Your game on the flop is closely connected with how you play on the pre-flop. Often, if you raise to get into the game, it means you have to continue the attack on the flop. When you raise on the pre-flop, you are letting your opponents know that your cards are rather strong. Try to win the pot on the flop even if you don’t have winning cards. If you stop attacking on the flop because your cards aren’t great, it will be obvious to your opponents. The bet on the flop after the pre-flop raise is called a continuation bet or a cont bet. The size of this bet should not differ from the size of the bet when the flop suits you. If you follow this rule, it is more difficult for your contenders to find out if you are bluffing or not. The size of this bet should be between 2/3 of the pot up to the pot size.

When is the best time to make a continuation bet? If you are in a position against one opponent and he checks on the flop, you should always make a cont bet. The only exception is if your opponent is a calling station (Calling Station: a player who constantly calls on the flop with any pair or even without a pair).

Always continue the attack against one opponent if you are in a bad position and the flop is not risky. A flop which is considered to be less risky is one that doesn’t offer a large number of possible unfinished combinations. For instance: flop 8-9s-Ts, doesn’t call for a cont bet if, of course, you don’t have a strong draw already. Before making a cont bet, look at the flop structure carefully. If the flop doesn’t suit you but may suit your contender, who usually calls your raises with a particular range of hands, you shouldn’t make a cont bet. Instead, you should play check-fold. For instance: you have 99, the flop is A-J-Q. You know that your contender calls raises if he has high cards.

Do not continue the attack on the flop when two or more contenders have called your pre-flop raise and the flop has not brought you anything. Let’s discuss the reason for this move. After two or more contenders have called your raise, the pot has become bigger. You need to make a continuation bet of a considerably bigger size now. The profitability of your bet has decreased two fold (the possibility of both opponents folding is two times lower). The only time you should make a cont bet against two opponents is if the flop is not incredibly risky and you’re in a good position. For instance: the flop is 3-4-4, the both contenders have checked before you. It is important to note that you may reduce the size of your bet up to half the pot when there is a pair on the board.

Premium hands AA and KK:

There are two different situations in which you will play hands like these.

Raised pot:

If you have raised on the pre-flop and somebody has called your raise, you should play aggressively but carefully on the post-flop. Continue your attack with a bet of the pot size on any flop. The only exception is if you have KK, there is an ace on the flop and you have more than one opponent. You should only make a cont bet from a good position. If not, play check-fold. If there is a rainbow of low range cards on the flop, be careful when tight players call your bet. If you don’t know your contender’s style of play and he makes a re-raise, the best idea is to fold. You should bet the whole stack on the flop if you play against risk takers or short-stackers (up to 70BB).

Re-raised pot.

If you have AA and there was a raise before you, you re-raised and the contender has called, you should go all-in on any flop. The same goes for KK when there is no ace on the flop or JQ together (in this case the game depends on the aggressiveness and adequacy of the opponent).

Strong pairs JJ and QQ:

Raised pot:

Play aggressively on the flop when there are no over cards. Bet approximately the pot size. If there has been a raise, you should re-raise and bet the sum of the bank in the center of the table and doubled the bet of your opponent. You should begin to bet about that size on a regular basis. If a re-raise is mentioned, it means the bet of approximately this size. If the contender is re-raising after this, you should fold if you are not familiar with your contender’s style, unless he is not a short-stacker (up to 70BB). You should play on his whole stack.

Re-raised pot:

Play carefully if there have been re-raises in the pot. It is not very important who has made the re-raise first: you or your opponent. Strong contenders will not re-raise if they have КК or АА, in order to keep their hand a secret. Don’t bet all-in against contenders you’re not very familiar with, even if there are no over cards on the board. You should fold if you face an aggressive attack. Also, play carefully on the flop when you have not been able to complete a set even if there are no over cards on the board. In a good position, you should call and see what the opponent will do later. Fold if the opponent is continuing his attack. It’s best to bet and fold if you are in a bad position and there has been a re-raise.

Medium pairs 77-ТТ:

You will often get into the game with a raise if you have cards like these. If these hands have not been improved, they are only good to take the pot on the flop. Bet the size of the pot on the flop against any number of opponents if there are no over cards on the board. If there is at least one over card on the flop and you are playing against two or more contenders, you should check-fold.

Low pairs 22-66:

It’s best to call in most cases with these cards in hopes of hitting a set on the flop. You will rarely see a flop with no over cards in this situation. So, the best advice here is to play check-fold on the flop if your hand has not improved.

A game with various combinations.

Monster Hands:

Full house and higher:

You should play slowly on the flop with such a strong hand. If there are two cards of the same suit on the board, bet half the pot in hopes of your contenders drawing a flush. Don’t let them hitting a free flush. A big bet gives you an opportunity to get some money from your opponents when they have unfinished combinations and, it also binds them to the pot. If your opponent hits the flush, he will lose the whole stack for sure. But, he will likely play more carefully if he sees a pair on the board and is not bound to the pot.

Straight.

Having a straight on the flop is a very strong combination. Remember, it’s not a full-house, so you should be careful because it is still vulnerable. Don’t play slowly with this hand. If your opponent has two pairs or a set, you know that those hands can easily make a full-house on the turn, which could leave you losing quite a bit of money. You need to play very aggressively if you have a straight on the flop and there are two cards of the same suit on the board. Bet 2/3-3/4 the size of the bank in a re-raise if there has been a raise. Your opponents may also have an open straight which they are trying to hit. Don’t let them get it for free.

