The flop hits the table. There is perhaps no more exciting moment in all of poker when so much happens at one time. These three up cards, called “the flop,” can easily turn a great two-card starting hand into foldable mush or turn two junk cards (for example, a typical bad “blind” hand) into pure gold! And note that you see all three of these flop cards (which together with your two hand cards constitutes five of the seven cards), all for the price of one round of betting (the round of betting before the flop). This is quite a bargain, compared with most other forms of poker with open cards, where five cards are seen only after several rounds of betting.
But, as this flop hits the table, you are strongly advised to look around at the other players instead of feasting your eyes on this latest awesome flop (you can look at the flop later). At this particular moment, some very useful information is available to those who know enough to look for it.
Studying players
Quite often even good players make spontaneous facial expressions or other motions (referred to as “tells”) which indicate whether they particularly like or dislike the flop. If this is one of the many hands that you have chosen not to play (that is, you folded before the flop), this is a great time to study the active players to check out what kind of hands they bet, call or raise with, whether they play loose or tight, whether they tend to “chase” or fold when behind, “pay off’ at the end, etc. This is information you must have in your memory banks to help you make subsequent close decisions. But observe inconspicuously; you strongly prefer that your opponents do not become aware that they are being watched (even not-too- bright opponents can pick up on this).
For example, if you have a high pair, one or more higher cards in the flop often sends you to the showers. Even with aces you may face impending doom when a high pair hits the board, or three of the same suit, or even three to a straight such as jack-ten-nine. On the other hand, if you entered in the blind with 7-2 off suit, and the flop hits with three more of these cards (such as 7-7-2), then you have obviously struck gold.
Mike Caro says: “Watch the players, not the flop, even when you’re not involved in the hand. There’s absolutely no reason for you to watch the flop. If you do, you’ll miss the most important tells in hold ‘em. The flop will still be there when you’re ready to look. Pick out one opponent and watch that player watch the flop. Either the opponent continued to stare at the flop for several seconds or the opponent looked away uninterested. Which was it? Make a decision each time you see that opponent look at the flop. Usually when opponents scrutinize a flop and then nonchalantly look away, they like the flop. They’re simply pretending that it doesn’t interest them. Conversely, if they continue to stare as if studying the flop optimistically, it probably didn’t help them at all. I will not discuss their motives in depth, but I devoted a book (complete with 179 photographs) to that complex topic. It’s called Mike Caro’s Book of Tells the Body Language of Poker.”
The flop hits the table. You have scrutinized the opposition. Now it is time to commence firing. What are the main guiding principles? If the flop gives you a lock hand (very unlikely to lose), you should probably check in an early seat about two-thirds of the time (reasons discussed later). If the flop completely misses you, you will probably check intending to fold at the first bet (in early seat, it is rare to bluff with nothing — unless you have some specific knowledge about your opponents). Very good and very bad hands are relatively easy to play. But planning your campaign after the flop with in-between hands is probably the most skill-intensive area in hold ‘em. And your position with respect to the dealer (button) is an extremely important aspect in your planning.
