There's no shortage of ways to spice up regular Texas Hold'em but some moves are more essential than others. For this reason, we’ll show you how to “come over the top” and why this is a crucial Texas Hold'em maneuver that should be part of your arsenal.
Once you've got this move down, don't forget to put it into practice at our low stakes poker tables! Before then, check out our complete guide on coming over the top in Texas Hold'em poker.
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“Coming over the top” means raising when you believe there are large bets or raises to come from other players. In other words, you’re raising someone else’s raise.
In most situations it’s done with the intention of taking the pot away from another player. More specifically, you hope to induce the original raiser into folding while avoiding a confrontation with anyone who stands pat (meaning they don’t raise).
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The most common situation where you will come over the top is when you’re on a flush draw. However, there are many scenarios outside of this where a late raise can be very effective.
Since you always risk folding the best hand when making a play like this, you must be sure you’re getting the right pot odds to continue in the hand. Generally speaking, if the pot odds do not meet the mathematical probability of your hand improving, it probably isn’t worthcoming over the top.
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- Effective Stacks: $200
- Blinds: $1/$2
- 6-Max Table
Earlier street action is as follows:
- You (Button) raise to $8 with
- The big blind defends his/her hand
- Flop comes
- Big blind checks, you bet $12
- Big blind raises to $30
Now what?
At first glance this may seem like a straight forward flip situation – you have to be ahead to call his/her turn raise. However, because we trapped ourselves between a rock and a hard place by leading out off button (a good rule of thumb is to just command the lead when raised in multiway pots on button), we now have to get creative if we want to win this pot.
Pop Quiz
Do we:
- Fold, knowing we may be behind and have nothing left to go after the river? Or;
- Do we exercise a line that could end up having us winning the pot immediately, or losing the whole stack?
If you answered “well it depends,” you get an A+ in poker.
The decision here is whether or not we think our opponent will fold if we raise. If we think there’s even a 50/50 shot he/she folds, then the math makes it clearly the correct play:
- Our opponent has to fold half the time for the raise to be +EV
Since we cannot realistically think he/she will fold half the time, must we give up? Not yet… There are two factors that may cause him/her to fold:
- The surprise factor of the raise
- The potential for a refuel on the river
When someone takes a very aggressive line, especially one that contradicts their previous actions, it often confuses and disorients them enough to make them fold superior hands. Also, since our opponent pushed us around on the turn, we now have the image of being a super tight rock who only plays monsters. Because of this, if a fifth club comes on the river we can often get away the obvious slow-play for free, or for a small additional investment.
This line also balances your button range, which is extremely important when facing a raise. Raising with just the draw makes three-street bluffs a legitimate holding in your range, giving you credibility against a polarizing turn bet.
Note: This move would not work nearly as well if a club came on the flop.
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To come over the top, as opposed to check-raising, you must see fourth street. Since you’re raising another raise, there would be no opportunity to come over the top if there was no initial raise.
Also, when coming over the top you aren’t necessarily representing a monster hand. Although inducing a fold is certainly the main goal, you’re also prepared to play the hand naturally if your opponent calls or raises again.
A check-raise, made popular during the poker boom, is a completely different maneuver. When check-raising, your plan A is to represent a polarity hand (the best or worst) and proceed with the hand based on your opponent’s action. Those types of plays are best saved for later in your poker education.
Stick to coming over the top for now -- it's much easier!
Casinos with the Highest Payout Rates - Are They Worth It?One Final Example:
- Effective Stacks: $200
- Blinds: $1/$2
- 6-max Table
Earlier street action is as follows:
- You (Button) raise to $8 with A Q
- The big blind defends his/her hand
- Flop comes J T 4
- Big blind checks, you bet $12
- Big blind raises to $30
Prior knowledge of your opponent playing a very loose-aggressive game, causing them to raise with jack-ten or worse, along with the Surprise Factor, gives each of the following scenarios roughly a 50/50 chance of occurring:
- They have the absolute best of it, and muck the hand immediately
- They have a mediocre holdings that cannot call a larger bet on the flop and certainly cannot call a potential cap on the turn/river
As with all semi-bluffs, if you make the fold get you’re looking for, you still need your opponent to have a hand worse than your own. In this scenario we are giving them absolutely no information about our holding, which allows them to fill up and feel fine firing another barrel at our stack. Had we made the raise with a monster, they would surely elect to let us have the pot.
