If you have a fantastic hand on a coordinated flop, reraise them! If they have a weaker hand or they are on a draw following the same strategy outlined for interesting/coordinated, bet for value and make it mathematically wrong for them to call. If they bet half the pot or larger, typically I will reraise them about 3 times their bet amount. If they bet smaller, like a minimum bet or a 2x blind bet, raise the size of the pot. The key here is to find out where you are at in the hand at the flop. If you just call, you haven't learned anything. If you reraise and they fold, great. However, if they reraise you, your warning bells should be going off. Stop and think about what they could have. If you think they might have a strong hand, just call and check/call to the river. But if you are pretty sure you have the best hand, push your whole stack in. Sometimes you will be wrong and get knocked out, but that is poker. Over time you will gain a sense as to how to respond in these situations. But generally speaking, you want to seek maximum value for your really strong hands.
If you have a fantastic hand on an uncoordinated flop, this is an opportunity to play your hand slower. Just call the bet and plan to reraise on the turn. If you reraise in this situation, they will probably fold unless they have a solid hand like a set. If they check the turn, bet your hand for value. If they bet the turn and no scare cards came (cards that could have improved your opponents hand but didn't improve your hand), raise for value.
If you have an interesting hand, regardless of the flop texture, make your decision whether to call on pot odds (review Lesson 4: Calculating Outs and Odds). Generally speaking, if you have the correct odds to call, call. If not, let the hand go. In the situation of a coordinated flop, sometimes you will have a very strong draw, say a straight draw and a flush draw. In this situation, reraise for value. You might win the pot immediately, but if not, you want to build the pot for when you hit your draw.
For the Titanic hands, just let'em go! Fold to any flop bet. If the hand is checked and you get to see the turn, follow the previous guideline that best matches the situation.
All of this information can be fairly overwelming to remember while playing. It might be easier to print out the information and have it beside you when you play. For a downloadable and printable version of the basic strategy, please click here!
