Choosing Your Starting Hand Preflop
Secondly, texas holdem is a mixture of psychological warfare and mental calculation. You should have a general understanding of how to calculate poker odds before proceeding to read this section... AA & KK Preflop While you love seeing them as your starting hand, most people think pocket aces or kings should be slowplayed. Pocket Aces or kings are not slow playing hands. These hands can easily be cracked by two pair, trips, etc… I would suggest calculated raises preflop to ensure you’re in the lead. Early-Position with AA/KK: In early position or “under the gun”, I would generally limp-in (just call) and hopefully get someone to raise; I would reraise about the size of the pot. Mid-Position with AA/KK: If someone raises before me I would reraise the size of the pot. Late-Position with AA/KK: I would obviously put up a raise if no one bets, or put up a reraise if someone raises in early position. If someone reraises my raise, I’d move all in… AK Preflop If you're in an early position, it usually means you're one of the first three players to the LEFT of the dealer. Of course, if you're small blind, that means you're almost last to act before the flop, but first to act AFTER the flop. If you're big blind, that means you're last to act pre-flop, but second to act after the flop. And last but not least, if you're the THIRD player to the left, that means you are the FIRST to act before the flop, and third to act after the flop... This position is also known as "under the gun". Ok. Enough with the definitions. Re-read those four above paragraphs if you're confused. Otherwise, let's dive into the strategies... As we discussed a few days ago, Big Slick is a "monster" hand that most players pray for... BUT... it can actually be a TERRIBLE hand for you if you don't know what you're doing. It can be terrible if... 1. You go "all in" (or bet a substantial pile of chips) before the flop, but then don't catch anything... Or... 2. You catch an ace or king on the flop, bet a lot of chips, but then get run down by another player who gets a better hand. Since even a pair of DEUCES can beat Big Slick by itself, I recommend that you don't go all-in with Big Slick before the flop. It's just too risky. Because there are so many hands that can beat you. Going all-in with Big Slick pre-flop is the equivalent to saying, "Hey, I'm not that confident I can win this game, so I'm going to HOPE to get LUCKY and risk all my chips on the CHANCE that an ace or king hits, or that my ace high wins." Obviously that's not ALWAYS the case, but for the most part it's pretty accurate. The second scenario- getting run down by another player even though you hit your ace or king- can be EXTREMELY frustrating. For example, let's say you're holding Big Slick and the flop comes out A,K,5. You're obviously excited because you flopped top two pair... but what if Marty, that new guy who just learned how to play Hold'em a couple weeks ago, is holding a pair of fives? Chances are, he's going to clean you out for all your chips. Your strategy then, should be to DECREASE the chances that someone at the table (like Marty) is going to get lucky on the flop. And you do that by making sure they don't even SEE the flop in the first place, by making a pre-flop raise or strong bet. The ultimate goal should be to create "heads-up" action before the flop when you get dealt Big Slick. Force players like Marty to fold before the flop hits. That will prevent the "bad beats" and allow you to focus on a single opponent. The most difficult way to win with Big Slick is if you're in an early position AND you don't catch anything good on the flop. Here's how I play it: Let's say I'm "under the gun" (first to act before the flop... third player to the left of the dealer) in a no-limit cash game. I look down to see AK of diamonds. Great hand, terrible positioning. Instead of limping in and letting all the crap hands at the table see the flop, I make a raise as we discussed. "$15 to play." Some players will limp-in with AK when they're first to act, hoping someone ELSE will make the raise for them (which gives them the chance to re-raise). I don't like this strategy. Because if someone else makes the initial raise, that means they get control over the table and betting. For example, let's say I limp-in and Josh makes it $25 to play. Everyone else folds and then I come back over the top of him for $100 more. Without hesitation, Josh goes all-in and pushes in his stack of $350 in chips. See how this could get ugly? Josh may be holding pocket 9's for all I know... which will BEAT me if I don't catch the right cards on the flop. Then again, he might be holding a pair of face cards... or maybe