What is a flop in poker

We all repeatedly hear in conversations about poker such terms as preflop, flop and postflop – the turn round. All of them designate the so-called poker streets, or in other words – the stages of bidding. The flop is the conditional center of the party. In this material, as you probably already understood, we will talk about the flop. The very stage when community cards appear on the table. In front of him, the players got their pocket cards or starting hands with a very fuzzy picture of their potential.

Let’s figure out what is the peculiarity of the flop in poker, find out what categories of flops are divided into in Texas Hold’em and try to understand how best to behave in different situations, depending on what the flop offers us. What is the flop in poker Let’s start with the interpretation of the term. Flop in poker – in English Flop is the second stage of trading, following after the preflop. It is also called the opening of the table. The flop exists only in those types of poker where the rules of the game provide for common cards – these are Texas Hold’em and Omaha Poker. On the flop, the first three (out of five) open cards for all participants are laid out on the board. And now the players can much better and more clearly assess the strength of their hands and the chances of their successful strengthening. The flop is the right moment to confirm your decisions made earlier or to show your intentions for further play. Note also that at the flop stage, the small blind starts the round. Everyone at the table who didn’t get out preflop sees the potential gain and counts the outs for a good hand. Flop in Texas Hold’em – the main types Of course, there are a lot of options for which cards will come out on the flop. We will look at the top three, if I may say so, and talk briefly about the behavior for each of them. A suited flop is good in terms of gain, but don’t forget that it’s three community cards, which means that someone at the table already has a flush or flush draw. Here you need to navigate by your hand – having, for example, a king and an ace of the same suit with the flop, then you should reach the turn and if you made the decision first on the preflop, make another bet, thereby checking whether your opponents have flushes. Such a gesture will also give a hint of your possible strengthening. The next flop will be a two-suited flop with the presence of high cards – let’s say that three community cards hit the table, two of which are king and ace of the same suit, and the third is any weak card. Experienced players advise playing with a share of aggressiveness – that is, betting even if your position is not the strongest. This is where the pot odds need to be increased to get players with weak draws out of the pot. The offsuit flop in Texas Hold’em – or as it is also called – the rainbow flop. This situation brings into play combinations such as high cards and pairs of low and medium strength. Such a flop reduces the chances of making a flush. But a triple or a set gets a chance to be ahead of the rest. If you got just such a hand – play it, carefully increasing the pot. Unsuccessful flop – actions Of course, players regularly face such an unpleasant situation for themselves, when the flop – opening the table, did not bring the expected results. That is, cards that could strengthen your hand simply did not appear on the table. Here, decisions need to be made based on how you behaved before this round – that is, preflop. If you played in a passive style, then you should not change it – if you do not have worthwhile cards, check, and it is better to answer the rise of opponents with a fold. Although some players, especially bold preflop bettors, may continue to bluff and re-bet. Summing up the article, we will once again go through the basic data – the flop is the second street of poker, also called the opening of the table. At this stage, the players learn the first community cards – three of the five possible. It is the flop that enhances the intrigue of the game and shows the participants the chances of strengthening hands, clarifies the number of possible outs for one or another incomplete combination – for hand-draws. The behavior of players on the flop largely depends on the initial style of play and the decisions you made at the preflop stage. Opening the table clarifies a lot for the participants, but if it decided everything, then there would be no post-flop. So the riddle remains until the final draw. Once again, we remind you that the flop may and often does not bring the coveted cards, and here the decision is up to you – to fold to avoid losses or take risks and use a bluff. Players with different poker styles may behave differently. And this factor must be taken into account for your own benefit.