Flush:

A flush on the flop is strong but obvious an combination. If you have a nut flush, attack with a bet of half the bank. If the flush is not nut, play aggressively and bet 2/3-3/4 of the bank. Re-raise or even go all-in if you don’t have a nut flush and the contender has raised. Except in the event that the contender has a "deep" stack (considerably more than 100ВВ). The best idea is to slow down in this situation and just call the bets.

Set (Three cards when you have a pocket pair):

Try to go all-in if you have a set on any flop, even if the contender has already hit a flush or a straight. You still have the opportunity to improve your hand to get a full-house or four of a kind. If there has been a raise on the pre-flop and the contender continues the attack on the flop, you don’t have to call to get more money from him. As a rule, a game of this kind will bring you less money than it’s worth. If the opponent is ready to lose a lot, he will do it on the flop. There may be a card on the turn which could make him change his plans.

A typical mistake of most beginners is playing sets slowly. Many people are afraid of losing contenders who are in the bank and betting big. The paradox is that, playing like that usually means they win less or even lose the big banks, allowing their contenders to collect stronger combinations without paying in much. You have to bet a lot to win a lot.

Trips (Three cards with a pair on the board):

Trips, like flushes, are very strong combinations, but obvious to your opponents. Play aggressively if you have trips on the flop. If someone has raised your bet, play carefully. If the trips have a strong kicker – an ace or a king, and the flop shows that the possibility of a full-house is little to none, play raise/re-raise up to all-in. For instance: you have A4, the flop is 4-4-2. However, if you have: 9J, the flop is J-J-Q, don’t be too optimistic about your hand. You could call a re-raise and analyze the opponents’ moves.

The strength of this combination increases considerably if there have been raises on the pre-flop. The lower your trips, the stronger your hand. When the pot has been raised, the game on the post-flop is more aggressive and people rarely pay attention to the possibility of such trips, especially if the trips are made up of low cards. For instance: you have 45, the flop is 5-5-Q.

Two pairs:

If you have two top pairs or two pairs with a top one, and there have been raises on the pre-flop, play this hand as if you have a set. If you have two low pairs, play aggressively only if your opponents are quite passive. If you see aggressive play, the best idea is to just call the re-raise and then see how your opponent plays the next few moves. If the pot is not raised, two low pairs are not stronger than a top pair with an ace as a kicker. So, don’t play aggressively in a situation like that.

Top pair:

The best idea is to get the bank on the flop when you have a top pair. If you have a top pair, an ace as a kicker and the pot has been raised, you should attack on the flop with a bet of 3/4 the size of the bank. You should re-raise if there has been a raise. Don’t just call with a hand like this. It won’t allow you to find out how strong your contender’s hand is.

Fold with a top pair and an ace kicker if the contender re-raises after your raise. You should go all-in with a hand like this on the flop in some situations, but you’ll figure that out as you gain experience. Contenders in a micro limit game often make the minimum possible re-raise. This type of re-raise is called flat. This often indicates a poor game. If you face a flat, re-raise call it because it often gives good pot odds. Call flat re-raise with a top pair and an ace kicker if you are in a good position and then see the actions of your opponent on the turn.

If you have a top pair and a medium kicker, for instance: you have JQ and Q-5-6 are on the table, don’t re-raise if you see your opponent attacking. Call on the flop and see how your opponent plays on the turn. If there have been no bets before you, try to win the pot in one fell swoop.

Medium pairs and weaker combinations.

Check-fold or call small bets not only if you have a medium pair, but also a runner-flush (three cards of the same suit) or a gut-shot straight.

Strong draws.

Flush-draw and open-ended straight-draw:

In comparison to long tables, in short-handed games you will rarely hit flushes or straights with a multi-pot simply by calling your contenders’ bets. In most cases, you will play against one or two contenders. It is not very profitable to call bets in situations like this. Attack or re-raise the contender’s bet on the flop. You may either win the pot on the flop or improve your hand if somebody calls your bet since you have many outs. If the opponent is aggressive and not very strong, you may just call his bets with the open-ended straight. A straight is not an obvious combination and it may pay off well. You should remember that a high-grade open-ended straight is when both pocket cards form this straight. For instance: you have 46 and 5-7-Q on the board. When the open-ended straight is formed by one of the pocket cards, try to win the pot with half a bluff when you are in a good position. Pay close attention to how much your opponents are betting. If you hit the straight, it can be easily read and you will win very little.

The same advice is given for a monster-draw in the articles about micro limit poker:

Besides, playing aggressively with unfinished combinations makes it seem like you are generally an aggressive player. This is why the possibility of a paid-off set increases considerably when the contender has only a top pair, especially when there are two cards of the same suit and the contender has seen you half bluff with a flush-draw.

Note:

The importance of your observation skills and feel for the game increases on short-handed tables. You should have a great deal of hands under your belt to play well. Constantly analyze your mistakes and solve poker tasks. If you are not sure you moved correctly, think about other possible ways of playing the hand. If you are having a hard time figuring out the best move, you might want to get some suggestions from a poker forum. Don’t be afraid to ask silly questions – be afraid of making silly mistakes in a game.