Reading the Board
If you are new to holdem poker one of your top priorities would have to be to learn how to accurately read the board (how the community cards will relate to your two cards). Reading the board in holdem poker will not be nearly as complex as in games such as omaha eight-or-better. It will be important, nonetheless. Following examples will show situations that beginners will sometimes misread.
EXAMPLE 1
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In Example 1, your hand will be the ace-high (nut*)flush, which will beat your opponent’s hand. He will use his seven of hearts with the eight of hearts, nine of hearts and ten of hearts on the board to make a straight. If either the six of hearts or jack of hearts were to be the river card, instead of the king of spades, your opponent will have a straight flush – and will win.
When you will start with considerably the best of it, such as this situation of flopping the nut flush, and will end up losing on the river to a straight flush against a poker player who will start with only card of that suit, you will have suffered what poker players have called a bad beat. Part of the ability to read the board would have to include realizing that even if you were to have the nut flush, if three – or four – cards to a straight flush were to be on the board, you could end up losing.
As, it would have been costly if you did. So if a solid (conservative, not likely to get out of line) opponent were to keep raising on the turn or the river in a situation in which you were to think you have the nuts, you should take another look at the board to see if a better hand would be possible when playing holdem poker.
(*In holdem poker, nut will refer to the best possible hand for the situation. Thus a nut flush will be the best possible flush that could be made. With four hearts on the board, for example, whoever will hold the ace of hearts will have the nut flush. Similarly, with a board of six of hearts, seven of diamonds, eight of diamonds, queen of hearts and ace of clubs, anyone with hole cards ten-nine of any suits would have the nut straight. That hand will also be known as the nuts, because it would be the best possible hand that could be made with the board.)
Who would win the hand in Example 2 of poker? While you would have a two pair, you would lose the pot to your opponent’s Ace-king. Why? He could play sevens and fours with an ace kicker, while you would have to play the board. That is, the best hand you could make by using the best five of the seven available to you would be what’s on the board, sevens and fours with a five kicker.
EXAMPLE 2
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Your pair of threes will have been counterfeited by the appearance of a second pair, higher than yours, on the board. You will have the best hand right up to the river, and will have won the pot if the river will have been any two, three, six, seven, eight, nine, ten*, jack, or queen. Of the forty-four cards left in the deck at the turn, thirty-two would make you a winner. You had got unlucky when the river card hadn’t been one of those.
EXAMPLE 3
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The poker hand that is illustrated in Example 3 will be a split pot. Both you and your opponent will have a jack-high straight. In fact, neither one of you will be playing either of your two cards. Opponent will have the better hand on the turn with an already made jack-high straight against your ten-high straight, but the jack on the river will counterfeit his hand.
On the turn, there will remain in the deck only two cards that will cause him not to win the pot, and one of those had come. That, too, will be considered a bad beat. You will notice that if a third opponent were to be in the hand holding a queen, he would win the pot.
EXAMPLE 3
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The ace-seven poker hand will win the pot in Example 4. His hand will be aces full of threes, playing only the ace in his hand. You will have fours, full of aces, the same hand you would have had on the turn. If you were to lose a pot in this manner (and you would), you would be entitled to a bit of complaining. And you will notice that your opponent would also win if an ace or seven were to come on the river.