Poker Hands Before Flop
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Even if you are a neophyte to the game of poker, there are some basic tenets that you have before you even pick up a stack of chips to bet. One, when you get pocket Aces, you pound your opposition with a pre-flop raise otherwise everyone and their brother gets to play the hand and potentially crack your bullets. Two, you don’t need to play “special” hands like a 7-2, universally recognized as the worst hand in poker. Finally, there isn’t a such thing as “funsies,” 99% of the time you’re playing poker for a reason – normally to make some money.
*Poker Hands Pre Flop
*Poker Hands Pre Flop Percentages
*Poker Hand Calculator Pre Flop
*Top Poker Hands Before Flop
*Top Poker Hands Pre Flop
Beyond that, the education of a poker player gets a bit grey. Here’s a basic thought on some hands that new players will play simply because “someone told them it was worthwhile” or “but (insert professional player here) always plays this hand” or even “I had a feeling.” If you can put these into your repertoire of hands you need to fold pre-flop, you’ll potentially find that your sessions are more profitable.
*Poker is gambling and you make your own desicions as to how to play the game regardless of what you read here or anywhere else and you are responsible for checking your own facts before getting in over your head.
*Texas Holdem Poker Two Card Hand Frequencies. Both before and after the flop in any limit Holdem game, it is helpful to be able to make a reasonably accurate estimate of the types and numbers of playable hands that you are likely to be competing against.
Folding before the flop. May 12, 2020 cliffordski Comments 1 comment In this post I shall discuss why it is wise to fold about 90% of your starting hands, and even if you think that your hand has a good chance of winning, you should consider folding it nonetheless. A large part of the Poker Basics course focused on your actions pre-flop, including advice on how to evaluate your hole cards and then how to proceed if you decided you wanted to enter the pot. All the lessons from the Poker Basics course remain relevant when playing a no limit Texas Hold’em cash game, and you should look back to refresh your. If you do see a flop, you will also need to know what the odds are of either you or your opponent improving a hand. In poker terminology, an “out” is any card that will improve a player’s hand after the flop. One common occurrence is when a player holds two suited cards and two cards of the same suit appear on the flop.
Jack-10 (Suited or unsuited)
At first glance, J-10 is a pretty sweet looking hand. It holds the potential to make four nut straights, the only two card combination to be able to do that, and it can let you float a bet on the flop if they are suited and two of that suit hit the felt. The problem with J-10 is that it doesn’t play well after the flop.
If you get a flop that contains a Jack, then you have issues with the kicker that, in most cases, is going to be dominated by an opponent playing Q-J, K-J, or A-J. If you pair the ten, then the same situation is in play with a similar number of options that beat you – A-10, K-10 and Q-10. If they are suited and the two matching suit cards that come on the flop are under the ten, then there is a chance (a slim one, about 1-in-592) that an A-K, A-Q, or K-Q is out there to clip you. And let’s not even get into the potential for straights (K-Q, Q-9, 9-8) should you flop two pair.
There are two options here: hit perfectly and hope someone ignores the straight potential of the board, calling your bets all the way, or missing and having to let the hand go. If you get a flop like K-Q-x, about the only people who might come with you are pocket pairs (King, Queen or “x”) or those that have you beaten (A-K, A-Q, K-Q, any King or Queen combination and the pairer for the “x”). If the flop comes empty – say A-7-4, for example – then you’re left with air to bluff with; most wouldn’t consider chasing it any further with this dismal holding.
Baby pairs
Everyone loves to potentially crack a big pair by playing a small one – between deuces and fives – and set mining their way into the lead. But what happens when you’ve completely missed with your little ones? It gets pretty ugly in this case.
In pre-flop action, the baby pairs don’t hold up well if there is a great deal of action in front of you. Say you’re sitting on deuces on the button when someone fires a bet out of middle position, the hijack calls and the cutoff three-bets the situation. Your pocket deuces don’t look so good now, do they? There’s nothing wrong with sending the hand to the muck here and, in fact, it is the proper play with the flurry of activity ahead of you.
