Post-flop: How to Play Made Hands on the Flop
Introduction
In this article
- How to choose the right line on the flop
- How to determine the strength of your hand
- Individual hand categories in detail
The flop is, without question, a decisive moment in a poker hand. You need to estimate your hand's strength as accurately as possible in order to make the correct decisions afterwards.
You can either have a made hand, a draw, or absolutely nothing once the flop has been revealed. We won't bother discussing trash hands, since there isn't much to say other than, "fold."
You don't want to just fold when you have a made hand or a draw. But you can't know how to play such a hand if you don't know exactly how strong it is and where you stand with it.
We will start by discussing how to play made hands after the flop. Drawing hands will be covered in their own article, which can be found here: 
How do You Play Draws on the Flop?
A made hand is a hand that has real showdown value, meaning it is strong enough to win a showdown. K high can even be a made hand in theory, since it beats Q high and all weaker hands, but overcards are generally treated as drawing hands.
A lot of weak made hands like bottom/middle pair are also often seen as drawing hands on the flop. They can, however, have showdown value when you are facing weak opponents.
The strength of a hand depends on a number of factors. In other words, you can't play every hand the same way in every situation. There are a number of factors to be analyzed before you make your decision.
Take the following quiz to test your knowledge:
How to play made hands on the flop
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Which line should you play?
Before you make your decision on the flop, ask yourself how likely you are to have the best hand in the present situation. The following chart shows you how to then decide on the best line:
Your decision on the flop is based on how likely you think you are to have the best hand.
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Certain: You have a very strong hand. You bet and raise all the way to the cap to get as much money in to the pot as possible.
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Fairly certain: You have a strong hand. You bet and raise to protect your hand. You will usually just call when someone raises behind you in order to induce bluffs. If, however, the flop is draw heavy and you can protect your hand with a raise, you raise.
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Possible: You have a weak/medium strength hand that could be ahead but is probably already beaten. You bet to find out where you stand with your hand and to protect in case you are ahead. If a player raises behind you, you continue playing according to odds and outs.
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Very unlikely: You don't have a made hand. You evaluate your draw and play according to odds and outs. You can read more in this article: How to Play Drawing Hands on the Flop?
When choosing your line, keep in mind that there are exactly two reasons to invest money:
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You are favored to win: You are certain that you have the best hand and bet (for value and/or protection).
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Your opponents are likely to fold: You don't think you are likely to have the best hand, but you do think your opponents are likely to fold to a raise.
How do you determine the strength of your hand?
The strength of a made hand depends mainly on the following factors:
- Your hand (hand ranking)
- The number of opponents in the hand
- The pre-flop action
- The flop texture
- The probability that you have the best hand
- Your outs (when you think you are behind)
- Your opponents' outs (when you think you are ahead)
The first way you judge the strength of a poker hand is by looking at the hand ranking. A flush is better than a straight or two pair by definition.
If you have a made flush on the flop, you are probably ahead. The higher your flush, the less likely that an opponent will have a better flush. The nut flush can only be beaten by a full house or better (which you shouldn't exactly expect to see in most cases).
The relative strength of your hand increases when fewer opponents are involved in the hand and decreases when several opponents are involved in the hand.
Top pair is a strong hand against a single opponent, but it's pretty weak against 7. It's simply much more likely that someone has hit a better hand or will catch up by the river when more players are in the hand.
The pre-flop action is a strong indicator of the type of hand you may be up against. An early position raise before the flop is almost always a sign of a big ace or a big pocket pair. The odds of running into such a good hand are obviously much lower in a blind steal situation or after a flop bet in a big multiway pot (7 handed), because the hand ranges are much broader in such situations.
The strength of your hand depends just as much on the cards in the flop. Top pair is much less vulnerable on a rainbow flop than a (single) suited flop.
Here are a few criteria to use when analyzing the strength of your hand on the flop:
How likely are you to have the best hand?
The probability of a certain hand (for example, top pair) being the best hand varies from flop to flop. Sometimes it will be the best hand and sometimes it will be behind.
How many outs do you have?
If you are behind, the strength of your hand depends on the number of outs that you have.
For example, top pair with a 2 card flush draw gives you an advantage when you are behind; there are a lot of outs you could hit on the turn or river for the best hand.
A gutshot or a backdoor flush draw make a made hand better. Bottom pair even has outs for two pair or trips, or could end up beating a straight or a flush by turning into a full house.
How many outs do your opponents have?
You obviously don't want your opponents to have many outs against you. You might have the best hand on the flop, but there are quite a few hands that could catch up by the river.
In order to estimate how many outs your opponents have against you, you need to analyze the flop. Your hand is obviously vulnerable on a draw heavy board.
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| Dry: |        |
You should play top pair aggressively on a draw heavy board to protect against any draws. You want to make the next card too expensive for your opponent to see.
When you bet ...
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... you can get your opponents to fold. This is good, since this prevents them from completing a draw.
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... you make your opponents pay. This is good, since you are ahead at the moment, which means any money entering the pot gives you more value for your hand. Your goal is to give your opponents bad odds, so that any money they invest is a loss and money in your pocket.
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... you don't let anyone see a free card. Your aggression on the flop is usually followed by more aggression on the turn - you're not giving anything away for free.
Depending on the number of outs your opponents have against you, your hand is said to either be robust (there are few outs against you) or vulnerable (there are a lot of outs against you).
How do you play your hand?
