Many players lose money in cash games not because of bad luck, but due to fundamental post-flop mistakes. By recognizing and fixing these common post-flop errors, you can make better decisions, extract more value, and avoid costly leaks in your game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was working with a student the other day. He value bet thinly with AKo (no heart) on a K♥<\/mark>– J♠- 8♥<\/mark>– 5♥<\/mark> board versus a player in the big blind who had a wide range. Not a bad value bet. However, he fired the turn, and his opponent check-raised small. Without thinking, my student immediately called.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet\u2019s think clearly about this,\u201d I said. \u201cWhat\u2019s the most important thought to have right now? What should you be thinking about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n My student paused and remembered his training. \u201cIs this X, and X is the best hand I beat. Is this K-Q? No, it\u2019s not. This guy also doesn\u2019t bluff much here. I don\u2019t know why I\u2019m calling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s another issue. Do you know what it is? What else are we supposed to think about here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow often will he bet again? What are we doing when that bet comes in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, after he check-raises the turn? There will be a bet on the river constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd what are we doing when that bet comes in?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re folding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, if we think about the right things here as opposed to how much we like our hand, we realize that we\u2019re not beating much of anything, there will almost always be a bet on the river, and we\u2019re always folding to that bet. Now, is this a situation we should be investing money in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo,\u201d he admits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, just fold here. Don\u2019t donate because you\u2019re emotionally attached to your hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This leak happens all the time. We fall in love with our hand, and we forget to think about our opponent\u2019s range. We also forget that there\u2019s future streets to play. If we stop for a second and think about these key questions above, we can remove this leak and save tons of money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My student raises with Kings under the gun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lojack, hijack, small blind, and big blind call him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The board comes A♦<\/mark>-9♦<\/mark>-5♣. He doesn\u2019t have the King of diamonds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The action checked to him. He bets half the pot, which looks pretty large now given how many pre-flop callers there were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy are you betting here?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have to continue the story,\u201d he says. \u201cI was the pre-flop raiser, so I have to bet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat is the most important thing to think about here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n My student checks his notes. \u201cAm I betting for value or as a bluff,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExactly,\u201d I say. \u201cYou want to make sure every bet has a purpose. Now, tell me, is this a value bet or a bluff?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He catches himself. \u201cIt\u2019s neither,\u201d he says dismayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCorrect. This bet neither folds out an ace or gets a nine to call. It\u2019s completely pointless. You\u2019ve put money into the pot for no reason.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut isn\u2019t it bad to just check and fold Kings here?\u201d he asks. \u201cIsn\u2019t that weak?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFour people called you pre-flop. What are the chances no one has an ace? That\u2019s the most popular hand for people to play pre-flop. People love aces. You\u2019re likely dead to two outs. Just fold.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n C-betting into half the field with nothing is one of the most common post-flop mistakes we see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My student called with A♣-7♣ on the button after the Lojack raised and Hijack called. The big blind called as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The board comes K♥<\/mark>-7♠-4♥<\/mark>. The big blind checks. Lojack bets half of the pot. Hijack calls. My student calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the most important thing to think about here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure,\u201d my student says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne good thing to think of when you\u2019re in a multi-way pot is how often there is going to be another bet. After you answer that question, ask yourself what you\u2019re doing to the next bet. So, in this spot, how often do you think we will see another bet?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe majority of the time,\u201d he answers. \u201cPretty much always.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd what are we doing when there is another bet?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re folding almost always. And it\u2019s hard for our hand to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExactly. A turn ace is not a terrific card because the pre-flop raiser could easily have Ace-King. If the turn is the 7♥<\/mark>, that could easily bring in the flush for someone. You\u2019re not going to hit anything on the turn the vast majority of the time, and even when you do hit something you\u2019re not going to be loving it. There will be another bet the majority of the time, and you\u2019ll have no idea what to do versus it. Just fold right now and save the money. The hand was good enough to see the flop with, but this situation doesn\u2019t work for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was playing in a private game the other night. I raised from the hijack. The cutoff called me. The player on the button squeezed. The player on the button wasn\u2019t a tight player, but he also didn\u2019t goof around much. He played seriously for hours and hadn\u2019t gotten out of line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The action folded back to me. I flatted with A♥<\/mark>-J♥<\/mark>. The cutoff folded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The board came 6♥<\/mark>-6♠-4♣. I checked. My opponent bet 60% of the pot. I quickly folded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a spot where many online guys would say to me, \u201chow did you fold there? You have to defend with two overs and backdoors! You\u2019re so exploitable! He could squeeze on you all day now!