just AJ. No matter what, I really don't care. Because I don't want to risk all my chips on AK and leave my night up to chance. As much as possible, I want to be in FULL CONTROL of my destiny at the card table. There will inevitably be players who are more reckless with their chips- and these are the players who rely on LUCK more than SKILL... But not me... I know I can beat the game, which is why I don't limp-in here when I'm first to act with Big Slick. OK, back to the hand... "$15 to play", I repeat. I'm hoping to get just one caller, or two at the most. The action goes around the table, and everyone mucks their hands... except for Drew. He splashes the pot and calls. So I've created heads-up action and taken control of the betting... exactly as I wanted to do with my monster hand in this position. The flop hits: 2h, 9d, 7s. I'm first to act. Obviously, this flop is terrible... the best thing I've got going is a possible runner/runner diamonds draw. So what do I do now? Should I check my ace high? No. This is where you should fire AGAIN, and continue to play aggressively... Because the flop probably didn't help Drew either. If I CHECK, Drew will sense my weakness and might try to steal the pot. My bet will give him the impression I'm on on over-pair and have the best hand... so he'll probably muck his cards now. Even if he calls, I'm still in good shape. If the turn card doesn't help me, I'll back down and minimize my losses. I DON'T want to dig myself in a deeper hole and try to bluff it out. Or I may catch my top pair on the turn or river and be able to win that way. So no matter what happens, I'm not risking too many chips and I'm putting myself in a great position to win the hand. Now... rewind for just a moment. What if my $15 pre-flop bet had multiple callers? Having multiple players in the game would have increased the odds that someone actually benefited from the 2,9,7 flop. Which means I would NOT have made a strong bet after the flop. Instead, I would have backed down and just checked. If someone else bet strong, I would have mucked my A,K and lived to see another hand. So THAT is how you play Big Slick under the worst of circumstances... with scraps on the board and bad positioning... and STILL have a great chance at winning a nice pot. Of course... the chances of getting AK are just 1 in 83. And the odds of getting AK suited are just 1 in 332. And that doesn't even factor in the odds related to your positioning. QQ Preflop You should be very cautious with pocket Queens because of the drawback of overcards (Aces or Kings) showing up on the community. Early-Position with QQ: I’d raise a reasonable amount (Big Blind x3) to see where I stand. If anyone calls, I’d assume they might be holding overcards, aces or kings, so I’ll slowly play my queens on the flop… Mid-Position with QQ: If anyone raises before me, I would just call… No reraises with QQ. Late-Position: Any early reraises, I would reraise them back. I would not call a reraise over my raise, with the assumption that they may have KK, AK, AA. Also, If I’ve identified my opponent as a tight player, then I’d fold. If my opponent was a maniac, I’d probably move all in. Small Pairs 22 to JJ Preflop (22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88, 99, 1010, JJ) With any small pair, I’d limp in (call the big blind). I’d also call one raise if I was in early or mid-position. My main purpose with a small pair would be to hit a set (three of a kind) so I could break somebody in the pot with me. Suited Connectors Preflop (67 , 89, J10, etc...) Suited connectors are playable if you can see a flop for cheap in middle or late position. The main purpose of a suited connector is to try to make a little straight, a flush, two pair, or possibly a straight flush… Suited Hand with High Kicker (A3, K8, A5, etc...) I would play these hands in late position with the intention of a flush possibility on the community. I would only limp in or call for cheap with these hands. Note: The beautiful part about suited connectors or suited hands is that it is effortless to fold these hands. Once you don’t make your straight or flush possibility, you can simply fold them away. Unlike holding an A10; If you hit your Ace, it’s hard to throw it away not knowing someone may have hit two pair or ace with a higher kicker. Junk Hands Preflop (102, K6, 38, etc...) If I feel like it’s time to change gears, I’d play junk in late position, preferably on the button. Playing junk is all about your position and the man your playing. If I’m involved with a tight player, I’m pounding (betting) at the pot to steal it. 331 to 1. Those are the odds AGAINST getting dealt an Ace and a King suited before the flop. 220 to 1. Those are