The baby pairs don’t hold up well if the cards on the flop are all higher cards, at best giving you the fourth-best hand after the flop. They also don’t work well as a straight filler. For example, if you have pocket treys and fill out a 2-4-5 flop to make it an open ended straight draw, there are other potential players that crush your baby pair or could best you in a straight situation.
Extremely Gapped Suited Cards
If you were to get dealt two extremely gapped cards – say a K-2 or a Q-3, for example – there would, for most players, be little hesitation in putting those in the muck. Why then, if there is the same symbol in the corner for each card, does it make a difference? While their suited nature does open the potential for a flush, it isn’t going to do much in any other circumstance.
If that flush draw comes, then you’re committing with weak holdings – sneaky for the flush potential, yes, but weak otherwise. If you flop a King, then you have kicker issues that come up and the same works if you hit the kicker – your top card might not be enough to win at showdown unless you make trips with the kicker.
Summary
We sometimes have to play hands we’d rather not play on certain occasions. But if you can control when you voluntarily put chips in play to hands, making sure they have strong potential (not always, mind you, but more often than not) instead of weaker holdings, you should find more success on the tables. And isn’t winning hands – and the chips that go along with those hands – why we sit down at the table?
Texas hold’em players have a common saying about pre-flop strategy: If your hand is good enough to call with, it’s good enough to raise with.
This philosophy alludes to how you should come into pots aggressively. Raising pre-flop shows strength to other opponents and sets you up for another potential bet/raise after the flop (a.k.a. continuation bet).
Of course, you need to be selective when making pre-flop raises; otherwise, you’ll be spewing chips. And knowing a few crucial factors will help greatly in this department.
Keep reading as I cover the most important aspects regarding Texas hold’em pre-flop raising, including goals, table position, hand strength, bet sizing, knowing opponents, table size, and cash games vs. tournaments.Why Should You Normally Consider Raising Pre-Flop?
Poker is always more fun when you get to see the flop because this gives you more action and extra chances to make great hands.
This is why many new poker players call the big blind (a.k.a. limping) instead of raising. Limping into pots is the cheapest way to see the flop.
But limping is also one of the worst plays in poker because it shows little strength in your hand. Furthermore, you can easily be raised by an opponent acting after you.Poker Hands Pre Flop
You especially want to avoid open limping, where you open the pre-flop betting action by calling the big blind. In addition to showing little hand strength, you also can’t take down the pot right away by calling.
Another problem with limping is that you make things easier on your opponents. They can either call behind you to see the flop for cheap or raise and put you in a difficult position.
One more downside to limping is that more players can see the flop cheaply. This gives you less pot equity, or the odds that you’ll have the best hand.
Of course, like anything else with Texas hold’em, there are exceptions when calling the big blind that can work. One example is when there are other limpers at the table whom you can outplay post-flop.
But generally speaking, you want to enter pots with a raise, or at least calling another player’s raise. The key is to look aggressive from the outset so that you deter other players from raising while representing strong cards.Pre-Flop Raising Can Accomplish Multiple Goals
One of the most important things behind raising pre-flop is to have a plan. Furthermore, you want to accomplish specific goals with your raise.
Sometimes your pre-flop raise will check off multiple objectives. Other times, you may be raising with the single goal of stealing the blinds.Poker Hands Pre Flop Percentages
Below are some of the most important goals that you can accomplish with a pre-flop raise.Fold Equity
Raising indicates to opponents that you have a good hand, thus increasing the chances that they’ll fold marginal cards. And this is where your fold equity comes from.
Another good thing about fold equity is that it allows you to steal pots even when you don’t improve on the flop. Of course, you should keep the pot small in these situations in case an opponent calls or re-raises.Pot Equity
Having the best hand gives you the most equity in the pot. And you want to build the pot as much as possible when you think that you’re in the lead.Isolating a Single Opponent
Earlier, I mentioned that raising prevents multiple players from seeing the flop and reducing your pot equity. Ideally, you’ll isolate a single player when raising with a strong hand.
