This article will detail the strategies on how to play post flop no limit hold’em (NLHE). It will give you insights on when to bet and inform you on the best conditions for raising after the flop and when you should call. These post flop strategies will run through all the possible basic scenarios you may find yourself in once the flop has fallen. Remember that any post flop strategy must take into account the other players style of play, the effective stacks, position and how many players see the flop.

Ok, lets get started:

No pair and no over cards

So the flop has given you no pair and you don’t have any over cards. Okay, this one’s a no brainer as there is no way you can win the hand, so you need to fold unless you can check your way till there is a showdown.

No pair but two over cards

Again the flop leaves you without a pair but this time you have two over cards and some potential to win the hand. You should only call small bets if you have a good chance of still having the best hand or feel like you can steal the pot on later streets when it’s ideally a heads up pot.

One pair

An unpaired hand will make a pair on the flop around ⅓ of the time. If you are sitting with top pair you want to bet and get value from worse hands. Get out of the hand if your strong bet is raised and there is a good chance they have a better hand.

Two Pair

Things are looking really good if you have made two pair on the flop yet your hand is still vulnerable on draw heavy boards so it’s vital to bet/raise to give drawing hands bad odds to continue in the hand.

Trips

If you have trips on the flop you’re in a great position as it’s unlikely anyone will suspect you have this combination. You should bet here and be fairly confident that your bet will be called by paired hands and even a stubborn ace high and you may well go on to win a big pot. Watch out of course for the straight or flush possibilities.

Straight

If you flop a straight bet with the intention of building the pot. If you have the nut straight then you can slowplay if it doesn’t look like a flush is possible. However, slow-playing is not always the best option, as it can extract less value than what you may have anticipated.

Flush

If there are three cards of the same suit lying next to each other and you’re holding two cards of the same suit you’re sitting pretty. As such, if you have a low flush, it’s a balancing act between raising to get better drawing flushes to pay and scaring off the other players. Slow play or fast play the nut flush depending on the situation.

All higher hands

For all hands higher than a flush such as a full house, quads, straight flush, and so on, it is so unlikely that you’ll be beaten in the later rounds that you should slow play and give your opponents a chance to make a good hand and think they have the winning cards or allow them to bluff at the pot.