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QUIZ # 1
HOW'S YOUR PLAY ON
THE FLOP #1
This quiz is designed to illustrate
some of the more important concepts that govern winning play on the flop.
Here’s your chance to put some of your play analysis skills to work so
when you answer the questions, we recommend you put some thought into why
you are choosing a particular answer and compare your answers with the
analysis that follows.
1. You have 8c 7c in the big blind. An early position player raises, two
players call, and the small blind folds. You call. The flop comes Js 9c
4s. You should:
a. bet
b. check and call
c. check and fold
d. check and raise
2. You have As 3s in the small blind. A middle position player raises, and
four players call. You call and big blind calls. The flop comes Ah 9c 5s.
You should:
a. bet
b. check and call
c. check and fold
d. check and raise
3. You have As Kd on the button. There are two early position callers and
the player on your right raises. You make it three bets. The small blind
folds and everyone else calls. The flop comes Ks 7s 4d. All check to the
player on your right who bets. You should:
a. raise
b. fold
c. call the bet with the intention of raising on the turn
d. call the bet with the intention of calling the turn and river
4. You have As Ad on the button. There are two early position callers and
the player on your right raises. You make it three bets. The small blind
folds and everyone else calls. The flop comes Js 7s 4d. All check to the
player on your right who bets. You should:
a. raise
b. fold
c. call with the intention of raising the turn
d. call with the intention of calling the turn and river.
5. You have 9h 9c in early position. One person calls, and you call. All
fold to the button who raises. Both of the blinds call, the other early
position player calls, and you call. The flop comes 9s 6h 4h. You should:
a. bet
b. check with the intention of raising
c. check with the intention of calling, and betting the turn
d. check with the intention of calling, and check raising (or lead
betting) the turn
ANSWERS
1. Answer: C. You have a gutshot draw and a back door flush draw, which
gives you about a 22% chance of improving to a strong hand by the river.
But notice that any ten could give someone a higher straight, and that the
hand that would make this higher straight—namely, KQ—is a hand that many
players will call a raise with. Thus, the odds of this hand actually being
out are probably slightly higher than usual. Also, the Ts could be a
disaster. Even if the pre-flop raiser bets and everyone calls you’re only
getting about 11:1 on the call, which isn’t all that much of an overlay.
2. Answer: This is a toughie, as you could make a case for all four
options. Betting is OK here, so long as you feel you could comfortably
call the raise and fold on the turn if you check, there’s a bet and a 3
didn’t drop on the turn. Otherwise you’re looking for one of the other
three options. Typically, I check in this spot. If the pre-flop raiser
bets and two other players call I might fold, since I have to worry about
my kicker. If the pre-flop raiser bets and only one (or no) players call
I’ll either check raise the flop or call the flop bet and lead out on the
turn (with the intention of folding if I’m raised). If any of your
opponents are maniacs you’re probably going to have to show this hand
down, which means folding at any spot is out of the question. If your
opponents are reasonable, however, the above technique should yield the
information you need in order for you to play the hand well.
3. Answer: A or C. Well, ‘b’ and ‘d’ are out of the question. That leaves
you with ‘a’ and ‘c’. I’d probably raise here. The argument for ‘c’ is
that the player to your right will bet again on the turn, thereby giving
you a chance to raise the turn and charge the field two big bets to
continue with the hand. However, if you raise here he’ll probably check
the turn, and you’ll only have the opportunity to charge the field one big
bet on the turn. The idea is that your flop raise won’t get anyone out of
the pot (since the pot is getting huge), but that a turn raise will get
them out.
This logic is fine, and it works perfectly if the man on your right will
bet the turn no matter what. But players like that don’t grow on trees
(instead, they grow in a pond). If the player on your right has something
like QQ, or JJ, he might check the turn because of the king on board. This
means you won’t have the opportunity to raise him on the turn, and your
play is essentially ruined. By raising on the flop you’re basically
announcing that you’ve flopped big; this makes it less likely that someone
will ‘make a play’ at you on the turn (by check raising you, or by lead
betting) if a scare card comes, since they’ll figure you’re going to the
river with your big hand anyway. In a spot like this you want people to
play their hands in a fairly straightforward manner from here on out,
since anyone who gets ‘tricky’ might convince you to fold the best hand.
This is a mistake you don’t want to make in a big pot.
4. Answer: A or C. As with the previous hand, ‘b’; and ‘d’ are simply not
options you should consider. Now in the last hand I recommended raising.
But things have now changed. With a jack high board it’s much more likely
that your opponent has a hand that he thinks is best (something like QQ,
or AJ) which is actually in deep doo-doo. This makes it that much more
likely that he’ll bet the turn. Further, a call by you here screams “I
have AK”, since most players will just call -but not raise- with two big
overcards if they put in the last raise pre-flop and are bet into on a
flop that missed them. Since your opponents will think you have AK here
they’ll be much more inclined to bet the turn with either the second best
hand, or even next to nothing, in the hopes that they’ll get you to fold.