Pocket aces, kings, or queens offer a much stronger chance to win when you’re only facing a single opponent. The goal here is to raise just enough to where only one player will call.Table Position Is a Crucial Factor
Many beginning poker players focus too much on their hand strength when deciding whether to raise. You also need to strongly consider your table position before raising.
Here are the table positions based on a 9-handed game.
*Early position – Small blind, big blind, seat to big blind’s left (i.e., under the gun or “UTG”)
*Middle position – 3 seats to the left of UTG
*Late position – Dealer (a.k.a. button), seat to dealer’s right (a.k.a. cut-off), and seat to cut-off’s right
Acting earlier in a hand means that you’ll have less information on opponents. Therefore, a pre-flop raise from early position means that you’re acting before an opponent(s) post-flop.
The general idea is to widen the number of hands you raise with in later seats. This lets you better judge an opponent’s hand strength after the flop.
Here’s an example.
*A tight-aggressive player from middle position raises 3x big blind (bb)
*You’re in the cut-off with pocket 10s
*You re-raise them
*They call
*The flop comes out Qs-Jh-3d
*They make a pot-sized raise into a board with overpair potential. You fold because you’re likely beaten
Assuming you were acting in early position post-flop, you’d be left checking and giving the opponent a greenlight to steal. Or you might even bet to steal the pot, only to be called or raised.
But being in position allows you to see that your opponent likely has a better hand and to fold without losing additional money.What Hands Are Good for Raising Pre-Flop?
No two poker games are exactly the same, and there’s no uniform way to play every hand in each situation. But there are some generalities that work with certain hands.
One example is when you have a premium pocket pair in a pot where nobody has raised. Outside of rare limp/re-raise opportunities, you should almost always raise in this situation.
For the most part, though, you want to use specific situations to decide when you do and don’t raise. Here’s advice for playing different pre-flop hands in a full-ring game, based on your table position and the actions before you.
*AA and KK – Raise in every situation from any table position. If somebody raises you, re-raise (a.k.a. 3-bet) them.
*QQ – Raise in every situation from any table position. If somebody raises you, be willing to call up to 20xbb or 25xbb.
*AK – Raise in every situation from any table position. Fold if anybody re-raises you.
*JJ – Raise in every situation, except when somebody has raised before you (call 20xbb). Also, call up to 20xbb if somebody re-raises you.
*TT and 99 – Fold in early position, but raise from any other spot in unopened pots. Call up to 20xbb if somebody raises beforehand or re-raises you.
*88 through 22 – Fold in early position, call in the blinds and middle position, and raise from late position in unopened pots. Call (20xbb) in other situations, including when loose-aggressive players raise, since you have position.
*AQ through AT offsuit – Fold in early position and when anybody raises or re-raises you. Raise in unopened pots from middle position, late position, and the blinds. Call from middle position and the blinds if there are other limpers.
*A9 through A2 suited – Fold in early position and when anybody raises the pot or re-raises you. Raise in unopened pots from middle position, late position, and the blinds. Call from the blinds if there are other limpers.
*KQ, KJ, KT, QJ, QT, JT unsuited – Fold in early and middle position. Raise in late position and from the blinds in unopened pots, but call from these same positions if there are other limpers.
*JT through 54 suited – Fold in early and middle position. Raise from late position in unopened pots, but call from middle and late position if there are other limpers.
*Any other cards – Fold/check in every situation.
Again, there are exceptions to any hand based on your opponents and the overall table dynamic. But this guide will get you started when figuring out how to play hands pre-flop.Bet Sizing with Pre-Flop Raises
Bet sizing is another area of pre-flop play that varies based on the situation. But a good guideline is to enter pre-flop pots with a 3xbb or 4xbb raise.
The goal is to bet enough to where most players will be deterred from calling, while isolating a single player. Anything less than 3xbb usually draws multiple callers and defeats the purpose of raising pre-flop in the first place.
