Once the flop comes, everything changes. Well, maybe not every time, but often enough.

With the help of the flop, your starting hand will turn into . . .

> Top Pair - a good start, but usually vulnerable. Put some chips into the pot because you have a hand. If people raise and especially reraise be careful, you don't have that much of a hand.

> Middle Pair - vulnerable. I can't recommend beginners play middle pair, it can get you into too much trouble. See another card for free if possible, fold if someone bets.

> Bottom Pair - worse than middle pair. To have any value, you have to be the only person who caught any of the flop. And even then, there are a lot of things that can go wrong between here and the river. See a free card if you can, fold to any bet.

> Overpair - If you have a pocket pair that is higher than any of the cards on the board, you have an overpair. This hand is sneaky, and will beat any top pair/top kicker combination. Bet, but be careful if people start raising. You are vulnerable to two pairs and three of a kinds.

> Two Pair (not holding a pocket pair) - two pairs are better than one. Bet. If you have top two pair, you can even raise. You're ahead of most at this point, and raising will help chase out those players on drawing hands.

> Two Pair (using a pair on the board) - Beware the raisers here. Someone could have three of a kind, or even a full house. Don't be afraid to bet, but don't get in a raising war either.

> A Set (three of a kind with a pocket pair) - A great start. Bet, raise, get money in the pot. This hand is a wonderful start, but it can be beat by drawing hands (like flushes and straights), so scare those chasers out of the pot by putting bets into it.

> Three of a Kind - this is a good start as well, but if you are using two board cards it is not so well disguised. Still, get bets into the pot. Be aware of raisers and reraisers. Since there is a pair on the board, you could be playing against someone who has a better kicker, or someone who has a full house.

> A Straight - is a great start. You'd like to have the nut straight, not the sucker straight. For instance, if the flop is 9TJ, the person holding the nut straight holds QK in their hand, the person holding the sucker straight holds 78. Still, bet and raise with a hand like this. Just beware the reraisers.

A straight is vulnerable to a flush, so if there is a flush draw on the board, raise. Get those chasers out of the pot, or at least make them pay too much to make the chasing a good play in the long run.

> A Flush - wonderful. Especially the nut flush. While you may want to slowplay a flush, keep in mind that if you don't have the nut flush you're vulnerable. Whoever holds the Ace of that suit will stay around to see if they can land the nut flush, which would beat you. Make those players pay too much to see the next cards by raising.

If you flop the nut flush, you can slowplay. The only way to lose a hand like that is if the board pairs and a full house comes out at you from nowhere. That'll happen, but not nearly as often as you'll win. You'd like other players to catch a piece of the board so that they're willing to bet into your monstor hand.

> A Full House. Slowplay. You seldom flop a full house, get as much out of it as you can. You're not invulnerable (a better full house or a four of a kind might come along), but you're in one very nice spot.

> A Drawing Hand - like a four flush or a four straight. These hands need help to grow into a straight or a flush, but often times it is worth seeing, or even paying for another card to two to see if they will grow. Use your knowledge of drawing hand odds and pot odds (coming up shortly) to make a decision on how to play these hands.