By keeping our strong hands hidden, we give up some immediate value, but long term increase our profitability.
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Timing is everything in coming over the top. You need to time your raise so that you get the maximum amount of fold equity without pricing yourself out of the pot or misrepresenting your hand range. Here are some tips to help you execute a successful come over the top:
- Time it Right: Generally speaking, the later the better. Obviously you must wait until there’s a raise to come over the top, but within those limits you have some freedom of action. As a general rule you want to leave it as late as possible while being reasonably sure the pot will be large enough to inspire fear in your opponents.
- Know Your Opponents: You need a good sense of whom you’re playing with in order to pull this off successfully. Different players react differently to various betting patterns. Some players love multiple bets and raises, while others fold whenever anyone tries to out-bet or out-raise them. Learn how each of your opponents plays before you try to come over the top.
- Don’t Price Yourself Out of the Pot: Be pragmatic. Don’t raise so high that you make the pot unprofitable compared to your expected value. Remember, you’re hoping your opponents will fold. So, don’t scare away the pot if they don’t.
- Have a Good Read: It goes without saying you need decent people skills to pull this off. You have to be able to read players sufficiently well to know who might fold, who might call and who might raise. Otherwise you’re just throwing money away.
Those are the keys to success. Of course how much to raise when coming over the top depends on the situation. The specifics vary too much to lay down any hard-and-fast rules. But, if you understand the concept, and keep the above points in mind, you’ll know how much to raise in any particular situation.
Practice Makes Perfect
Like every advanced strategy we write about, this one takes practice to perfect. Until you learn to judge the personalities and styles of the players you’re up against you won’t know when coming over the top is appropriate. And until you’ve had some experience with the move itself you won’t really understand when it won’t work.
New UK Casino Sites 2023 - Top New British CasinosUltimately coming over the top is a great way to steal pots –– but only if you know what you’re doing.
Two More Quick Tips:
1) Don’t Be Afraid to Come Over the Top Against a Weak Player
Oftentimes you can pick off weak players’ bluffs using this move. If you’ve been playing with someone who is prone to bluffing (i.e. a calling station), don’t hesitate to raise them when they attempt a bluff. Many times these types of players will fold in the face of additional betting.
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Just because you’re drawing doesn’t mean you have to come over the top if someone bets into you. If you believe there’s a reasonable chance the pot will go to you without complications, there’s no need to get creative. Sometimes the best strategy is the simplest.
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Come Over the Top Definition
Coming over the top refers to raising when you believe there are large bets or raises to come from other players. This is done with the intention of taking the pot away from another player.Come Over the Top Poker Meaning
When you raise a pot that someone else raised or there was already a bet, you are coming over the top. It’s a common situation in No-Limit poker and can be done with a variety of hands and for different reasons.Why Come Over the Top in Poker
There are several reasons why you might choose to come over the top in poker. The primary reason is to exploit a player who is predictably loose with their raises post-flop. By raising even larger, you can either make them fold better hands or force them to play back and get into a large, heads-up pot with you where you have the draw.When to Come Over the Top in Poker
You should consider coming over the top in deep stacks when you are drawing heavily, such as on the flop with a pair of queens and no kicker, or when you need to grow the pot to get better odds against your hand versus that of an opponent. Timing is critical - try to leave it as late as possible while ensuring the pot is large enough.Is Coming Over the Top the Same as a Check-Raise?
No. When coming over the top, you are raising someone else’s raise, leaving yourself open to play the hand naturally if your raise is called. Check-raising, on the other hand, typically represents a weak or premium hand and aims to bluff or get value from said hands.
I Was Wondering About This Move...
Yes indeed!
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