Poker Player Life

 The basic rule of play on the flop is -- Bet or Fold.

Generally, we will be playing a lot of hands in this game if you follow my opening advice. We dont play these hands to make great poker hands post flop but we play them to control the pace of the game and win small pots uncontested. When the pots get big we have the NUTS!

My flop play basic rule is that if no one has bet the flop when it is your turn and the flop is taken headsup or three handed, just BET. Dont even look at the flop. 

• Flop nothing - Bet
• Flop a little - Bet
• Flop a lot - Bet
• Don't know what the flop is - Bet

Get the picture. When first into the pot - Bet!

The problem with looking at the flop is as follows. Lets say you see three straight cards or three flush cards. That looks scary right? Well we bet anyway. Remember scary to you is scary to the enemy. If you don't bet and the next guy bets you may be throwing away a winner with your AK or QJ or whatever you are playing. Or even worse you may be throwing away a hand like bottom pair or middle pair.

The flip side is that if someone bets than be ready to throw away many hands. Generally we throw away hands that dont have the potential to improve to pat hands or anything less than top pair. So we may call with pair and a gut shot, a pair and a flush draw, top pair (carefully on this one). We also look carefully at the pot odds and implied odds before calling.

 In the 6-max Fast Fold game I have developed my recommendations for the opening. I will describe these with my explanations of why I chose to do it this way.

AA, KK -- The big premium pairs I choose to limp re-raise. The reasons are two fold:

• Early position raises tend to scare away players in this game at most times so the Limp Re-Raise play gets more money in the pot pre-flop and thats what we like.
• We want to be able to limp with certain other hands and this balances out the opening range.

Pairs 66-QQ -- My standard open raise is three times the big blind and that's what I would do with these holdings. These hands play for set value and for the power of a made pair pre-flop when every one misses. Call a single raise with these hands and fold to a raise and re-raise (yes fold QQ.. against players with very tight stats I fold KK).

Pairs 22-55 -- Limp in with these hands looking for a set. These are valuable hands but you want to play them with really good implied odds. A re-raise of these small pairs is disastrous to the implied odds of what you can when when you hit. Limp, hope someone has a big pair and that you hit a set. The ingredients for a big pot!! If there is a raise call and fold to a raise and re-raise.

Suited A-x -- Limp in with these hands

Post flop plan: Never enter a pot with out a plan. Our plan here is simple - in two or three handed pots and no one has bet the flop yet always bet about 2/3 of the pot. Always, always, cover up if needed and bet the flop when you are first in. You have air, bet the flop, you flop a set -- bet the flop; you flop a flush -- bet the flop. Bet, Bet Bet when first in post flop.