Definition
Flop
Also known as The Flop, Flopped, Post-Flop
By Abhinav VasudevanReviewed Editorial policy
In short
The flop is the first three community cards dealt face up in Hold'em and Omaha. It is the single most informative moment in a hand, revealing five of the seven cards a Hold'em player will ultimately use.
The flop is three community cards dealt simultaneously, after the first betting round. It follows a burn card. One card discarded face down, a convention from live poker to defeat marked-deck cheating.
Why it dominates the hand
In Hold’em you see seven cards in total: two private and five shared. The flop reveals three of the five community cards at once.
After the flop you have seen five of your seven cards. More information arrives at that moment than at any other point in the hand, which is why flop strategy is where most poker study concentrates.
Board texture
The relationship between the three flop cards determines how the hand plays, and the vocabulary is worth knowing:
- Dry: disconnected, unlikely to have helped anyone (K♠ 7♦ 2♣)
- Wet: connected, many draws available (9♥ 8♥ 7♣)
- Paired: contains a pair (J♠ J♦ 4♣), making full houses possible
- Monotone: all one suit, flush already possible
- Rainbow: three different suits, no flush draw
A continuation bet works far better on a dry board than a wet one, because fewer hands connected with it. This is the most basic and most useful piece of post-flop reasoning.
Useful frequencies
| Event | Probability |
|---|---|
| Flopping a pair with unpaired hole cards | 32% |
| Flopping a set with a pocket pair | 11.8% |
| Flopping a flush draw with suited cards | 11% |
| Flopping a flush with suited cards | 0.8% |
| Flopping two pair with unpaired cards | 2% |
| Missing entirely with unpaired cards | ~68% |
The last row is the important one. You miss the flop about two thirds of the time, and so does everyone else. Most poker profit comes from recognising that both of you have nothing and acting on it first.
Set mining
Pocket pairs flop a set 11.8% of the time, roughly 1 in 8.5. The standard guideline is that calling to set mine requires implied odds of about 10:1 relative to the call, meaning you need deep enough stacks to win enough on the occasions it hits.
Common questions
How often do I miss the flop?
About two thirds of the time with unpaired hole cards. So does everyone else, and most poker profit comes from recognising that neither of you has anything and acting on it first.
What are the odds of flopping a set?
About 11.8% with a pocket pair, or roughly 1 in 8.5. The standard guideline is that calling to set mine needs implied odds near 10:1, meaning stacks deep enough to win enough on the times it hits.