Betting Rounds:Before The Flop : Flop : Flop Hands : Turn : River
Texas holdem poker flop river turn keeping texas holdem poker flop river turn up with data protection and privacy legislation. The real cash slot machines and gaming tables are also audited by an external regulated security company to ensure their integrity.
So, you made it past the flop eh?
The turn in Texas Hold'em is easily one of the most forgotten about streets in the game. It all seems a lot easier to tag it as some useless betting round in between the flop and river, but that's not going to win you any money now is it?
The turn is equally as important as any of the other betting rounds (believe it or not), and so it requires good strategy and a careful approach to get the most from it. Here are some solid tips to bring your turn strategy up to scratch.
Playing the turn in Texas Hold'em.
Here is a gem of information for you... you should always put as much effort into making your decision on the turn as you did on the flop. If you can actually manage to put this advice into action, you will have already raised your game for turn play, without me actually giving you any tips. However, it wouldn't be much of an article if I stopped there, so I will continue.
Your biggest asset on the turn is going to be your ability to analyze the situation, and consider how the turn card will have affected the hand for both you and your opponent. You should ask yourself questions like:
- What does your opponent think of that card?
- Do you think it helps them based on their action on the flop?
- Does your opponent think that card helped you?
- Is that card more scary for you or your opponent?
If you can really think about each of these points, you will definitely improve your decision making skills. So the next time you are on the turn, instead of closing your eyes and hoping for the best, grab the bull by the horns and start thinking about the cards and how to best play the hand.
Don't throw away your money by not putting enough effort into your turn play, use your head!
Acting first on the turn.
You are confident you have the winning hand.
In general, if you think you have the best hand you should bet out. This will build the pot and give your opponent bad odds if they have a drawing hand and you make a decent bet size.
You know you have a losing hand.
Your main plan of action should be to check and fold to any action. If you fired a continuation bet on the flop it is going to be very tempting to fire another bet in the hopes of winning the pot. However, you need to be very, very confident that this play will work. If not, check and fold to any bet.
You have a drawing hand.
If you were not the first to bet on the flop with a flush or straight draw, a bet here will look suspicious. So simply check and hope that you have the pot odds to play on if your opponent bets.
If you did bet out with your draw on the flop, betting out again is a perfectly viable option. However, this should only be done if you feel that you could extract a lot more money from your opponent when you flush hits, and that there is a fair chance your bet could force them to fold.
You are not sure of whether you are winning or not.
Ouch, never a pretty situation. Betting is too dangerous, so check and hope that you see the next card for free. Having a lack of information on any street in Hold'em is dangerous.
Playing big pots with little information on your opponent is going to lose you money over the long run.
A point to remember though... what are you doing on the turn in first position when you have no idea where you stand? Try and avoid getting into situations where you are unclear of where you are when possible.
Acting last on the turn.
You are confident you have the winning hand.
If your opponent checks, you bet. If your opponent bets, you raise. Basically, on the turn your opponent still has the opportunity to improve their hand, so try and milk them as much as you can. If your opponent doesn't improve on the river, you are not going to be able to get any more money from them.
You know you have a losing hand.
Again, you want to play passively here and check when checked to and fold when bet into. You could always try a bluff here, but unless you are confident that it will be a success, I wouldn't take the risk.
You have a drawing hand.
This is an interesting situation. In this spot, I would check if I did not bet on the flop. However, if I bet on the flop I would continue with this action and bet the turn. By doing so we give our opponent the opportunity to fold, whilst building the pot for a bigger win if we hit.
You are not sure of whether you are winning or not.
Pretty straight forward, check and see what happens on the river. You are unlikely to be doing yourself any favors by trying a bluff here. Play it safe.
Playing the turn overview.
To be honest, this article was difficult to write. With each of the quick pointers above, there was so much that I could write for each situation that it was very hard to keep this article at this length. Always remember that there are a lot of factors involved in any poker decision, so use what I have outlined here as a very rough guide to help you.
But anyway, as I said, put effort into playing the turn and you will be rewarded.
Also, don't forget to bet out if you used the float play on the flop boys and girls.
Playing a hand.
Go back to the sublime Texas Hold'em guide.
