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Many tournament players lose chips not from bad luck, but from subtle post-flop mistakes they don’t even realize they’re making. In this article, we’ll expose five common leaks that could be quietly draining your stack.
You Always Call The Flop Bet With A Pair
Listen, if some solid player raises from early position and then bets 75% of the pot into four players on the flop, he has the nuts. It’s top pair top kicker at the worst, but it’s likely an overpair or set that’s worried about some set coming in. You can fold more often versus these players when they fire that huge on the flop.
However, no matter where you’re at in the country, you’ll see people constantly call on the flop with mediocre top pairs and even second pairs, because they feel exploitable if they fold to the first bet.
You’re only exploiting yourself if you call there. Think about it. What percentage of the time is it going to be checked down after a guy lobs that bomb at half the table? 20% of the time? 10% of the time? Usually, when they have made that kind of investment, they’re going to keep firing. You’re really just calling the flop with the intention to fold the turn. It’s free money for the other guy.
With top pair or second pair, you’re going to be continuing most of the time. That doesn’t mean you will be continuing all of the time. Think about each hand individually.
You Always Call A Large Bet With A Draw
This leak causes a ton of problems for most tournament grinders. If they flop a draw, there is no folding. If they still have the draw on the turn, they’re still not folding. They’re not analyzing the price. They’re not looking at their implied odds.
What most people fear in these situations is folding and then seeing they would have hit the draw. When chips start flying in it is akin to torture. For the rest of the night, they are thinking about the huge pot they could have won if they were just brave enough to call another bet.
However, this kind of thinking ignores logic. Again, if some solid player is firing huge bets into you and other players, especially on later streets, it’s likely they have a monster. If they have a set, the flush cards you’re drawing to that pair the board aren’t even outs. Many of these solid players aren’t the type to immediately stack off when a scare card comes, so your implied odds are more limited.
Ask yourself before each call if the implied odds are actually there. If you have a loose cannon you’re dealing with who always calls off deep, then by all means draw thinly. If you have a solid player who is pricing you out, don’t worry if you would have hit the draw. You weren’t supposed to call anyway.
You Never Raise Without Two Pair Or Better
Many players only raise post-flop if they have two pair or better. This makes them instantly exploitable. Any thinking player could easily bet/fold their top pairs versus a player with this obvious strategy.
Are you worried you’re one of these players? Track your play next time. Do you ever raise with one pair, a draw, or a blocker? If you never do so, your game needs another dimension.
Now, the good news is that most of your opponents call too much, so you can get away with value-intensive ranges for a long time. You just want to make sure you’re developing that gear for when you do move up.
When should you raise with a weaker hand? You can start with this play:
If your solid opponent bets small on a board with a flush draw and straight draw multi-way, it’s often a mediocre hand that’s trying to keep the pot small. They’re worried if they check that they will get blasted off the hand. They would rather bet themselves and set the price. If you have a solid top pair versus them multi-way then raise for value. You’ll likely get called by a number weaker pairs and draws. And if you did stub your toe on a set, you’re going to find out quickly when they reraise again. You can fold at that point, no harm, no foul.
You Always Call On The River With Two Pair Or Better
I see this happen all the time. A young guy has been playing solid all day. He gets to a river multi-way when a flush draw comes in. He checks and a solid senior citizen puts in a huge bet. The senior citizen is mostly in the cardroom for coffee and conversation. He never gets out of line.
In this case, you know the tighter player almost certainly has the flush, especially multi-way. You can make thin folds there with two pair and whatnot.
However, many younger guys will call there because they’re so worried about being exploited… by a guy who is there primarily for socialization.
If you never find yourself making a big fold with two pair or better on the river, then that’s a gear you need to develop. As you move up, players will get better at noticing when you’re likely near the top of your range, and they will make you pay dearly.
You Always Call The Turn Bet When A Draw Misses
This is another leak you see many players have. Whenever they have a mediocre pair and the draw misses on the turn, they automatically think, “Great! I bet he has a missed draw he’s barreling with. I can call again!”
This is really just an excuse to keep gambling. If your opponent is tighter in nature, then it is possible they have a draw on occasion, but most of their hands are going to be value combinations. You should make the thin fold, even with some mediocre top pairs, especially if you’re not wiling to call a river bet that is likely coming.
Conclusion
Fixing just one of these post-flop leaks can instantly sharpen your tournament performance. Clean up your game, and you’ll find yourself going deeper and cashing more often.
Learn how to play A-K when it misses the flop!
Alexander Fitzgerald is a professional poker player and bestselling author who currently lives in Denver, Colorado. He is a WPT and EPT final tablist, and has WCOOP and SCOOP wins online. His most recent win was the $250,000 Guaranteed on ACR Poker. He currently enjoys blasting bums away in Ignition tournaments while he listens to death metal. Free training packages of his are provided to new newsletter subscribers who sign up at PokerHeadRush.com</em