Sometimes you’ll find that even a 3-4xbb pre-flop raise doesn’t discourage players from calling. This is especially the case in the micro stakes, where low blind sizes encourage more players to see the flop.
In these situations, you’ll need to consider entering pots with a 5xbb raise or higher. This is something that you’ll just have to feel out after playing some hands and studying the table dynamic.Study Opponents Before Raising Pre-Flop
Knowing individual opponents is crucial to making good pre-flop raises because it helps you better accomplish your raising goals.
Here’s an example.
*You have AJ on the button, and everybody has folded
*Normally you’d raise in this situation
*But both blinds are major calling stations and bad post-flop players
*You instead limp in while looking to outplay your opponents post-flop
You should stick with the pre-flop hand advice discussed before when coming onto a new table. But also watch for opportunities to break out of ABC poker based on whom you’re playing against.
Keep in mind that reading opponents and adjusting your pre-flop raising strategy accordingly requires experience. The last thing you want to do is burn through chips by making fancy moves against players that you don’t have any info on.Table Size Affects Pre-Flop Raising
The pre-flop hand advice that I covered before works as a general guideline for 9- and 10-player tables. But when you’re playing with 6 people (6-max) or fewer, you need to open up your starting hand requirements.
One reason why is because winning hands aren’t as strong on average due to fewer players. Secondly, you’ll see the blinds more often per hour, and you don’t want to miss out on extra opportunities to win money and cover these blinds.
How wide you increase your starting hand selection depends upon the number of players at your table.
In a 6-max game, you could open your early position raising range to include 9s, 8s, and AQ. At a 3-handed table, you can even add 7s, 6s, AJ, offsuit, ATo, A9 suited, and A8s to this range.
The general rule of thumb is that you need to expand the number of hands you’re willing to raise with on a short-handed table. Likewise, you should be more selective in full-ring games because winning hands will be stronger.3-Betting Pre-Flop
A 3-bet is simply the third bet of a round. Here’s the basic sequence of how 3-betting works in pre-flop play:
*1st bet = Small and big blinds
*2nd bet = Open-raise
*3rd bet = Re-raise
3-bets have become more common in poker these days, as players look to turn up the aggression on their opponents. Unfortunately, this move is overused by players who blindly show aggression.
You should always have a plan when 3-betting pre-flop. The two reasons to use this play include 3-betting for value or for a bluff.
A value 3-bet means that you’re in the lead (e.g., with AA, KK, or QQ) and building the pot while isolating one player. The purpose of a bluff 3-bet is to steal the pot from an opponent who’s likely in the lead.
A good bet size, in either case, includes 2x to 3x the pot, depending upon the table dynamic, opponents, your cards, and your position.
If an opponent raises 3xbb (4.5bb in pot), you would re-raise them with between 9bb and 13bb.
I recommend sticking with value 3-bets until you can fully identify situations where bluff 3-bets can work. Here are different things that you need to consider before bluffing with this play.
*Your opponents, including ones who’ll fold to a 3-bet in a specific situation
*What range of hands the open-raiser likes to play
*Knowing who’s likely to 4-bet
*Knowing what 4-bettors will have the nuts and which ones won’t
*Stack sizes (in tournaments), because shorter stacks are more likely to 3-bet to steal blinds
*Your table image and if opponents will think you actually have a strong hand
*Table position. You generally want to avoid 3-betting from out of position until you master hold’emPoker Hand Calculator Pre FlopCash Games vs. Tournaments
Another important distinction in pre-flop raising involves whether you’re playing a cash game or tournament.
The main reason for this distinction is that you have a finite number of chips in a tourney. Therefore, you can’t just reload when playing speculative hands that don’t work out.
Experienced tournament players usually have a tight pre-flop style. This keeps them from wasting blinds while chasing drawing hands with long odds.
Of course, you never want to play too many hands in cash games or tournaments. But the latter requires an even tighter style to avoid blowing your limited chips.
