How it plays out in the movie: Initially, Bloom didn't take a rake—a percentage of the pot in hands—which made the questionable legality of running the poker games a little less questionable. Poker Starting Hand Chart (6-max Cash, 100bb): Hand Chart Notation Getting to know which hands to play and in which positions is even more important than the actual hand. This 6-max Cash Hand Chart details the hands you should play and the position. In poker, players form sets of five playing cards, called hands, according to the rules of the game. Each hand has a rank, which is compared against the ranks of other hands participating in the showdown to decide who wins the pot. In high games, like Texas hold 'em and seven-card stud, the highest-ranking hands win. Pocket jacks is known as a big danger hand in Texas Hold'em. It may look good, but the chances of a higher card turning up on the flop is 52%, giving your ‘fish-hooks' less than half a chance of survival.
- Good Vs Bad Poker Hands Spread
- Good Vs Bad Poker Hands Against
- Good Vs Bad Poker Hands
- Good Vs Bad Poker Hands Held
- Good Vs Bad Poker Hands Play
1. Losing players often show their cards, when they don't have to, surrendering critical information to their opponents about how they play and how they think.
It is bad enough to do this after you bluff people out of a pot, or when you make a bad call, or when you get called while bluffing on the river (in which case you should try to indicate that you surrender, and muck without showing). But it is especially bad to show your opponents that you are making a tight fold, because that just tells your opponents that they can easily bluff you, and also that they should play looser against you, because even if they don't hit a big hand with their garbage hole cards, they will still have a good chance of outplaying you after the flop. Making a face up fold with a good hand is a bad idea. It doesn't impress anyone (and impressing people shouldn't be your purpose at the poker table); nor does it make your opponents respect your game. Rather, it simply tells them that you are super tight and that they can take advantage of your tightness. So when you make a hard, smart fold (which is what you often must do as a good player), keep it to yourself and just smile inside, knowing that you did the right thing.
2. Losing players often talk too much, giving away the strength of their hands.
In my experience, a player who says something cockily, or jokingly, or mockingly, in the middle of a hand, very often has a medium-strength hand. A player sitting on a particularly strong or weak hand will not usually engage in much conversation, because he doesn't want to tip off his opponents to the fact that he is either very comfortable in the hand, or uncomfortable. But players with middle strength hands (such as top pair with a middle kicker), will not know where they stand and will often try to illicit information by asking questions, or by saying provocative or strange things. They think that they are being cute or deceptive, but they are really just revealing the weakness of their cards. Any time that you say something during a hand that you don't need to say, you are just telegraphing to an intelligent opponent the fact that you are not entirely comfortable with your hand and that you are looking for some indication of how to play it. Your opponent will often take the very next opportunity, after you open your big mouth, to cram his chips down your throat and force you to fold.
3. Losing players often overvalue or overplay hands that are not likely enough to win, given how much money must be committed to the pot to reach a showdown.
Many players spew off their chips consistently by engaging in wishful thinking, hoping for cards to improve their marginal hands when such help is not likely to come, or hoping that their opponents' hands are even weaker than their own, when all evidence is to the contrary. For instance, a mere unsuited AK pre-flop is the most-often overplayed and misplayed hand in hold em. Very often, you will be beat by somebody else after the flop, so why over-commit yourself pre-flop, putting in so much money that you won't be able to get away from the hand, should you hit some piece of the flop. Likewise, after the flop, a mere top pair, even with the best kicker, is vulnerable to an over-pair, two pair, etc. Just as with AK, if you fail to exercise pot control with any one pair hand you are bound to get destroyed by somebody with a less obvious, bigger hand. The surest way to lose your stack in any poker game is to over-commit yourself to a pot with a hand that is not likely to win.
4. Losing players often fail to give their opponent credit for a strong hand when the opponent's betting suggests that he likely does have a strong hand.
You have to be able to get away from your hand when it is obvious that your opponent probably has you beat. It is especially clear that your opponent may have you beat when your own betting has suggested that you had a certain strength hand and yet your opponent then has raised into a dangerous board. You need to realize that your opponent would not usually bet into an obviously dangerous situation unless he had a pretty solid hand. So when your opponent shows strength with a big raise or a flat call of a large amount, you should recognize that he likely has a hand that is at least as good as the type of hand that you yourself have represented through your betting pattern. To start with the opposite assumption – that he is bluffing, or on a semi-bluff draw, or has a hand much weaker than yours – is a sure way to donk off your chips in a hurry.
