Hey everybody, today we’re going to discuss four tips that will help you on monotone boards.
For those of you who do not know, a monotone board is when the flop comes three cards of the same suit.
Let’s get into it.
1. Your opponent does not have a flush nearly as often as you think
The vast majority of people completely shut down when the board comes three cards of one suit.
They assume their opponent must have a flush a large percentage of the time. But depending on how you range your opponent, they may only flop a flush around 7% to 9% of the time.
That means more than 9 times out of 10, your opponent has not flopped a flush.
So you cannot completely shut down with top pair.
If you have a set, two pair, or an overpair, you are going to have to keep playing the hand. You cannot just sit back, use the excuse that someone must have a flush, and automatically pot control.
Most of the time, you are still going to be getting value.
2. Your bet sizes should be pretty small
One really good tip pros will give you on monotone boards is that you do not want to be firing your biggest bets.
This is the time to use your one-third pot or one-quarter pot bets.
Why?
Because while your opponent does not have a flush very often, when they do have the flush, you are often dead in the water with very little equity. A lot of times, you need to go runner-runner just to beat them.
So even though your opponent does not have the flush that often, you need to make sure you are not just piling chips in and getting yourself executed the times they do have it.
Small bets allow you to deny some equity, get value from worse hands, and keep the pot manageable when you are in bad shape.
3. As the bets get bigger, you need to be willing to fold more
If you have an overpair, mediocre two pair, or even bottom set, and someone is firing massive bets into a monotone board, you have to be willing to let that hand go more often than not.
Why?
Because most people are not going to be able to bluff that much on these boards. They are scared of the monotone board too.
So when they are suddenly blasting away, you need to give that line credit.
That allows you to make some thinner folds and save yourself a lot of chips.
4. If you want to bluff, it helps to have the ace of that suit
One of my favorite bluffs is when I have the ace of the suit on a monotone board.
A lot of timid opponents are very worried about a mediocre flush being outdrawn. They are afraid of a fourth flush card coming and their small flopped flush getting counterfeited.
Because of that, many of them fast-play every time they have a small flush.
So when you bet with the ace of that suit and they just call, you know they cannot be slow-playing the nut flush. A lot of the time, their small flushes would have raised already too.
That means your opponent is often just holding on for dear life with some kind of pair plus draw or overpair.
Now you can put in huge bets and often get them to fold.
And if you do get called, you can still river your flush.
Those are all my tips for today.
Wishing you the best of luck on the felt.
Alex Fitzgerald is a best-selling author published by D&B Poker. Check out Alex’s most recent book, ‘How to Beat Players Who Never Fold.’
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