Poker for Dummies (Mini Edition) (16 page)

Fit or fold

Fit or fold. That’s what you have to decide on when playing the flop.
Fit
can take one of three forms. The flop fits because:

It improves your hand.

It offers a draw that figures to pay off handsomely if you hit it.

You hold a big pair before the flop.

If you don’t improve to a big hand or a draw with a nice potential payoff, then get out (fold) — and do it now.

Flops you’re going to love, and flops to fold on

Although you’re not going to like the flop most of the time, there are those rare instances when the flop fits like a custom-made suit. When you’re lucky enough to flop a straight flush, four-of-a-kind, a full house, or the nut flush, your major worry is not whether you’ll win, but how much money you can extract from your opponents.

Your first order of business is to examine the texture of the flop. Based on the betting pattern prior to the flop, try to determine if one or more of your opponents has made a hand or has a draw to a hand that would be second-best to yours.

Take a look at how you can handle different types of flops in the following sections.

Lovable flops

Straight flush:
Bet the house, bet the farm, and mortgage your soul. You shouldn’t lose.

Four-of-a-kind:
If there are two pair on board, and you have the smaller of the two pair, it is possible — though very unlikely — that you can lose this hand. But if there’s only one pair on board and you have the matching pair in your hand, you have the practical
nuts.
You can lose only to a straight flush or royal flush, unless a bigger communal comes along and someone else has a bigger four-of-a-kind. But don’t worry — you’ll seldom, if ever, lose with hands like these.

Full house:
A terrific hand, but you have to examine the board to make sure that yours is the best possible full house before you bet the farm. But don’t be afraid to raise with a full house; it’s probably a winner.

Nut flush:
If you have an Ace-high flush when all the cards have been dealt, and no pair is on the board — which means that a full house or four-of-a-kind is not possible — you’ve got the best possible hand. Just keep betting or raising and don’t stop.

Nut straight:
If you have the highest possible straight, and there’s no possibility of a flush or full house, you’ve got the best hand, period. Bet and raise for all you’re worth.

Likable flops

Set with safe board:
If you’re lucky enough to hold 8
8
and the flop is 8
K
2
, you’ve flopped a
set
(three of a kind), and there’s not much to be wary of. There’s no flush or straight draw, and anyone holding a King in his hand is going to pay you off.