Explanation of Play the Board
In certain circumstances where the best possible hand, known as the nuts, can be formed using just the community cards, players are obligated to play the board in Hold'em. For instance,
Board: T♥J♥Q♠K♦A♣
When no flush is possible, the broadway straight (Ten through Ace) stands as the nuts. In this case, all players involved in the hand form the straight exclusively with the community cards. (In Hold'em, it is not mandatory to incorporate any of our hole cards when creating our final five-card hand). Unlike this, scenarios requiring players to play the board aren't encountered in variations like Omaha where players must incorporate exactly two hole cards into their final five-card hand.
In cases where players have completely missed the board , adopting strategies that focus solely on the community cards can also be known as “ playing the board .”
Example of Play the Board used in a sentence -> When you rely on community cards to play the board , you can never secure a win at showdown, and at best, can only split the pot.
Incorporating Play the Board into Your Poker Strategy
Consider this particular community card layout in Hold'em.
Board: 7♥8♣9♠T♦J♥
Clearly, every participant in this hand has achieved at least the J-high straight, but this particular straight doesn’t represent the ultimate best hand based on the current board configuration. Anyone holding a Queen would create a Q-high straight, and a player with QK would have a K-high straight.
There are instances when players might choose to 'strategically call a bluff with the board' in these situations when an opponent makes a bet. While they won't anticipate winning the entire pot, they can end up splitting it if the opponent is indeed bluffing. Having a mix of bluffs in such cases texture is often a sound tactic. Even if our bluff does not succeed, we could still be in a position to claim half of the pot.
See Also
Board , Hold'em , Omaha , Bluffcatch , Bluff , Straight , Hand Rankings