Suited Gappers (3) - Postflop
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Suited Gappers (3) - Postflop
by MiiWiin
You've already learned a lot about preflop play, but it's often true that the hand will have to be played on postflop.
Here, you're sitting on a pure drawing hand which also needs to be played accordingly. You can read some tips about this here.
Tips
The postflop game can't be generally summarised. You can also find out more about this in the existing columns and articles, mainly:
Here we'll only be looking at a few specific cases.
What could you hit?
As shown in the previous columns, you'll rarely hit a very strong draw on the flop with gappers.
The ideal draw, that is the flush draw and open-ended straight draw, is theoretically possible but much rarer than with a suited connector.
Afterwards comes flush draw + hit, at the end the pure flush draw remeains (we won't be considering standard hits such as trips, two pair, full house or quads).
PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)
Stacks & Stats
UTG ($25)
MP ($25)
CO ($25) calling station
Hero ($25)
SB ($25)
BB ($25) calling station
Preflop: Hero is BU with 
3 folds, Hero raises $0.75, SB folds, BB calls $0.75
Flop: ($1.55) 
(2 players)
BB checks, Hero...
This is your ideal draw, a 15 outer will always make you favourite against a potential top pair.
| Equity analysis | |||||
| Board | |
||||
| Equity | Win | Split | Loss | Hand | |
| Player 1 | 55.02% | 55.02% | 0% | 44.98% | |
| Player 2 | 44.98% | 44.98% | 0% | 55.02% | AQo |
You can almost play this hand for value on the flop, your equity will generally be enough.
PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)
Stacks & Stats
UTG ($25)
MP ($25)
CO ($25) calling station
Hero ($25)
SB ($25)
BB ($25) calling station
Preflop: Hero is BU with
3 folds, Hero raises $0.75, SB folds, BB calls $0.75
Flop: ($1.55) (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.20, BB raises $3.00, Hero...
No matter what you do, it will never be a mistake. If you push here it would be beneficial if you could credit yourself with a bit of fold equity. The call isn't really much worse without any fold equity at all, anyway, you'll improve very frequently on the turn and then you can go in as the favourite.
However, if your opponent just calls, you'll generally have a standard decision, as with every draw, on the turn: bet or check.
The problem here is that there needs to be a certain amount of fold equity, as it's not good for your draw if the first street hasn't helped you.
PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)
Stacks & Stats
UTG ($25)
MP ($25)
CO ($25) calling station
Hero ($25)
SB ($25)
BB ($25) calling station
Preflop: Hero is BU with
3 folds, Hero raises $0.75, SB folds, BB calls $0.75
Flop: ($1.55) (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.20, BB calls $1.20
Turn: ($3.95) 
(2 players)
BB checks, Hero...
As one of the cards which should really have helped you has already been distributed, your equity has sunk considerably.
| Equity analysis | |||||
| Board | |
||||
| Equity | Win | Split | Loss | Hand | |
| Player 1 | 33.33% | 33.33% | 0% | 66.67% | |
| Player 2 | 66.67% | 66.67% | 0% | 33.33% | AQo |
If you give yourself fold equity, you can push on with your semi-bluff. However, if you think there's hardly any fold equity available, you can give yourself a freecard.
However, in general it's clear: with a draw like this it would be difficult to make a massive mistake.
PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)
Stacks & Stats
UTG ($25)
MP ($25)
CO ($25) calling station
Hero ($25)
SB ($25)
BB ($25) calling station
Preflop: Hero is BU with
3 folds, Hero raises $0.75, SB folds, BB calls $0.75
Flop: ($1.55) 
(2 players)
BB checks, Hero...
You've come across an acceptable draw on the flop here, although you only have 14 outs instead of 15 and they aren't really clean.
| Equity analysis | |||||
| Board | |
||||
| Equity | Win | Split | Loss | Hand | |
| Player 1 | 50.03% | 50.03% | 0% | 49.97% | |
| Player 2 | 49.97% | 49.97% | 0% | 50.03% | AQo |
Even a top pair still has outs against you, provided you hit two pair.
You should also remember that a 15 outer is also strong against sets, while a flush draw + hit means the 5 additional outs to trips and two pair are no longer applicable.
| Equity analysis | |||||
| Board | |
||||
| Equity | Win | Split | Loss | Hand | |
| Player 1 | 31.92% | 31.92% | 0% | 68.08% | |
| Player 2 | 68.08% | 68.08% | 0% | 31.92% | 33 |
You've got just 32% equity against a set, here's example 1 again for comparison:
| Board | |
||||
| Equity | Win | Split | Loss | Hand | |
| Player 1 | 40.17% | 40.17% | 0% | 59.83% | |
| Player 2 | 59.83% | 59.83% | 0% | 40.17% | 55 |
One thing is clear, you're always playing against ranges, not individual hands. However, you need to be aware that the 15 outer flush draw + OESD is significantly more valuable than flush draw + hit, even though the outs are almost identical.
