Post-Flop Poker Checklist

When the game gets to the post-flop poker play, there are several things we have to consider as we proceed in the game. Here is a checklist.

First are the over-cards. Say, if our top card happens to be a queen and there's a flopped king, that diminishes our edge considerably and we're left with no other option but to fold. Holding even a high pair doesn't make us any better against a stronger pocket pair that the opponent may be holding post-flop.

When we have an AA but the flop doesn't help our hand one bit, we may have to re-think our pocket pair before deciding to play it post-flop. One of the most disastrous errors many players do after the flop is to keep good-looking pocket pairs despite the odds that someone else is apt to get a straight or flush draw.

A weak kicker is also something to take serious note of post-flop. It may prove to be an overlooked weapon either against the opponent or us—and that goes for a two-pair weak kicker, too. So we better check with a bet to see how it fairs in the post-flop poker game. When we have a two-pair all we need is one more card of the pair to complete a full house. But if this hand does not emerge and we decide to play it, we have to make all the bets using a poor hand. Most online players think slow playing this hand is a good idea. If we choose to play this, then we had better bet big to try to make a convincing proof of strength.

With middle pairs we ought to bet when we're coming from a late position—where we can still do something with the pair—but we should decide to fold if a player edcide to bet or raise us. Nut flushes are strong hands to play post-flop and we exploit it by slow playing so that other players won't notice and keep on their bets. Over-pairs, like two queens against a jack, should be played with a bet to rid players off the hand. With this hand we may choose to also check-raise or probably re-raise so other players remaining may see our serious intent.

These things should be seriously reflected on. Most post-flop poker plays are likely to have the above hands and we should have a good idea of what to do with them. We must quickly assess the hands in the checklist above.