Texas hold’em tournament players are often very aggressive when they raise pre-flop, especially in the la
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Even if you are a neophyte to the game of poker, there are some basic tenets that you have before you even pick up a stack of chips to bet. One, when you get pocket Aces, you pound your opposition with a pre-flop raise otherwise everyone and their brother gets to play the hand and potentially crack your bullets. Two, you don’t need to play “special” hands like a 7-2, universally recognized as the worst hand in poker. Finally, there isn’t a such thing as “funsies,” 99% of the time you’re playing poker for a reason – normally to make some money.
*Poker Hands Pre Flop
*Poker Hands Pre Flop Percentages
*Poker Hand Calculator Pre Flop
*Top Poker Hands Before Flop
*Top Poker Hands Pre Flop
Beyond that, the education of a poker player gets a bit grey. Here’s a basic thought on some hands that new players will play simply because “someone told them it was worthwhile” or “but (insert professional player here) always plays this hand” or even “I had a feeling.” If you can put these into your repertoire of hands you need to fold pre-flop, you’ll potentially find that your sessions are more profitable.
*Poker is gambling and you make your own desicions as to how to play the game regardless of what you read here or anywhere else and you are responsible for checking your own facts before getting in over your head.
*Texas Holdem Poker Two Card Hand Frequencies. Both before and after the flop in any limit Holdem game, it is helpful to be able to make a reasonably accurate estimate of the types and numbers of playable hands that you are likely to be competing against.
Folding before the flop. May 12, 2020 cliffordski Comments 1 comment In this post I shall discuss why it is wise to fold about 90% of your starting hands, and even if you think that your hand has a good chance of winning, you should consider folding it nonetheless. A large part of the Poker Basics course focused on your actions pre-flop, including advice on how to evaluate your hole cards and then how to proceed if you decided you wanted to enter the pot. All the lessons from the Poker Basics course remain relevant when playing a no limit Texas Hold’em cash game, and you should look back to refresh your. If you do see a flop, you will also need to know what the odds are of either you or your opponent improving a hand. In poker terminology, an “out” is any card that will improve a player’s hand after the flop. One common occurrence is when a player holds two suited cards and two cards of the same suit appear on the flop.
Jack-10 (Suited or unsuited)
At first glance, J-10 is a pretty sweet looking hand. It holds the potential to make four nut straights, the only two card combination to be able to do that, and it can let you float a bet on the flop if they are suited and two of that suit hit the felt. The problem with J-10 is that it doesn’t play well after the flop.
If you get a flop that contains a Jack, then you have issues with the kicker that, in most cases, is going to be dominated by an opponent playing Q-J, K-J, or A-J. If you pair the ten, then the same situation is in play with a similar number of options that beat you – A-10, K-10 and Q-10. If they are suited and the two matching suit cards that come on the flop are under the ten, then there is a chance (a slim one, about 1-in-592) that an A-K, A-Q, or K-Q is out there to clip you. And let’s not even get into the potential for straights (K-Q, Q-9, 9-8) should you flop two pair.
There are two options here: hit perfectly and hope someone ignores the straight potential of the board, calling your bets all the way, or missing and having to let the hand go. If you get a flop like K-Q-x, about the only people who might come with you are pocket pairs (King, Queen or “x”) or those that have you beaten (A-K, A-Q, K-Q, any King or Queen combination and the pairer for the “x”). If the flop comes empty – say A-7-4, for example – then you’re left with air to bluff with; most wouldn’t consider chasing it any further with this dismal holding.
Baby pairs
Everyone loves to potentially crack a big pair by playing a small one – between deuces and fives – and set mining their way into the lead. But what happens when you’ve completely missed with your little ones? It gets pretty ugly in this case.
In pre-flop action, the baby pairs don’t hold up well if there is a great deal of action in front of you. Say you’re sitting on deuces on the button when someone fires a bet out of middle position, the hijack calls and the cutoff three-bets the situation. Your pocket deuces don’t look so good now, do they? There’s nothing wrong with sending the hand to the muck here and, in fact, it is the proper play with the flurry of activity ahead of you.
