Texas Hold 'Em Power Plays: Chasing a Hand

Can you ever have a Power Play when you are chasing a hand? You bet.

Your hand is an Ace and another unsuited card. All three cards in the flop match the suit of your Ace. You are chasing a flush but you are chasing a very strong flush. With no pairs on the board yet you do not need to worry about a full house beating you if you make the flush. The Power Play is to bet heavily at this point especially if you are in early position. Never call or check here. Bet big. This gives the impression that you have already filled out your flush and it only rises to the level of a semi-bluff. The only exception to this comes when you are betting late and a very tight player has raised or re-raised in front of you. You may be facing a set on the flop and your chances of prevailing in that case simply by betting big are not very good. The Power Play in this case is a fold.

Your hand is 8, 10 off-suit and you are in the big blind. No one raises so you check pre-flop. The flop comes 7, 9, K unsuited. You have an open ended straight draw on the high side. The Power Play in this case is a bet, raise, or fold. Do not check. Free cards are nice but they are also free for your opponent. If the jack comes on fourth or fifth street, the Power Play is a check/raise if it is permitted and the tactic is especially powerful if other players in the hand are loose or overly aggressive. If you are betting early and the jack comes on the turn, check and raise any subsequent players who get in the pot. If no one bets, check again after the river.

Lingo

Aggressive -- when applied to a poker player, this means one who bets or raises in large amounts. Being aggressive when one sees a chance to win a pot is a Power Play and must not be confused with loose or soft play which is not a Power Play.
Big Blind -- a forced bet that the player must put up before the cards are dealt. The big blind rotates clockwise around the table with each hand. The player with the obligation to post the big blind sits two seats to the left of the player designated as the dealer. The player in the big blind bets last on the first round of betting but bets second on all subsequent rounds.
Call -- match the bet of a previous player or, before the flop, matching the size of the big blind
Chase -- trying to fill in a hand that is not already good by calling bets and hoping that the next community card or cards will complete a straight, flush or other good hand
Check -- declining to bet when given the opportunity -- can be thought of as a bet of zero
Check Raise -- checking on your first opportunity to bet during a betting round and, after another player who bets later makes a bet, raising the other player's bet in the same round of betting
Dark -- taking some type of betting action before seeing the cards
Flop -- the first three community cards turned face-up by the dealer after the first round of betting
Flush -- five cards of the same suit. If more than one player has five cards of the same suit, the player with the highest ranked cards in that suit wins. This is one of the reasons that Aces are so important.
Fold -- decline to participate in a pot by giving your hole cards to the dealer
Hole Cards -- two cards dealt to each player face down at the beginning of the hand
Inside Straight -- an opportunity (?) to draw an additional card to complete a straight when only one card will do. Be careful. This is a sucker bet. For example, your hole cards and the community cards give you 8, 9, J, Q. You have an inside straight draw because you can complete your hand with only a 10. Also called a Gut-Shot Straight Draw.
Loose -- a style of play characterized by players who stay for almost every hand and bet with hands that more conservative players would fold. Loose is also called soft. Loose should not be confused with aggressive.
Open-Ended Straight -- an opportunity to draw an additional card to complete a straight with either of two cards. For example, your hole cards and the community cards give you 8, 9, 10, J. You have an open-ended straight draw because you can complete your hand with either a 7 or a Q.
Raise -- increasing the bet of an opponent or, before the flop, increasing the size of the big blind or a previous bet.
River -- the fifth and final card turned face-up by the dealer after the third round of betting and before the fourth and final round of betting
Set -- three of a kind, also called trips
Slow Play -- having a very strong hand but calling or raising the minimum amount in order to convince the other players that you do not have a strong hand
Small Blind -- a forced bet generally one-half the size of the big blind that the player must put up before the cards are dealt. The small blind rotates clockwise around the table with each hand. The player with the obligation to post the small blind sits on the dealer's left. The player in the small blind bets next to last on the first round of betting and first on each subsequent round.
Turn -- the fourth community card turned face-up by the dealer after the second round of betting -- also called fourth street

Texas Hold 'Em Power Plays

Chasing a Hand

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