Time to get to the heart of online poker strategies: Post-Flop. Same as we did with the pre-flop strategy, we will look into the objectives of post-flop play and then work on how to achieve these.
What you should be doing in Post-Flop play? For starters you need to focus on the situations where the real money is being made.
Play big pots with big hands
This can be applied to playing small pots with a small hand as well. Get the value out of weak players by playing your good hands and fold in situations where you can only win a small pot or lose a big one.
Recognizing weak players in online poker
These should be your ultimate target and where you will be earning the most money especially if you’re just starting out. Weak players will pay you off with weak hands so you need to recognize these players which will in turn be your most profitable bet.
To recognize them you need to revisit hands you’ve played against your opponents so you have access to information about them. When you see the showdown you will be able to see what kind of hands your opponents plays from which position. From there you will be able to estimate the range of future hands for your opponent. This type of players also is likely unaware of his positional disadvantage.
Spotting a decent opponent in online poker
Anyone who doesn’t play weak hands can be considered a decent player. It doesn’t mean that they’re great players but they’re probably more aware of what good and bad hands are. You have to play your best strategy and only get involved in big pots when you have a big hand. If this isn’t possible then you have to play more straightforward or focus on the weak players.
If you read our pre-flop guide then you know that we put a lot of emphasis on position to make your decisions later in the game a lot easier.
Not only will you have more control over the pot but you also have access to information. Another important issue we focused on was the importance of having initiative. Most poker players will check the player who has initiative when they are out of position. This is useful for planning your hands well in advance.
Planning your hands in advance in online poker
If you’ve followed our advice so far then you comprehend both the type of opponent you’re up against and if you want to play a big pot or a small/medium one.
If you want to play a big pot, you need to think of the betting lines that will help you accomplish your goal.
Betting Lines in position
Big Hand: If you want to play for stacks and have a big hand then it’s best to bet/raise on every street. This also depensd on how many big blinds your stack is. If you are deep in a tournament it is likely you will have less big blinds, and thus you don't need to bet or raise all streets to get an all-in situation.
Decent hand: If you have a decent enough hand, you might want to check behind on one street to help you achieve your goal.
Betting Lines out of position
Big Hand: If you want to play for stacks and have a big hand, then you should be considering the betting line that will help you achieve this. If you think your competitor won’t bet, you might as well go for betting all streets yourself.
Decent Hand: If you have a decent hand but you’re not after the stacks, it’s recommended that you think the situation thoroughly. Since you are handicapped, your opponent can raise and get you easily out of your comfort zone.
If your opponent decides to bet, then you need to consider on whether to check with the aim of facing future bets in case of an aggressive opponent.