Playing top pairs on the flop
Playing top pairs on the flop is something a situation that can prove costly for players in both tournament and ring game play due to the amount of players who fail to read their opponents correctly.
Although experienced poker players who have studied the game fully understand that there are vulnerabilities that top pairs on the flop can experience, the less experienced players forget about pocket pairs and bet heavily into the pots in order to try to take the pot from their opponents.
The truth is that players are likely to call you if either or both of their cards are over cards, thinking that they can hit a better hand on the following cards that are to follow if the bet isn’t large enough to prevent them from gambling with their chips.
A top pair is something that is thought to be regarded as been a strong hand, more so in the game of Texas Hold’em poker, the true fact of the matter is that unless you are holding a pair of aces the opportunity of a player having a higher pair is always going to be there, so a ounce of caution should be aired when playing a hand like this.
Sometimes pairs in general can offer a minefield for a poker player, with the possibility of higher pairs or better been available to opponents, carrying a huge risk even when a player is holding a pocket pair.
Although the odds are in your favour when you enter the flop, the chances are that if you are entering into the hand with a pair lower than jacks, you will be called on an all in situation by players who are holding high cards that act as over cards.
Advice is best offered to players when it is centred around avoiding going all in pre-flop unless you are holding pocket aces as even pocket kings could be beaten by hands which carries an ace kicker, regardless of the other cards value.
This happens more often when playing in lower stake games due to the quality of players been lower and more likely to risk their stakes on one hand.
Remember what we have covered here and your success at the poker tables will improve greatly, generating a higher profit margin for yourself in order to reach the ultimate goal of generating a huge profit from a small investment.