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Analyzing Flop Structure in No Limit Hold’em
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Friday, February 1, 2008
By Staff
PartTime Poker
No-limit Texas hold'em differs from draw and stud games in the presence of a board of community cards. The three-card flop and one-card turn and river combine with the two cards in your hand to make your best poker holding. Once the flop comes, at least sixty percent of your hand is known, and that is why many players consider the play of the flop to be the most important portion of a no-limit Texas hold'em hand.
Flop Structure
If you're new to the game of Texas hold'em and only played stud or draw before, or just video poker, you may not have heard much about the structure or texture of a flop, but it is a concept that is crucial to understand. Analyzing the structure of the flop means determining what holdings are possible or likely for your opponents based on the three cards on the board. Certain flops will mean different things for you depending on what you hold and what the action has been to this point. Playing only your own cards and not considering how the flop might have helped your opponents is a big mistake in no limit Texas hold'em.
Analyzing the Flop Structure
For example, let's say you look down at two black aces in a $3/$6 blinds internet poker game . You bet out $50 and get called in two places. The flop comes 8d 3c 4h. This is a very non-threatening board for you. The flop structure is in your favor. There are no flush draws out there and the only real straight draw is for a player holding 5 6, a hand which only a complete maniac would call $50 pre-flop with. It is possible that someone has flopped a set but if they are you are probably going to go broke and there's nothing you can do about it so you should discount this possibility in most cases. Your goal in this instance is to make sure your opponents stay in the hand. You should bet an amount that is big enough to build the pot, but small enough that they can call. On the other hand, let's say the flop comes Th Jh Qh. This is a suited, well-connected board and it is a disastrous board for you. Anyone with any two hearts, AK, K9, 89, TJ, QT or QJ now has you completely crushed. You should check fold or make a small probing bet and be prepared to fold at the first sign of resistance. Making a large or worse yet all-in bet on this board would be a grievous error. A third possibility is a board like 9c Tc 6s. This is a reasonably well connected board and you should consider making a bet here that will push out drawing opponents. You are ahead of likely hands like QJ or suited hearts, but a turn card could spell big trouble, so you want to make an opponent pay to stick around and see it. A board like Jc Qc Qs presents real problems for you, as it is well connected and requires protection, but you may be way behind to someone with a queen. This structure is one that requires you tread carefully and be prepared to release.