the odds AGAINST getting pocket Aces before the flop. Monster hands like these are GREAT when you catch them... and you'll definitely have a good shot at raking in a killer pot... But the fact is, when you play poker you WON'T catch monsters very often. The same is true with wired pairs and suited connectors. When you hit with one of these hands, your opponents will usually NEVER see it coming... And once again, you'll rake in a nice pot. But how many times do you get hands like these AND hit the right cards? Not too often. ANYONE... no matter what their skill level... can win a pot with a monster. The SECRET to poker success, my friend, is learning how to win hands WITHOUT having the "nuts" or great cards. It's what separates the AVERAGE card players from the poker LEGENDS. So how do you play hands that are DECENT, but not GREAT? Hands like QJ, J10, 9-10, Q10, K10, K9, and so on... If you FOLD every time you see cards like these, you're playing too tight. Because you're going to see these types of hands A LOT. To WIN... consistently... at Texas Holdem poker, you've got to learn how to WIN with hands that AREN'T great. But how? I'll tell you how... The key is POSITIONING. That's the magic word. In Texas Holdem, positioning is EVERYTHING... You can see a hand in one position and the right play is to FOLD it... And then see the SAME EXACT HAND in a different position and the right play is to make a BET. For example, let's say you're in an 8-player no- limit Holdem game... where the blinds are $1-2. You're first to act before the flop (a.k.a. "under the gun") and look down at your cards: Queen and a jack... offsuit. What do you do? Playing the hand shouldn't cross your mind. Calling with a Q,J offsuit can easily turn into TROUBLE when first to act. Because SOMEONE at your 8-man table is probably going to throw out a pre-flop raise. Think about it... How many times does the action go COMPLETELY around the table before the flop without SOMEONE making a raise? Not too often. Even if it's just a small $5 raise... you don't want to pay $7 with your Q,J offsuit just to see the flop. After all, even if you HIT top pair, you're STILL going to be one of the first to act, if not THE first. What then? Your kicker isn't too strong, and you don't have a read on the other players. It's just a bad situation to be in... Which is why I muck "decent" hands like these when I'm under the gun or in an early position. And you should too. Now let's say you're fourth to act before the flop (sixth position at the table) and you peek down at a Queen, 10 offsuit. You're positioning isn't great, but it's not too bad either. The action is on you to call the $2 big blind... What do you do? Instead of mucking, this is where I'd limp in and call the blind. The key is to pay $2... don't raise it. You've got a good chance at seeing the flop for just $2 and you won't have to act first after the flop hits. Even if someone throws out a small pre-flop raise, you can call and see a cheap flop without getting into too much trouble. Now let's say you're on the BUTTON (dealer position) with a Queen, Jack offsuit. Four of your opponents limp-in and the action is to you. What's the play? This is where I'd make a pre-flop raise. Nothing crazy... just a small $5 that's not going to get me into trouble. And I'll do this with any good positioning, not just when I'm on the button... Here's why: First, it gets rid of the "crap" hands at the table... Anytime you can force the scraps at the table to fold, your odds of winning the pot increase. (The reason you don't want them in the hand is in case one of them gets lucky on the flop.) Second, I get to see what my opponents do AFTER the flop... before I have to act. This is a HUGE advantage. I can get a read on everyone else's hand... and NO ONE gets a read on mine. Use this advantage EVERY chance you get. And third, my bet gives me relative control over the table... and is likely to result in a free card if I want one. Let's say the flop hits 9,10,2 (an open-ended straight draw with my QJ). There's a good chance my opponents will CHECK, because they anticipate another bet from me. So I'm in a win-win situation... I can throw out a semi-bluff bet... or... I can see a free card by checking. Getting control over the board also puts me in a position to buy the pot if I sense weakness at the table. Which brings me to another point... Positioning is a fundamental part of Texas Holdem, but you had better have a good read on your opponents in order to win the hand. And you'd better know the right size to make your bets... and what to do if there's a draw on the board... and how to bluff if you get into trouble. |
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