How Much More Money Could
You Be Winning?
“I played break-even online poker for 4 years before finding
DeucesCracked, for the last 5 months I've made more money playing
poker than at my full-time job.”
- liquid_quik, DC Member
Betting Rounds:Before The Flop : Flop : Flop Hands : Turn : River
So you have made it to the flop with what you thought was a decent hand, but you are a little unsure of how to play from here on out. You need some good strategy for playing the flop in Texas Hold'em.
Unfortunately, there are no tables or rules to help you make the best decision like there were before the flop, and you are being forced into making decisions for yourself. Allow me help you find your feet and help you make the best possible plays when the hand starts to open up on the flop...
{Note: If you are looking for a more specific hand guide, have a browse over the article on playing hands on the flop.}
Evaluate the situation on the flop.
The first thing you should do when the flop comes down is evaluate every aspect of the hand, and consider the strength of your cards at this point. This means that you will need to ask yourself questions like:
- How strong is your hand? (Do you have a pair? Two pair? A straight? And so on.)
- Do you have a draw? (Could you make a flush or straight when the next card comes down?
In addition to this, you should consider a number of other factors in the hand to help you make a more informed decision. Think about:
- The size of your stack and your opponents' stacks.
- Your position in the hand. The later your position the better.
- How the flop could have helped the other players in the hand.
Now this might seem like a load of stuff to think about just for one small decision, but honestly, it really does help you to make the most profitable play possible. The flop is where a pot starts to get built up, so the last thing you want to do is make a bad play and get caught up in a hand that is going to lose you a lot of money.
The more thought you put in to your decision on the flop, the easier the rest of the hand becomes to play.
For example, you may well have a decent hand like A J on a flop of A T 4 (giving you top pair), but it could easily spell trouble in certain situations. If we neglect to consider the fact that we are first to act and our opponent raised before the flop (and lets say they have a big stack for good measure), we may well end up losing a large amount of our money to their AK. This is a little unfortunate, but for an experienced player a loss like this could have been avoided.
In other instances our A J would have been a great hand to play with, but this example goes to show how thinking outside of the box and not just looking at your own cards helps to get you out of tricky spots (and helps to place you in some sweeter ones).
Think about the future of your hand.
One of the best ways to make a decision on the flop is to think about what you would do on future betting rounds depending on which cards came on the turn and river.
- Do you have a clear idea of what you will do on the turn?
- Does it seem as though you could make a profitable play on the turn?
It's all too easy to make your play based on the situation of the flop alone, without considering what could potentially happen further down the line. However, to really ensure that you do not land yourself in a sticky and unprofitable situation later on, you have to think past the play you are going to make on the flop.
Never make a play in the hope that everything will be okay when the turn and river cards come. Good flop strategy involves thinking past the flop itself.
Playing the flop tips.
- Don't get attached to weak flush and straight draws.
- Make continuation bets regularly.
- Don't be afraid to bet with strong hands right away – no need to wait for the turn.
- Consider using the float play if you know how.
- You have time to make your decision, so use it. There's no need to rush.
Playing the flop overview.
Texas Holdem Flop Turn River Odds
This article has been a little more on the negative side than I had planned, discussing more of the ways to avoid losing money rather than making money. Although, a lot of the process of making money as a poker player is avoiding the pitfalls that can eat away at your earnings, and you can be sure that there are a lot of these on the flop.
As I always say, you learn winning poker through playing the game, and this is especially true for Texas Hold'em flop strategy. Before the flop you had tables and charts to help you along, but now it's time for you to stand on your own two feet and make decisions for yourself. Now if you want to become a winning poker player, you are going to need to get used to flop play and thinking about each situation, rather than relying on a few tricks for your preflop strategy.
So start playing and learning. Your ability to play the flop well will improve with practice.
Texas Holdem Flop River Turn
Playing a hand.
Go back to the sublime Texas Hold'em guide.
Have You Not Heard Of
Deuces Cracked?
“I quit my job and started playing poker back in February of 08',
after a month of losing over 50BI at micro stakes, I joined DC. I've
been living off poker ever since; if anything in this world could help
you become a winning player, this is it.”
- Malefiicus, DC Member