Of course, when you suddenly spring to life on the turn they’ll have to
rethink things. But by then it will be too late, since you’ll have
accomplished your objective; i.e., forcing the rest of the field to call
two big bets.
Many, many players will insist that raising here is optimal. And, truth be
told, you can make an argument for that. But it’s important to understand
that when you’re raising for the purpose of getting people to fold (and
this is usually your primary objective when the pot gets big), there’s no
sense in raising when anyone who would call one bet will call two, and
anyone who will fold for two bets would also fold for one. In a case like
this you’re not going to get anyone to fold who wasn’t already planning to
do so, which means one of your main reasons for raising has been
eliminated. Thus, if you think that by just calling here you can entice
your opponent into betting the turn, and you think that the rest of the
field will think twice about calling two bets on the turn with a marginal
hand, you should strongly consider delaying your raise until after the
turn card drops.
5. Answer: A. Bet your hand. Notice that if the pre-flop raiser raises
your bet (and he will raise if he has an overpair), the rest of the field
is going to be looking at calling two bets cold. As with the last example,
there’s no guarantee that anyone who has a hand that you’d like to see
fold will in fact fold for two bets. However, because of your position
relative to the pre-flop raiser, there’s no obvious way to be sure the
rest of the field will be forced to call two bets cold on the turn if you
just check and call the flop. If you call the flop, then lead bet the
turn, the pre-flop raiser may just call your turn bet with a hand as big
as an overpair, since he may be afraid that you’ve slowplayed a monster
(which in fact you have). If you were on the pre-flop raiser’s left, you
could make an argument of just calling a flop bet with the intention of
raising a turn bet, since in this scenario you could force the field to
call two bets cold. But that’s not the case here.
A good rule of thumb is this: If the player who is most likely to have a
quality hand is on your right, you can consider just calling on the flop
with the intention of raising the turn. If, however, that player is on
your left, you usually can’t consider this play, since you can’t be sure
he’ll raise on the turn for you if you bet the turn. Also, notice that in
this case you’re in great shape if the pre-flop raiser raises your flop
bet. You’ve got the nuts right now (always a nice spot to be in), and if
either of the blinds or the other early position player calls the pre-flop
raiser’s flop raise you’ll be able to then make it three bets, thereby
charging them a small fortune to continue with their goofy draws. Almost
anytime you can get three bets into the pot on the flop with a big hand
you should do so, as there’s no guarantee that everyone will be as in love
with their hands on the turn as they are on the flop. As we have mentioned
in previous lessons, the whole idea behind poker is to charge your
opponents as much as possible to continue with their hands when you have a
big holding.
HOW DID YOU DO?
4-5 Correct
Congratulations! You’ve got a good grasp of the fundamental concepts that
are required for successful play on the flop. If you not only answered the
questions correctly but also understand why each correct answer applies,
take this solid knowledge base and keep going! Take the second flop quiz
and consider some of the recommended reading which will provide you with
even more in-depth analysis.
3 Correct
This was a deliberately hard quiz designed to show you all the
considerations that an advanced player will make on the flop. If you
answered three questions correctly you’re likely on the right track. Just
make sure you understand the analysis. Go back and review some of the
earlier lessons if you feel you need to. Then move on to the second flop
quiz.
1-2 Correct
If you answered 1 or 2 of these questions correctly, we encourage you to
look over the explanations of the correct answers carefully. Note how your
position in the hand, the size of the pot, and the previous actions of
your fellow players greatly affect your decisions. Review these concepts
and try taking the quiz again thinking through your answers carefully.
0 Correct
Take heart, tadpole. Maybe you’re used to an unprofitable playing style
and are having a hard time making the transition. Or perhaps you just need
to read through the lessons more carefully. Don’t fret, you’ll get there.
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QUIZ # 2
HOW'S YOUR PLAY ON
THE FLOP #2
Welcome to the second flop quiz! As
with all the quizzes here, you’ll get the most out of this quiz if you
think through why you are answering each question the way you are. If you
haven’t taken the first flop quiz yet, take that one first.
