Are you tired of feeling lost when you raise before the flop and get called by a player who has position on you? This is one of the toughest and most frequently botched situations in poker. But don’t worry, mastering it isn’t impossible. It just requires a solid grasp of
range advantage, board texture, and Game Theory Optimal (GTO) principles.
Let’s break down a GTO-based approach to conquer out-of-position (OOP) play, street by street. ♠️
The Foundational Mindset
Before we get to the flop, you need to adopt the right mindset. Many players make the critical error of thinking they should always fire a continuation bet just because they were the pre-flop raiser. This approach is “very, very incorrect” and will cost you money.
The truth is, you must be prepared to
check a significant portion of the time on the flop. Your strategy will also shift based on your pre-flop raising position. For instance, if you raise from an early position like the Lowjack, your range is tight and strong. If you raise from the Cutoff, your range is much wider and contains more “junk”. As a result, you’ll need to check far more often from the Cutoff, even with some top pairs.
Crushing the Flop: Your Most Critical Street
The flop is where a lot of players go wrong. Your decisions here set the tone for the entire hand.
When to Bet and How Much
- Bet Big on Dynamic Boards: On boards with straight and flush possibilities (e.g., two cards to a straight or flush), you should generally bet with a large size using a polarized range.
- Lean on Strong Ranges: If the board connects well with your pre-flop raising range (like a 10-7-3 flop when you have many 10x hands), you can bet more frequently.
Hands that love to bet include:
- Your strong hands, like top pairs (10x on a 10-7-3 board) and overpairs.
- High-equity draws like King-Queen, King-Jack, and Queen-Jack that have straight draw potential.
- Hands with backdoor flush draws.
On the flip side, you should check and give up with hands that have no backdoor flush potential and only a weak backdoor straight draw.
When to Check and How to React
- Check on Low Boards: A “very, very common rule” is to check far more often on low card boards (like 9-7-3 or 6-5-3). Your pre-flop raising range has a lot of high cards that miss these boards completely.
- Embrace the Check-Raise: If you check and your opponent bets, you must be ready to put in a check-raise, even if it feels uncomfortable. This is especially effective against a small bet size, as it puts immense pressure on their marginal hands. For example, facing a small 1.7 big blind bet, you might raise to 10 big blinds.
Hands that make great check-raises include:
- Your best top pairs that are vulnerable to being outdrawn.
- High-equity draws and vulnerable overpairs like Jacks or Tens.
- Some ace-high hands with good backdoor potential, like Ace-5 suited.
A word of caution: Don’t get carried away and check-raise “every junky draw”. This will make you predictable and easy to exploit.
Navigating the Turn
When you bet big on the flop and get called, your opponent’s range becomes much stronger. This means you need to proceed with caution on the turn.
The key adjustment is to
check a ton. When you do decide to bluff from out of position on the turn, you “almost always want to have decent equity”. This means bluffing with hands like flush draws or straight draws, not just firing a second barrel with weak queen-high because you feel like you should. Many weaker hands like King-Jack or King-Queen are “simply checking and giving up” on the turn.
Playing the River Like a Pro
By the river, the pot is often large, but your strategy can be simple. If you have a weak hand that didn’t improve, the correct play is often to
check and fold. Don’t feel like this is a “weak, tight, or nitty” play—it’s often the GTO-approved line.
Another important point is to avoid “donk leading” (betting out of turn after calling a bet on the previous street). In one GTO solver example, the correct play was to check 98% of the time on the river after check-calling the turn.
Tools for Improvement 🛠️
Reading an article is one thing, but mastering these concepts requires practice.
- Peak GTO: The library and trainer at Peak GTO are highly recommended for drilling these specific OOP situations. This helps you understand “why the solver does what it does”.
- PokerCoaching: For more in-depth learning, the “gigantic tournament masterclass” at PokerCoaching.com is another excellent resource.
By studying these spots and applying these principles, you can turn a major weakness into a significant strength at the poker table. Good luck!