Of course, you also don't want to play 'weak tight' poker, i.e. so tight that you fail to make moves that would be profitable for you in the long run. Thus, the key is to know from experience and sound judgment whether a certain play in a certain situation would be profitable over the long term (i.e. has positive expected value, or is 'plus-EV'), and then also to have the discipline to make that correct plus-EV play.
Good Vs Bad Poker Hands Spread
5. Losing players often play a very predictable, simple style that makes it easy for their opponents to figure out their range of hands and play accordingly against them.
It is especially dangerous to play a tight style all of the time. Once your opponents peg you as a rock who only plays 'ABC,' they will take every available opportunity to bluff you out of pots, except for the few times that you actually raise big – because then they know that you have a monster hand. Instead, it is necessary to mix up your play to mislead your opponents. If you fail to do this, good players will be able to follow your tracks like a wolf tracks prey. Your limited range of hands will be obvious to them unless you throw them off the trail with a little subtle deception. Every few orbits, play a bit looser or a bit more aggressive than you generally play, as this allows you to play in more pots, to steal more pots, and, most importantly, to keep your opponents guessing as to how you play.
6. Losing players often fail to bet or raise enough, letting opponents stay in with garbage hands or draws for free or very cheap.
Before the flop, when you have a good enough hand to make a raise, you have to raise enough to protect your hand against floaters, i.e. those loose aggressive players who will call a relatively small pre-flop raise with any two random cards like 7-3 off-suit, with the intention of either outplaying you after the flop or catching a miracle hand and blind-siding you for all of your chips. Therefore, if you are going to raise pre-flop, you have to make sure that you always raise enough to get most garbage hands to fold, by cutting down on their implied odds so much that they can't justify calling. In a $2-5 NLHE game, for instance, if you are going to raise pre-flop, it makes sense to make it at least $20 – maybe $25, $30, or even more. In $5-10, I would make it at least $40 always. What is the point of a raise if it is not a real raise? In $1-2, where the amount of the blinds is basically nothing, I always raise to at least $15 – maybe more if playing against super-loose aggressive types who will call $15 with trash hands just to gamble. To raise any less is simply asking for a floater to play with you and then stun you later on by catching a well-hidden two pair or straight.
Likewise, losing players often let opponents stay in cheap after the flop, then, after an opponent catches a card that gives them the best hand on the turn or river, losing players often pay off those opponents with bad calls for large amounts. This is a double mistake. The worst thing that you can do in poker is to let your opponent catch up to you, by not betting enough, and then pay him off with a large call.
7. Losing players often bet or raise on the river in NLHE, in situations when there is little or no value in doing so.
You should not bet or raise on the river if you probably would only be called by a hand that beats you. For example, if you reach the river and have a mediocre hand like top pair with a 9 kicker, with three cards to a straight on the board, you really can't be too excited about it. If you make a bet and get called, your opponent likely will turn over a better hand. He likely would not call you with a hand that you could beat like top pair with an 8 or lower kicker, no matter how aggressive your table image has been. Therefore, there is very little value in betting. You will either get your opponent to fold the worst hand, which is worth nothing extra to you, or you will be giving your money to your opponent for no reason. Of course, a lot of money can be made with a thin value bet on the river if your opponent actually calls you with a losing hand. Such a thin value bet should only be made if there is a great enough chance that the particular opponent or opponents you are facing would call you with a hand that you beat. But this prospect must be weighed against the prospect of an opponent with a hand that beats you calling or raising you. Whether there is any value in betting the river will depend on your opponents' tendencies, as well as the board's texture, how the hand was played from pre-flop to river, whether a bluff is necessary to get your opponent to lay down a slightly better hand, and whether a blocker bet is necessary to prevent your opponent from bluffing.
8. Losing players often act impulsively, without discipline.
Whenever you get any sense during a hand that you are in danger of overplaying it, or misplaying it, stop and think about everything that has happened, especially your opponents' betting patterns in the hand and their tendencies generally. If you get the sense that this will be one of those big losing hands that you will remember for a long time, or that you are about to make a big mistake, stop yourself for a moment and play the hand cautiously. If you simply think before you act and have the discipline to make a big lay down, or to refrain from betting or bluffing when it probably will not be profitable to do so, you can minimize what you lose, when you happen to lose, and thereby increase what you win in the long term.