The baby pairs don’t hold up well if the cards on the flop are all higher cards, at best giving you the fourth-best hand after the flop. They also don’t work well as a straight filler. For example, if you have pocket treys and fill out a 2-4-5 flop to make it an open ended straight draw, there are other potential players that crush your baby pair or could best you in a straight situation.
Extremely Gapped Suited Cards
If you were to get dealt two extremely gapped cards – say a K-2 or a Q-3, for example – there would, for most players, be little hesitation in putting those in the muck. Why then, if there is the same symbol in the corner for each card, does it make a difference? While their suited nature does open the potential for a flush, it isn’t going to do much in any other circumstance.
If that flush draw comes, then you’re committing with weak holdings – sneaky for the flush potential, yes, but weak otherwise. If you flop a King, then you have kicker issues that come up and the same works if you hit the kicker – your top card might not be enough to win at showdown unless you make trips with the kicker.
Summary
We sometimes have to play hands we’d rather not play on certain occasions. But if you can control when you voluntarily put chips in play to hands, making sure they have strong potential (not always, mind you, but more often than not) instead of weaker holdings, you should find more success on the tables. And isn’t winning hands – and the chips that go along with those hands – why we sit down at the table?
Texas hold’em players have a common saying about pre-flop strategy: If your hand is good enough to call with, it’s good enough to raise with.
This philosophy alludes to how you should come into pots aggressively. Raising pre-flop shows strength to other opponents and sets you up for another potential bet/raise after the flop (a.k.a. continuation bet).
Of course, you need to be selective when making pre-flop raises; otherwise, you’ll be spewing chips. And knowing a few crucial factors will help greatly in this department.
Keep reading as I cover the most important aspects regarding Texas hold’em pre-flop raising, including goals, table position, hand strength, bet sizing, knowing opponents, table size, and cash games vs. tournaments.Why Should You Normally Consider Raising Pre-Flop?
Poker is always more fun when you get to see the flop because this gives you more action and extra chances to make great hands.
This is why many new poker players call the big blind (a.k.a. limping) instead of raising. Limping into pots is the cheapest way to see the flop.
But limping is also one of the worst plays in poker because it shows little strength in your hand. Furthermore, you can easily be raised by an opponent acting after you.Poker Hands Pre Flop
You especially want to avoid open limping, where you open the pre-flop betting action by calling the big blind. In addition to showing little hand strength, you also can’t take down the pot right away by calling.
Another problem with limping is that you make things easier on your opponents. They can either call behind you to see the flop for cheap or raise and put you in a difficult position.
One more downside to limping is that more players can see the flop cheaply. This gives you less pot equity, or the odds that you’ll have the best hand.
Of course, like anything else with Texas hold’em, there are exceptions when calling the big blind that can work. One example is when there are other limpers at the table whom you can outplay post-flop.
But generally speaking, you want to enter pots with a raise, or at least calling another player’s raise. The key is to look aggressive from the outset so that you deter other players from raising while representing strong cards.Pre-Flop Raising Can Accomplish Multiple Goals
One of the most important things behind raising pre-flop is to have a plan. Furthermore, you want to accomplish specific goals with your raise.
Sometimes your pre-flop raise will check off multiple objectives. Other times, you may be raising with the single goal of stealing the blinds.Poker Hands Pre Flop Percentages
Below are some of the most important goals that you can accomplish with a pre-flop raise.Fold Equity
Raising indicates to opponents that you have a good hand, thus increasing the chances that they’ll fold marginal cards. And this is where your fold equity comes from.
Another good thing about fold equity is that it allows you to steal pots even when you don’t improve on the flop. Of course, you should keep the pot small in these situations in case an opponent calls or re-raises.Pot Equity
Having the best hand gives you the most equity in the pot. And you want to build the pot as much as possible when you think that you’re in the lead.Isolating a Single Opponent
Earlier, I mentioned that raising prevents multiple players from seeing the flop and reducing your pot equity. Ideally, you’ll isolate a single player when raising with a strong hand.
