After the Flop: An Opponent Has Intitiative

Hand categories.

In the following questions, you should put your hand into the adequate hand category.

Question 1:

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 99
UTG1 raises 4 BB, Hero calls 4 BB

Flop: 5, 6, 8

a) Strong made hand - you have an overpair and the only hands that could beat you are two-pairs or set, so you have a strong made hand.

b) Weak made hand - you might have an overpair, but due to the early position of the raise, he could have a better one. That's why your hand can only beat bluffs in the form of overcards.

c) Strong draw - you have a gutshot straight draw to the 7 and seeing how a 7 is rather unlikely for your opponent due to his early position, you will probably also win with a 9. 6 outs is enough to turn your hand into a strong draw here.

d) Weak made hand + weak draw - your pair beats bluffs and with 4-6 cards on the turn, you will most probably have the best hand if you didn't before. Your holding is thus a combination between made hand and draw.

Question 2:

Preflop: Hero is BU with 87
UTG1 raises 4BB, MP1 calls 4BB, CO calls 4BB, Hero calls 4BB, BB calls 3BB

Flop: 6, 2, T

a) Trash - you don't have a chance to improve your hand any further and you won't min with an 8 as your highest card, either.

b) Strong draw - a 9 would give you the best hand. As there are a lot of players on the flop, you will be paid off most of the time, meaning you will mostly win a huge pot in the case of a hit. You thus have a strong draw.

c) Weak draw - you have 4 outs to the best possible hand. This might not be bad, especially since the pot is already quite big and chances are high that one of the many opponents would pay you off. 4 outs are still just a weak draw, though.

Question 3:

Preflop: Hero is BB with 33
UTG1 raises 4BB, Hero calls 4BB

Flop: 2, 8, 7

a) Strong made hand - your opponent will often be on overcards like AK. You are thus often ahead against a mere 6 outs, so you have a strong made hand.

b) Trash - your hand is worthless. You don't have a strong pair and only 2 outs, so it's a trash hand.

c) Weak draw - you might only have 2 outs to trips, but in case you hit, it's well disguised and it would be the third best possible hand. You could win a lot of money and while it might be close, your hand can still be considered a weak draw here.

Situations on the flop.

You now find yourself on the flop after calling a raise and you have to make a decision.

Question 4:

Preflop: Hero is SB with 22
MP3 raises 4BB, BU calls 4BB, Hero calls 3,5 BB

Flop: 2, 5, 8

a) bet ~10BB - the flop isn't really favourable to a continuation bet and without further reads on MP3's aggression, the risk of a check behind is too high, so you bet on your own.

b) check/call - there only is a rather unlikely flush draw, so you should attempt to slow-play here.

c) check/raise - your opponent will make a continuation bet most of the time and the check/raise allows you to get more money into the pot than if you bet by yourself.

Question 5:

Preflop: Hero is BU with 77
CO raises 4BB, Hero calls 4BB

Flop: 4, 6, 8
CO bets 6BB, Hero…

Question 6:

Preflop: Hero is UTG3 with 55
UTG1 raises 4BB, Hero calls 4BB

Flop: 5, 5, 7
UTG1 bets 7BB, Hero...

Situations on the turn.

Same as before, except that we have to make a decision on the turn.

Question 7:

Preflop: Hero is BU with 77
CO raises 4BB, Hero calls 4BB

Flop: 4, 6, 8
CO bets 6BB, Hero calls 6BB

We already know this situation. Let's assume we just called on the flop and the following turn card shows up.

Turn: K
CO bets 12BB, Hero…

What should we do now?

a) Call - the situation is still similar to the flop. The king might not be the best card, but you should still call. You still have your 6 outs and your position, and the king is a good card for the opponent to bluff with such a small bet.

b) Fold - it was already quite possible to be behind on the flop with second pair. The king improved a part of your opponent's range, so you should give up now.

c) Raise - a raise would look really strong in this spot. You've also learned that you are often beat with a single pair hand if you get raised on the turn. He might even fold AK here, and if he doesn't, you still have some outs - it's a great spot to bluff.

Question 8:

Preflop: Hero is SB with 22
MP3 raises 4BB, BU calls 4BB, Hero calls 3,5BB

Flop: 2, 5, 8

We've already seen this hand. Let's assume that you've played the hand as described below.

Hero bets 10BB, MP3 calls 10BB, BU folds

Turn: T
Hero bets 28BB, MP3 raises All-In (86BB)

You have to make a decision on the turn - what's the best choice?

a) Call - you only have to pay an additional 58BB and you have a lot of outs in case you are behind, while you might still be ahead.

b) Fold - your opponent has the flush and you should fold.

Same hand, different question.

Question 9:

Preflop: Hero is SB with 22
MP3 raises 4BB, BU calls 4BB, Hero calls 3.5BB

Flop: 2, 5, 8
Hero bets 10BB, MP3 calls 10BB, BU folds

Turn: T
Hero bets 28BB, MP3 raises All-In (86BB)

Was it correct to bet 28BB into the 33.5BB pot?

a) Yes - you have to protect your set against hands like KKx  and you still have outs in case you're behind.

b) No - after a mere call on the flop, your opponent might very well be on a draw. You could have just checked in order to see his reaction and then - depending on the bet-size - decide whether to draw to your full house or to fold.

A decision on the river.

Question 10:

Preflop: Hero is BU with 87
UTG1 raises 4BB, MP1 calls 4BB, CO calls 4BB, Hero calls 4BB, BB calls 3BB

Flop: 6, 2, T

We already know this hand up to this points. Let's see how it unfolded.

BB checks, UTG1 checks, MP1 checks, Hero checks

Turn: 3
BB bets 14BB, UTG1 fold, MP1 folds, CO folds, Hero calls 14BB

River: K
BB bets 30BB, Hero…

a) Call - your opponent often has a higher flush here, so a raise doesn't make sense. You are still ahead often enough to call, though.

b) Raise - your opponent will often be on a two-pair or set, so he will be behind more often than he is ahead when he calls your raise.