Postflop Mastery: General Concepts and Ideas
Postflop play is a critical skill that requires the ability to adapt to countless situations. The goal is to offer you practical ideas to help you handle the most common spots you’ll encounter at the poker table. Let’s start with some foundational concepts.
Always Have a Purpose
Playing on autopilot is a recipe for disaster. Surprisingly, many players overlook this simple concept. Don’t be one of them.
Next time you play, monitor your decisions. If someone tapped you on the shoulder and asked, “Why did you bet that flop?” could you give an immediate answer, or would you have to think for a moment to come up with a reason?
If your self-assessment is harsh, don’t worry; it happens to everyone—but it happens far less often to good players.
If you play online, try narrating your actions out loud. Yes, talk to yourself. (Just make sure your roommates or family aren’t in earshot.) Describe what you’re doing and why: “I’m betting more than half-pot because my opponent misses this flop a lot, and that will be enough to fold out his big cards.”
The first time you try this, you’ll be surprised by how much discipline it takes, but you’ll also be amazed at how many autopilot plays you catch that you shouldn’t be making.
Consider Your Opponents’ High Cards
When deciding how to attack an opponent’s range, focus on high-card hands, especially ace-high. These are the “big cards” that make up a significant portion of your adversary’s range.
A large part of your opponent’s range will consist of high cards. The key is to assess how likely those cards are to have connected with the board and how they might respond to different actions you take. High-card combinations will play a major role in most of your postflop decisions.
Postflop Checklist
We know your actions should have a purpose, but how do you decide what that purpose should be? Here’s a helpful checklist to follow. The more you train yourself to run through these steps, the more automatic this process will become over time:
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Always Be Betting
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Determine if the Bet is for Value or a Bluff
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If Betting for Value, Ask if Worse Hands Will Call
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If Bluffing, Ask if the “Right” Hands Will Fold
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If a Bet Won’t Work, Check
Always Be Betting
Your default strategy should lean toward aggression. Consider betting before you even think about checking. Think about raising before calling. The aggressive choice isn’t always the correct one, but it should always be your first instinct.
Determine if the Bet is for Value or a Bluff
Having a clear purpose is key. Before placing a bet, ask yourself whether you want your opponent to call. Based on your hand strength, decide how you want your opponent to react.
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If Betting for Value: Consider, “Will worse hands call?”
This is the crucial question. For instance, if you river a low flush, make sure your bet isn’t only getting called by a higher flush. If it is, you’re better off checking, because you’re not going to win money from worse hands, and only hands that beat you will call. -
If Bluffing: Ask yourself, “Will the right hands fold?”
For a river bluff, the goal is to make better hands fold. If only worse hands will fold, your bluff has no value. On earlier streets, you may bet in spots where you don’t mind some worse hands folding. This strategy is often referred to as “cleaning up” or “cashing out” your equity.
If a Bet Won’t Work, Then Check
Betting should always be Plan A. But there will be times when your checklist shows that betting won’t accomplish anything productive. If you realize that only better hands will call or that worse hands won’t fold, then it’s time to check and hold onto your chips. The situation might improve, so save your resources and wait for a better opportunity.