Pocket aces, kings, or queens offer a much stronger chance to win when you’re only facing a single opponent. The goal here is to raise just enough to where only one player will call.Table Position Is a Crucial Factor
Many beginning poker players focus too much on their hand strength when deciding whether to raise. You also need to strongly consider your table position before raising.
Here are the table positions based on a 9-handed game.
*Early position – Small blind, big blind, seat to big blind’s left (i.e., under the gun or “UTG”)
*Middle position – 3 seats to the left of UTG
*Late position – Dealer (a.k.a. button), seat to dealer’s right (a.k.a. cut-off), and seat to cut-off’s right
Acting earlier in a hand means that you’ll have less information on opponents. Therefore, a pre-flop raise from early position means that you’re acting before an opponent(s) post-flop.
The general idea is to widen the number of hands you raise with in later seats. This lets you better judge an opponent’s hand strength after the flop.
Here’s an example.
*A tight-aggressive player from middle position raises 3x big blind (bb)
*You’re in the cut-off with pocket 10s
*You re-raise them
*They call
*The flop comes out Qs-Jh-3d
*They make a pot-sized raise into a board with overpair potential. You fold because you’re likely beaten
Assuming you were acting in early position post-flop, you’d be left checking and giving the opponent a greenlight to steal. Or you might even bet to steal the pot, only to be called or raised.
But being in position allows you to see that your opponent likely has a better hand and to fold without losing additional money.What Hands Are Good for Raising Pre-Flop?
No two poker games are exactly the same, and there’s no uniform way to play every hand in each situation. But there are some generalities that work with certain hands.
One example is when you have a premium pocket pair in a pot where nobody has raised. Outside of rare limp/re-raise opportunities, you should almost always raise in this situation.
For the most part, though, you want to use specific situations to decide when you do and don’t raise. Here’s advice for playing different pre-flop hands in a full-ring game, based on your table position and the actions before you.
*AA and KK – Raise in every situation from any table position. If somebody raises you, re-raise (a.k.a. 3-bet) them.
*QQ – Raise in every situation from any table position. If somebody raises you, be willing to call up to 20xbb or 25xbb.
*AK – Raise in every situation from any table position. Fold if anybody re-raises you.
*JJ – Raise in every situation, except when somebody has raised before you (call 20xbb). Also, call up to 20xbb if somebody re-raises you.
*TT and 99 – Fold in early position, but raise from any other spot in unopened pots. Call up to 20xbb if somebody raises beforehand or re-raises you.
*88 through 22 – Fold in early position, call in the blinds and middle position, and raise from late position in unopened pots. Call (20xbb) in other situations, including when loose-aggressive players raise, since you have position.
*AQ through AT offsuit – Fold in early position and when anybody raises or re-raises you. Raise in unopened pots from middle position, late position, and the blinds. Call from middle position and the blinds if there are other limpers.
*A9 through A2 suited – Fold in early position and when anybody raises the pot or re-raises you. Raise in unopened pots from middle position, late position, and the blinds. Call from the blinds if there are other limpers.
*KQ, KJ, KT, QJ, QT, JT unsuited – Fold in early and middle position. Raise in late position and from the blinds in unopened pots, but call from these same positions if there are other limpers.
*JT through 54 suited – Fold in early and middle position. Raise from late position in unopened pots, but call from middle and late position if there are other limpers.
*Any other cards – Fold/check in every situation.
Again, there are exceptions to any hand based on your opponents and the overall table dynamic. But this guide will get you started when figuring out how to play hands pre-flop.Bet Sizing with Pre-Flop Raises
Bet sizing is another area of pre-flop play that varies based on the situation. But a good guideline is to enter pre-flop pots with a 3xbb or 4xbb raise.
The goal is to bet enough to where most players will be deterred from calling, while isolating a single player. Anything less than 3xbb usually draws multiple callers and defeats the purpose of raising pre-flop in the first place.
