There are three tendencies of average players you come across, especially online, which will make things a bit clearer. They are the following:

? Loving aces. This means aces paired with even low off-suit cards will often justify a call. Thus if you're in a game with average opponents, playing a typical (neither tight nor loose) game, and several of them call the blind, there's a good chance at least one person has an ace.

? Loving flushes. Players who know a little bit about the game, but not a lot, will tend to overvalue suited cards, often calling with any two of them, even something like J2s. Expert players will very, very, very rarely play this hand, but in online poker rooms?. you'd be surprised.

? Loving face cards. Why is it more likely that an average player will play Q7s before they'll play 54 (a stronger starting hand)? Well, there are two reasons. One is stated in the above paragraph, and the other is that players are wowed by pictures of nobility, and generally play them too often.

The three tendencies above are all symptoms of impatience, or, giving it a more charitable spin, a desire for fun and excitement. it's not fun to throw Q8 in middle position and then see two queens flop. it's no fun to throw J5s, then see a flush on the turn, then see a straight win the pot. And it's not fun to throw A7, see an ace on the flop, and then watch someone win the pot with a pair of kings.

Still, this happens to solid players all the time, and to be effective and consistent, it's important not to let these kinds of occurrences affect your play. ?What could have happened? is a useless concept in hold'em.

Of course, if you're not seeing enough flops, you'll figure this out and adjust your play, including a few more starting hands into your opening oeuvre. Yet the outcome of one hand, or even two or three in a row, should never effect your overall betting strategy.

This is one of the easiest ways to get tapped out early in a sit--by folding a couple of big hands and then reaching, playing too loose and too deep into big pots that aren't yours. The odds are against you in this. The best idea is to sit tight and wait for the merry-go-round to come around again, rather than try to spin it backwards.

But I digress. The idea here is to spot what other players may have. To analyze the texture of the flop and figure out whether it helped or hurt the players who?re still competing for the pot.

Example: you're holding Jc-Tc on the button in a tight game. One player in early position raised the blind. Two other players called after him, as did you.

Let's check several possible flops and see whether they hurt or helped your cause.

Flop 1: Kd-As-3h
Ouch. Considering the early show of strength, and two players staying in against it, chances are you are up against at least a high pair, or possibly a set you can't beat (unless you get the unlikely gutshot straight). Unless early position missed his flop and checks (holding JJ for instance), and the other two players follow suit, your best bet is to get out. Too few outs for you, too many for your opponents. Check/fold here.

Flop 2: Kc-Ac-3h
A different story altogether. Again, the flop here may have helped your opponents. But that, in this case, is a good thing. Here you're hoping your opponent(s) hit their sets. you're on a flush that, if player carefully, will bring a big pot. what's more, unless someone's holding the Qc--a calculated risk--your flush is unbeatable. The risk is even mitigated somewhat by the fact that you're holding the suited connectors for the Qc. you'll have to bet carefully here, and be brave. Raise if there are no bets, re-raise if there's one, and call otherwise. Yes, this flop helped your opponents, but it very well might have helped you more. (But watch for another A or K--this could signal a full house and be very costly!)

Flop 3: 10h-8d-9s
This flop probably didn't help your opponents much--unless someone is playing QJs, ATs, TT, or 99. Here you have top pair, in addition to an open-ended straight draw. you're probably in the best position now, but you'll want to keep a close eye on the middle-position players (chances are the early position player missed the flop). A raise and re raise might signal someone has already hit their straight or set. (In this crowded hand, slow play from anyone is unlikely.) A raise, however, should be re-raised. This will probably drive anyone trying for a gut shot straight out of the game. And you should bet, of course. if no one else does.

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