either you fell you have a good “Read” of your opponent either by their table image or current playing style, and are confident that even without having the best hand you can still take down the pot. The other method for using the bluff is to see where you stand in the hand you can use the bluff to ask your opponents questions to see how strong the current hands are. To play a good bluff you need to consider both the player your against and table image and position you hold to get a better understanding of this subject view our article on the Bluff.
Post Flop is a different situation every time and there is no set way to play every post flop situation some hands would require a little bit from all of the suggested plays above to win the hand. The best piece of advise that can be offered is before you start playing the more complicated bluff and check raise type plays you need to establish a good table image and be able to get a good read on the players around you until that time comes the best thing to do is maintain a good Pre Flop game and if you have a Premium hand pre-flop and make that obvious pre flop show continued strength after the flop if it is appropriate to do so, if you do nor have a good hand fold it and save your chips for the next. Once you have a good understanding of the players around you, it is then possible to start making some adventurous plays post flop.
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