Playing the flop
The flop is an essential part of Texas Hold’em. When the first three community cards are placed on the table you’ve seen 71 % of your hand. Any mistake you make at this stage is likely to follow you through the rest of the hand. Hence, it’s absolutely crucial that you’re able to determine the relative strength of your hand after the flop. If your hand looks to be the best at the moment you should try to get players with drawing hands to fold by making a bet. If you’re holding a drawing hand the pot odds should determine whether you play on or not. If the flop is unfavorable, you should always throw your cards away (unless everybody else checks, of course).
Another thing to keep in mind is the other player’s actions before the flop. Was there a raise and what position did it come from? This information is very useful when you’re trying to anticipate what cards your opponents are holding. If there were one or more raises it’s likely that some player(s) is holding a high pair. Also look at the board, does it offer any obvious straight of flush draws?
As always your position at the table is an important factor. If you’re the last player to act and everybody else has checked you might try a bluff to steel the pot. This should be done when you’re facing a small number of opponents and you’re fairly certain that the flop didn’t favor anyone.