Three-Suited
A three-suited flop is always dangerous, unless you happen to have a flush draw
with one of the top two remaining suited cards. For example, top pair with an ace or
king of the same suit as the flop is a very strong holding. However, if you do not
have a flush draw, you must be very careful in how you play your hand. The danger
is that an opponent already has a flush or at least a strong draw.
Let's look first at when you have top pair and a good flush draw. There are two
scenarios. You could hold a pair not vulnerable to overcards. such as A ♦ K ♣, and
you are fortunate enough to flop K ♦ T ♦ 5 ♦. There is a small chance that you could
be beat by a flush or a set. but even then you still have a strong draw to win the
hand. In these situations, you can either play your hand aggressively or wait until
the turn to raise on the more expensive betting round. Usually it is better to just go
ahead and bet or raise the flop since the betting action could dry up if another
suited card comes.
The second scenario is when you hold a medium pair with a high kicker, such as A ♦
J ♣ with a flop of J ♦ 7 ♦ 4 ♦. Similar to the two-suited flop, your main strategy may not
always be to drive out players on the flop if the pot is small.
When you don't have a flush draw, you should proceed cautiously, especially when
your pair is not very high or your kicker is weak. If someone comes out betting, you
first must determine the probability that you are already beat. Against many
opponents, it may be best to go ahead and fold. Even when you are ahead, there is
still a good chance that an opponent will out-draw you, especially if your pair is
vulnerable to overcards also.
For example, if you hold Q ♦ J ♦
with a flop of J ♥ 7 ♥ 3 ♥ and someone bets into you
with many opponents left in the hand, you should probably fold. First, your kicker is
not very strong. Even if you do have the best hand, you must worry about any ace,
king, or another suited card coming, which is basically even money with two cards
to come.
If your hand is A ♦ J ♦, now you have a somewhat better hand since you have top
kicker, but your hand is still very vulnerable. Your betting strategies in this type of
situation are usually dependent on how many opponents you are against. If you are
against one, you might play aggressively; two or three you might play
conservatively to see the turn card; and you might fold a weak kicker against a lot of
action from several players.
NEXT...Two-Connected