This section will look at the different types of hands you can have on the flop and the best way to play a given hand on the flop.
We'll start with a short summary of the different hand categories. You can then see how likely you are to have the best hand and what line you should choose on the flop.
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How to play your hand on the flop
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These are, of course, only guidelines. A look at the chart only shows you how strong your hand is on average. You always have to take factors like the flop texture, pre-flop action, and the type and number of opponents in the hand into account when making your decision.
We will now take a look at how to play specific hands on the flop.
How do you play straights or better?
These hands are usually the monster hand on the flop. There is absolutely no reason why you should not continue playing. You want to see as much money enter the pot as possible, so you raise to the cap. The only time you don't play such a hand extremely aggressively is when the flop is single suited.
With a straight or better, you aren't really concerned about the number of opponents in the hand - the more, the merrier. Your opponents will rarely have (any) outs against you and could already be drawing dead.
How do you play two pair and three-of-a-kind?
You will almost always have the best hand on the flop; your goal should be building up a large pot. Bet/raise to the cap. If the pot has already reached a substantial size on the flop, you will need to protect your hand. Make your opponents pay for their weak hands and draws so you can take down a big pot.
You can think about slowplaying your hand when the pot is small, the flop dry, and you have (an) aggressive opponent(s) behind you. Your opponents will rarely have outs against you on a dry flop, but a flush or straight draw could be out there when the flop is draw heavy.
With trips or a set, you have 7 undiscounted outs from the flop to the turn, and 10 from the turn to the river. Two pair gives you 4 outs against a straight or a flush.
Although you will almost always have the best hand on the flop, there are few things to keep in mind:
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A set is stronger than trips. It's not as easy for your opponents to spot a set as it is to spot trips, and a set always beats trips (since you will have a full house if you hit a set and someone else hits trips).
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One two pair isn't just as good as another two pair. Top two pair is more robust than bottom two pair in a multiway pot. You can also run into trouble when the board pairs the card you are not using.
How do you play top pairs and overpairs?
A top pair or overpair on the flop usually gives you the best hand. You should definitely bet/raise, first and foremost to protect your hand. You'll have to reevaluate your hand based on the action and start playing passively if you think you might be behind.
This hand is a lot easier for your opponents to beat. The strength of a top pair or overpair can range from marginal to very strong, depending on the overall constellation of the hand.
Your pair loses strength when ...
- ... there are more opponents in the hand
- ... the flop is draw heavy
- ... your pair is low
- ... your kicker for top pair is weak
If you are facing several opponents on a draw heavy board, there are probably a lot of outs against you. You might even already be behind. You will be drawing dead if your opponent completes a flush or a straight on the turn. Protecting your hand is very important.
If you have a low top pair or overpair, there are a lot of cards that could kill your hand on the turn. You need to bet to protect against overcard outs.
You'll have to see yourself behind when you have a weak kicker and other top pairs or overpairs are likely to be out there (for example, you bet and an opponent raises behind).
How do you play middle pairs?
You can see yourself ahead fairly often when facing less than 3 opponents, but you're probably behind when several opponents are in the hand. Your goal should be protecting your hand when there are few opponents in the pot and finding out where you stand when several opponents are in the hand.
If your opponent(s) check(s) to you, you bet as long as no one else has the initiative. You'll have to see yourself behind if you get raised with more than two opponents in the pot and will only be able to continue to play according to odds and outs. A raise is more likely to be a bluff when there are only 1-2 opponents in the hand, which is why you would then call.
You'll have to see yourself behind if a player bets into you with more than 2 opponents in the hand. With 1-2 opponents in the hand, you would raise to protect your hand. Once again, it is also more likely that your opponent is bluffing, since he will not be likely to have hit the flop and will only be facing 2 opponents himself.
If you are ahead, your opponents could have a number of outs against you. Since you yourself only have middle pair, you are very likely up against overcards. A draw heavy flop could give your opponents quite a few chances to beat you.
If you see yourself behind, you do have outs for two pair/trips (of course, this won't help much when facing straight/flush draws). This gives you 5 outs, assuming they are clean. You can make an easy call on the flop and see if you improve on the turn.
How do you play bottom pairs?
You can rarely see yourself ahead with bottom pair when facing more than one opponent. Your goal, when facing 1 opponent, is to protect your hand and buy the pot. If he checks, you bet. If he bets, you can call, since he might be bluffing. If he bets again on the turn you will probably have to fold.
There's little to be won with bottom pair in a multiway pot. You can only check and play according to odds and outs. You can count your outs on a bottom pair as you would a middle pair (the same goes for estimating the number of outs against you). Just keep in mind you are almost guaranteed to be up against overcards (at the least). There is no real need to protect, however, since you don't see yourself ahead most of the time.
Conclusion
This article should have given you a better understanding of how to play made hands on the flop. You now know how to determine the strength of your hand based on various factors, such as the pre-flop action, flop texture and number of opponents in the hand. You also learned how to choose the best line on the flop.
You also learned why you should play a certain line and when you should make an exception. Your general goals are protecting your hand and increasing the size of the pot - the trick is always finding the right balance. When you have a monster, your main concern is building up a large pot. A hand like top pair needs protection, and a hand like bottom pair can usually only be played according to odds and outs.
You should use this opportunity to test your knowledge in the quiz on this article:
Quiz: How to play made hands on the flop
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The next article in this series will focus on another aspect of post-flop play:
How do You Play Draws on the Flop?
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