This is a further critical point, as we've already established, you'll hit the ideal draw with gappers much less regularly.
However, the playing style with this 14 outer won't basically be any different from example 1.
PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)
Stacks & Stats
UTG ($25)
MP ($25)
CO ($25) calling station
Hero ($25)
SB ($25)
BB ($25) calling station
Preflop: Hero is BU with
3 folds, Hero raises $0.75, SB folds, BB calls $0.75
Flop: ($1.55) 
(2 players)
BB checks, Hero...
A flush draw is good, however you know that you only have 9 outs to hit on the turn.
It's never a bad idea to question hand strength and make yourself aware if this flush draw really is as strong as it appears.
PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)
Stacks & Stats
Hero ($25)
MP ($25)
CO ($25) calling station
BU ($25)
SB ($25)
BB ($25) calling station
Preflop: Hero is BU with
3 folds, Hero raises $0.75, SB folds, BB calls $0.75
Flop: ($1.55) (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.20, BB raises to $3.50, Hero..?
There's no way you can be a favourite going into this race. A push on the flop would be well overplayed, you'd need to credit yourself with a lot of fold equity for that. As you probably know, you've got about 35% equity with a flush draw against a top pair on the flop.
| Equity analysis | |||||
| Board | |
||||
| Equity | Win | Split | Loss | Hand | |
| Player 1 | 36.94% | 36.94% | 0% | 63.06% | |
| Player 2 | 63.06% | 63.06% | 0% | 36.94% | AQo |
If the 3-bet is overplayed what's left? You need to weigh up a call or fold here, as you won't draw the nuts either.
In this instance you have the same problems as with suited connectors:
- You won't draw the nuts, better draws are always possible
- You'll generally lose against better draws without a flush (there are mostly 6 outs to a pair left).
- You're never holding (valuable) overcards.
That's why you should always check whether your draw is worth playing on. You aren't obliged to keep playing every draw on the flop or even to play up to the river.
It's got nothing to do with the phrase "then I don't even need to raise preflop," No Limit Hold'em is a postflop game and the rule here is always to check all the options which have the highest or best EV. If the fold with zero EV is best in your opinion, then choose it.
A call is certainly an option in the example above, the player is more passive, so you can almost rule out draws and regularly assume Qx, you even have good implied odds against that.
PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)
Stacks & Stats
UTG ($25)
MP ($25)
CO ($25) Callingstation
Hero ($25)
SB ($25)
BB ($25) Callingstation
Preflop: Hero is BU with
2 folds, CO calls $0.25, Hero raises $1.00, SB calls $1.00, BB calls $1.00, CO calls $1.00
Flop: ($4.00) (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, CO checks, Hero...
At this point you need to ask yourself whether a bet makes any sense.
You need fold equity, but in a 4-handed pot against two potential calling stations, things could get very close.
A freecard certainly won't do any harm here.
PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)
Stacks & Stats
UTG ($25)
MP ($25)
CO ($25) calling station
Hero ($25)
SB ($25)
BB ($25) calling station
Preflop: Hero is BU with
2 folds, CO calls $0.25, Hero raises $1.00, SB calls $1.00, BB calls $1.00, CO calls $1.00
Flop: ($4.00) (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, CO checks, Hero bets $3.00, SB raises to $9.00, 2 folds, Hero...
If you bet and cash a check raise, your hand will be very difficult to play on (that's why it's not obligatory to make a bet).
Womit kann hier ein Checkraise gespielt werden? Sets, Toppairs, Overpairs (unwahrscheinlich), Draws - gegen nichts davon liegst du vorne, aber deine Equity ist passabel:
| Equity analysis | |||||
| Board | |
||||
| Equity | Win | Split | Loss | Hand | |
| Player 1 | 37.12% | 36.97% | 0.29% | 62.74% | |
| Player 2 | 62.88% | 62.74% | 0.29% | 36.97% | QQ, 99, 33, AQs, KQs, JTs, AQo, KQo, JTo,   ,  ,  ,  |
Why is your equity acceptable?
You need to invest another $21 in order to be part of a pot of roughly $52. This means you need 40.3% equity.
This won't quite be enough, but if you push, you'll still build up a bit of fold equity.
That's why you should watch out in these spots and not necessarily confront yourself with tough decisions. If you can't play bet/broke with a clear conscience, then a check behind in a multi-way pot is certainly the better choice.
Expanatory notes
There are enough spots, but as already mentioned at the start, there are lots of similar columns and articles for postflop spots which deal with drawing hands.
| » SUMMARY |
|
Postflop play hardly differs from play with suited connectors or other drawing hands. Nonetheless, that tip one more time: you'll hit draws a lot less frequently. If you decide to play hands like this more preflop, then you need to be clear about these facts. You'll hit less often and when you do hit, it's more likely to be a weaker draw compared to the suited connector. That's why you need to think yourself how far down you'll go with your starting hand expectations. The weaker your hand and the weaker your equity, the brighter you need to shine postflop with solid play and targeted (semi) bluffs. |
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