1. You have Qs Js in middle position. Two players call, you call, and the
button and both blinds call. The flop comes: Qd Jh 6h. The first player
bets, and the second player raises. You should:
a. call with the intention of raising the turn
b. raise
2. You have Kd 7d on the button. Four players call to you, you call and
one blind calls. The flop comes Td 6d 5s. The big blind bets and two
players call. You should:
a. call
b. fold
c. raise
3. You have As Qd in middle-to-late position. Two callers to you and you
raise. Both blinds call. The flop comes Ts 9h 6h. The small blind bets,
the big blind folds, and the next player raises. All fold to you. You
should:
a. call
b. fold
4. You have Ts Tc in middle position. Two callers to you, you call, and
the button and both blinds call. The flop comes Th Td 8h. All check to
you. You should:
a. check, with the intention of check raising if someone behind you bets.
b. check, with the intention of dumping as much money as possible in the
pot on the turn
c. bet
ANSWERS
1. Answer: B.There are a lot possible hands out there that could be
drawing to an inside straight, and you’d like to get these hands to fold;
if being forced to call three bets cold on the flop won’t persuade them to
muck, then nothing will. Further, while you probably won’t get a flush
draw to fold you’d like to charge him as much as possible to continue with
the hand while he’s still an underdog. Notice that the pot only has nine
small bets in it when the action gets to you, and that by raising you’ll
put an additional three bets in, thereby giving someone who wants to draw
only 4:1 on their money (the twelve small bets that are in the pot after
you’ve raised verses the three small bets they have to put in to continue
with the hand). By giving your opponents these kinds of horrible odds,
you’ll have a chance of getting hands like Ac 6c, or Ad Td, to fold. Since
these are hands that you’d like to see fold, as they’re draws are ‘live’
against your hand, it behooves you to charge them as much as possible.
Remember: anytime you three-bet a flop with a big hand you’re probably
making the right move. Raise this puppy to the hilt.
2. Answer: C You’ve got nine outs to the flush, and a probable three more
outs to the king. With what appears to be a twelve-out hand, you’re going
to improve your hand by the river around 40% of the time. When your odds
of improving are this good you can comfortably raise for value.
In the first flop quiz we discussed raising with hands where you wanted
people to fold. With a hand like this, however, you want people to call.
If you hit a diamond you have a big hand, and if you don’t hit one you
have nothing. Thus, you’d like to have other players along for the ride,
since that increases your chances of having someone around to pay you off
if you do hit. Note that there are no players left to act between you and
the player in the blind who lead bet the flop, so a raise here won’t knock
anyone out (players who have already called one bet will almost always
call a second bet here). Also, if the turn is a brick everyone might check
to you, thereby affording you the luxury of checking along with them and
looking at the river card ‘for free’. If, however, you do hit on the turn,
you’ll be betting a big hand into a pot that’s three bets bigger (assuming
the blind and the two other players call your raise) then it would have
been if you just called the flop.
3. Answer: B. You have about a 10% chance of spiking an ace or a queen on
the turn, but you’re only getting pot odds of 6.5:1. Even with your
implied odds you’re not getting enough of an overlay to call. Also, the
ace or queen of hearts could be bad cards for you. In sum, you’ve missed
the flop and your opponents haven’t. Fold here and look for a better spot
for your money.
4. Answer: C. Bet now. The flop is coordinated, which means there are
probably at least a few players who have at least a piece of this flop.
Since almost everyone is drawing dead to your hand, you’d like to collect
as many bets as possible from your opponents. Also, note that nobody is
going to dream you’ve got quads, since 99% of all Hold ‘em players would
check here, worried that a bet might ’scare off’ customers. But notice
that anybody who could make a quality second best hand on the turn will
happily call a bet here. Nobody’s folding a hand like Jd 9d, or Ah 3h, or
even something like Qs Js. Since your chances for really collecting big
money on this hand lay with the possibility that someone could make a big
second-best hand you might as well bet, since you’re not going to scare
these people off. In other words, anyone who has a hand that you’d like to
see continue on is going to continue on, whether you bet or not. Thus, you
might as well bet.
Further, as we mentioned in the first flop quiz, there isn’t a player on
the planet who is going to think your bet represents quad tens. In fact,
by betting here they’ll think you don’t have a hand that big. If someone
hits a straight or a flush on the turn they might give you a ton of
action, as they may assume you’re just overplaying trip tens. Mediocre
players often slowplay the nuts on the flop, even if the situation doesn’t
warrant it. By playing your hand ‘fast’ here your hand will gain some
‘deception’ value, which could parlay into big profits on the turn and/or
river.
HOW DID YOU DO?
3-4 Correct
If you answered 3 or 4 of these questions correctly, and you’ve already
scored well on the first flop quiz, you should feel good about the fact
that you are already a better poker player than a good majority of those
you will find in online poker rooms. As always, make sure you really
understand the analysis and then move on to the next lesson. Don’t forget
the recommended reading,
1-2 Correct
If you answered one or two questions correctly, and you did well on the
first flop quiz, you should still move on to the next lesson. Some of
these concepts might become clearer to you if you see how they apply
throughout the turn and the river.
0 Correct
What happened? If you scored well on the first flop quiz, and got 0
correct here, you probably got lucky on the first quiz and don’t really
understand the thinking behind the answers. Winning players do their
homework. Invest a little time - your wallet will thank you later.
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