The best weapon you can use in making a post-flop move is the power of position. Here are some plays you can employ on the flop to help you pick up chips without legitimate hands…
Representing a dry board in an unraised pot
How many times have you completed the small blind or checked the big blind and seen a flop like 8-5-3, only to check-fold to the button limper? Most of the time it’s very unlikely this flop has hit the button, and they are simply taking advantage of their position. So why not represent the flop? A ragged flop is more likely to hit a random blind hand than it is someone who has voluntarily put chips into the pot, and this move aggressively takes advantage of that fact.
There are two ways to deploy this move: leading out and check-raising. Leading out is the more cost-effective approach, because if your opponent raises you, you can let the hand go easily without a significant loss. However, the problem here is that your opponent might take advantage of your positional disadvantage and float you to see what you do on the turn. You can take this option away from them by check-raising. Check-raising will cost more in chips if your opponent has a legitimate hand but it will also make it much harder for your opponent to proceed because you are representing true strength.
The float
This is another popular move that is being used a lot lately, so be judicious in applying it. The way this move works is that you call a bet on the flop in position in order to take the pot away from your foe on the turn. When your opponent checks to you on the turn, they are most often telling you they no longer like their hand and are giving you an opportunity to take the pot away from them.
Representing a scare card
This one’s a bit harder to pull off and can be expensive because it requires calling a bet in the hope that a certain card arrives. For example, let’s say the flop comes with a straight and flush draw and you feel your opponent has something along the lines of top pair. You don’t think you can use the float move successfully, but if a sufficiently scary card comes you could represent a big hand and induce a fold. If that straight card or flush card comes, you bet or even raise, telling your opponent that you hit your hand. Often you can get an opponent to lay down a legitimate hand in this situation. Just don’t make this move against an opponent who has shown they can’t fold if they have a piece of the flop!