You can be less aggressive letting another player get the second best hand,if you have the top two pairs and no flush or straight are possible.
When you flop a draw – When you have a straight or a flush draw in No Limit Texas Holdem, it’s very important to know who you are playing against. Good players make it unworthy to chase for a draw. Therefore if you have a drawable hand, calculating the pot odds is very important.
You should consider the following:
1. If you are getting good pot odds up to your entire bankroll, try to be the bettor and not the caller.
2. If you are in an early position you should usually check and call only if the pot odds are worth it.
Remember that even though a flush has more outs than an open ended straight, 9 compared to 8, you are more likely to get called once you catch your straight than after you make the flush.
When you flop top pair – You should bet your strong hands but remember that many of the big loses occur when a player falls in love with his top pair and won’t let go. If a good player calls your bet or raised it, you should consider folding.
When you flop two pairs – Because you probably have the best hand, you should carefully consider what the odds are that the next card will make someone else’s hand better, before deciding how much to bet. If you have the bottom two pairs, bet very aggressively because a lot of cards can make your hand worthless. On the other hand, if you have the top two pairs and no flush or straight are possible, you can be less aggressive letting another player get the second best hand.
When you flop a set – If you have a pocket pair, the odds of getting a set or better are about 12%. If you do get your set, your primary goal will be to make the other players put their money into the pot. Sometimes the best timing is right after the flop and sometimes you should slow-play till the river. This depends on the board and the players you are up against. You should bet against tight players and slow-play against loose aggressive players. You should bet when there is a flush or straight draw no matter who you are up against.
When flopping a straight – It’s very important to recognize the different kinds of straights. You could flop the best straight possible, if you have King Queen and the board is Jack, Ten and a 9. You can have the worst straight possible, if you have 75 and the board is 986 which is pretty vulnerable. And you can have other kinds of straights. The things you should consider are:
1. How likely are the next cards going to hurt your hand? For example if the board has two or three of the same suit you should bet more aggressively.
2. How big is the pot and what are your opponent’s pot odds? For example, if you have T8 and the flop is Qh, Jh, 9s. if someone is going for a flush draw than he is getting about 36% to win by the river, therefore you should bet half of the pot size to make his call not worthy.
3. How many players are you up against – as the number gets higher, bet more aggressively.
When you flop a flush – If you have the nuts (the best flush possible), you can slow-play and let other players get the second best hand or induce a bluff. When you don’t have the nuts, you should bet at least half of the pot, so if someone is going for the nut flush he would have to overpay in order to get it.
When flopping a monster – A full house, four of a kind, or a straight flush – On these rare occasions slow-play and let others make second best hands.
Rules of No Limit Texas Holdem
Two cards are dealt to each player , once the blinds are in the pot.No Limit Texas Holdem Strategy – Playing Before the Flop
You should usually fold against a good player because you’re in a bad position,when you’re in the small blind and no one has called the big blind.No Limit Texas Holdem Strategy – General Tips
Making the wrong decision about seeing the flop can cause you to lose a lot of money in No Limit Texas Holdem.