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This line of thinking is ridiculous to me. The assumption these guys seem to make is that if someone can exploit me then they will exploit me 100% of the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s apply that to everyday life. The other day I walked out of my front door to help my neighbor with something. Once I walked a few minutes, I realized I forgot to lock the front door of my house. Theoretically, someone could have walked into my house and taken my TV right then. However, if I would have turned around immediately and started sprinting towards my front door to lock it, I would look like a crazy person for a reason. The idea that someone is waiting outside of my house to rob me specifically is unreasonable. The idea that someone could read my mind and know my front door is unlocked is bizarre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I folded here because this gent had been a solid player all night. I had no reason to suspect he was goofing around in this pot. Even if he was bluffing, I had no reason to believe he would keep doing that. He has no idea what I\u2019m folding here, so he doesn\u2019t know what door I left open. To continue to blindly play a pot where I have few outs is one of the big post-flop mistakes people make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sure enough, after I folded, he showed a premium. I was completely dominated!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was having a rough session the other night. Long story short, I was getting tired and annoyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I raised with a solid Ace from early position. The button, a player I couldn\u2019t get a great read on, three-bet me. I called. The board came Ace high. I check\/called a continuation bet. The turn checked through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the river, a bottom card paired and a backdoor flush draw came in. However, I still felt my Ace was going to be good a large percentage of the time. I made a small value bet, because in this game it would be totally normal for a weaker pocket pair to call me just to see the ace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m all-in,\u201d my opponent said after twenty seconds of deliberation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, I was pretty annoyed when I heard those words, and that\u2019s the problem. How many times have you seen someone be in this situation live, and they just immediately say with frustration, \u201cI call.\u201d It\u2019s not enough to know you\u2019re beat and got unlucky. You have to see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your opponents are not that creative. Generally, when they raise turns and rivers, they have the best hand. If they triple barrel you, they have the hand. If they do a small bet on the river, they don\u2019t expect to get many folds, so that\u2019s generally the hand. You don\u2019t have to give them credit for bluffs that they\u2019re not capable of making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I sat there for a second, just on the off chance I could get a physical tell, but I wasn\u2019t too worried I was getting bluffed. He would call with most of his weaker pairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I decided to turn down the temperature a bit and make this easier. \u201cWhat\u2019s your favorite Rocky movie?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?\u201d he started laughing earnestly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People relax with big hands. They know they\u2019re going to win a big pot or a bigger pot. They laugh and breathe easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour favorite Rocky movie?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe first one,\u201d he said laughing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, the first one was a classic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat about Rocky IV?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhich one was that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat was the one\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We kept going 20 more seconds. I got my information. If he was turning a hand into a bluff, he was good at keeping his cool while he did it, and most people don\u2019t have that skill. I took a few more seconds so it wasn\u2019t obvious what kind of information I was digging for, but then I folded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Avoiding these common post-flop mistakes will help you make smarter decisions, protect your bankroll, and maximize your long-term winnings. By folding earlier when you’re beat, sizing your bets wisely, and calling more selectively, you’ll stop bleeding chips in tough spots. Stay disciplined, trust your reads, and you’ll see a significant improvement in your cash game results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just a note before I go\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I have a new deal available on lesson packages. You can get six hours of private training with me for $997. This is your chance to take your game to the next level and become the crusher everyone fears! Contact me at <\/em>alex.fitzgerald@advancedpokertraining.com<\/em><\/a> for details. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nContinuation Betting Into Half Of Earth is a Post-Flop Mistake<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Calling With Weak Hands Multi-Way<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Calling Every Continuation Bet In A Three-bet Pot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Calling WAY Too Many River Bets And Raises<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Conclusion: Post-Flop Mistakes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n