Sometimes you’ll find that even a 3-4xbb pre-flop raise doesn’t discourage players from calling. This is especially the case in the micro stakes, where low blind sizes encourage more players to see the flop.
In these situations, you’ll need to consider entering pots with a 5xbb raise or higher. This is something that you’ll just have to feel out after playing some hands and studying the table dynamic.Study Opponents Before Raising Pre-Flop
Knowing individual opponents is crucial to making good pre-flop raises because it helps you better accomplish your raising goals.
Here’s an example.
*You have AJ on the button, and everybody has folded
*Normally you’d raise in this situation
*But both blinds are major calling stations and bad post-flop players
*You instead limp in while looking to outplay your opponents post-flop
You should stick with the pre-flop hand advice discussed before when coming onto a new table. But also watch for opportunities to break out of ABC poker based on whom you’re playing against.
Keep in mind that reading opponents and adjusting your pre-flop raising strategy accordingly requires experience. The last thing you want to do is burn through chips by making fancy moves against players that you don’t have any info on.Table Size Affects Pre-Flop Raising
The pre-flop hand advice that I covered before works as a general guideline for 9- and 10-player tables. But when you’re playing with 6 people (6-max) or fewer, you need to open up your starting hand requirements.
One reason why is because winning hands aren’t as strong on average due to fewer players. Secondly, you’ll see the blinds more often per hour, and you don’t want to miss out on extra opportunities to win money and cover these blinds.
How wide you increase your starting hand selection depends upon the number of players at your table.
In a 6-max game, you could open your early position raising range to include 9s, 8s, and AQ. At a 3-handed table, you can even add 7s, 6s, AJ, offsuit, ATo, A9 suited, and A8s to this range.
The general rule of thumb is that you need to expand the number of hands you’re willing to raise with on a short-handed table. Likewise, you should be more selective in full-ring games because winning hands will be stronger.3-Betting Pre-Flop
A 3-bet is simply the third bet of a round. Here’s the basic sequence of how 3-betting works in pre-flop play:
*1st bet = Small and big blinds
*2nd bet = Open-raise
*3rd bet = Re-raise
3-bets have become more common in poker these days, as players look to turn up the aggression on their opponents. Unfortunately, this move is overused by players who blindly show aggression.
You should always have a plan when 3-betting pre-flop. The two reasons to use this play include 3-betting for value or for a bluff.
A value 3-bet means that you’re in the lead (e.g., with AA, KK, or QQ) and building the pot while isolating one player. The purpose of a bluff 3-bet is to steal the pot from an opponent who’s likely in the lead.
A good bet size, in either case, includes 2x to 3x the pot, depending upon the table dynamic, opponents, your cards, and your position.
If an opponent raises 3xbb (4.5bb in pot), you would re-raise them with between 9bb and 13bb.
I recommend sticking with value 3-bets until you can fully identify situations where bluff 3-bets can work. Here are different things that you need to consider before bluffing with this play.
*Your opponents, including ones who’ll fold to a 3-bet in a specific situation
*What range of hands the open-raiser likes to play
*Knowing who’s likely to 4-bet
*Knowing what 4-bettors will have the nuts and which ones won’t
*Stack sizes (in tournaments), because shorter stacks are more likely to 3-bet to steal blinds
*Your table image and if opponents will think you actually have a strong hand
*Table position. You generally want to avoid 3-betting from out of position until you master hold’emPoker Hand Calculator Pre FlopCash Games vs. Tournaments
Another important distinction in pre-flop raising involves whether you’re playing a cash game or tournament.
The main reason for this distinction is that you have a finite number of chips in a tourney. Therefore, you can’t just reload when playing speculative hands that don’t work out.
Experienced tournament players usually have a tight pre-flop style. This keeps them from wasting blinds while chasing drawing hands with long odds.
Of course, you never want to play too many hands in cash games or tournaments. But the latter requires an even tighter style to avoid blowing your limited chips.
Texas hold’em tournament players are often very aggressive when they raise pre-flop, especially in the la
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