My definition of a 'weak tight' player is one who plays so excessively tight, for fear of losing money in the short run, that he fails to make moves that would have long term positive expected value for him, and thereby costs himself money in the long run. A 'strong' (or good) player, in my mind, usually will make whatever move will be profitable for him in the long run, i.e. that which has positive expected value, and a strong player is not afraid to lose money in the short run. This concept can apply to any type of action you can take in poker, including betting for value, betting to block your opponent from betting, raising, checking, check-raising, calling with a draw, calling with a made hand, bluffing, semi-bluffing, making a tough fold, etc. For example, if you have AQ of hearts and the flop comes 943 with two hearts, you have to know that you are actually the favorite against any one pair hand except QQ, KK or AA. So unless you have some reason to believe that one of your opponents has one of those premium pocket pairs, or has flopped a set or two pair, you should confidently bet or raise on the flop for value. Another example is failing to make a call or a value bet on the river with a solid hand like two pair just because there is a possible flush on the board. Unless your opponent played the hand in such a way that you should believe he has such a hand, you should not necessarily conclude that he does.
Naturally, in order to do what is 'plus-EV,' one needs to first know why a certain move is or is not plus-EV. That is, he must have a great deal of poker knowledge, especially as to the mathematics related to draws, as well as the ability to read opponents' hand ranges based on their betting patterns in various situations. But much more important than this knowledge is having the confidence to put your money at risk based upon that knowledge. Of course, some people will never learn to make the plus-EV move, no matter how many years they play – and lose – because their innate 'weak tight' poker personality won't let them grow. These are the same people who are afraid to cross the street because there is one car coming, even though it is moving slowly and is 100 yards from the intersection.
10. Losing players often fail to see the holes in their game and make no effort to fill those holes through study, reflection and self analysis.
Many varieties of mistakes and shortcomings define the play of losing players. Some people are way too loose, while others are way too tight, or passive, or aggressive. Some people get overconfident when they are winning and proceed to play like idiots and donk off everything they won and a lot more. Some people are bad at pre-flop decision making, while others stink after the flop. Believe me, we ALL have our weaknesses – even the successful professional or semi-professional players among us – and those who deny to themselves that they have leaks in certain areas of their play are doomed to continue leaking from the same holes forever.
[Please post your own thoughts about these or other habits of losing players in the comments section below. The purpose of this website is to allow serious players to share insights, ideas and information, to help each other out – so please post your own thoughts any time in the comments.]
Hand Guide: Preflop > Flop > Turn > River
Preflop Planning is an excellent guide on how to think before the flop when deciding whether to fold, call or raise based on your position and starting hand. It's the perfect compliment to this article.
Preflop overview.
Before the flop is where it all starts, where you are forced to make your first important decision depending on all of the variables involved with the hand. It is important to make good, solid decisions before the flop, as it will form the foundations for how the rest of the hand will be played out.
If you make a high-quality decision before the flop, you will set the tone for the rest of the hand and give yourself the best opportunity to get into a moneymaking position. However, if you make a bad decision before the flop, you may well set yourself up for a big loss by getting yourself into a sticky position or missing out on a potentially rewarding hand.
Start as you mean to go on in every hand. Poker machine parts sydney aust. Make quality plays at the beginning and continue throughout the rest of the hand.
Therefore after you have been dealt your cards preflop, it is important to take your time to evaluate all of the different variables in the hand, and not just make decisions on the cards that you are holding. It is important to consider your position and the type of opponents you are playing against, as well as know the correct starting hand requirements. So make sure you think very carefully before every flop and build the foundations for a profitable hand by making the correct preflop strategy decision.
Preflop starting hand selection.
Choosing which hands to play and which hands to fold is fundamental to playing a winning poker game. The best hands to play in Texas Holdem are:
- Big pocket pairs: AA-TT
- Big suited connectors: AK, AQ, AJ, KQ
- Big connectors: AK, AQ, AJ, KQ
These particular combinations of cards have the best chances of winning than other cards, so if you stick to these you will find yourself in more profitable situations after the flop. It is possible to play other combinations of cards successfully, but if you are a beginner player then it is advised to stick with the big cards until you find your feet at the poker table.
Preflop position strategy.
Your position in the hand is an incredibly important variable that you should be aware of in every hand, yet it is something that is all too often forgotten about.
The dynamics of play are slightly different in the preflop betting round, as the small and big blind will be last to act, whereas they will be the first to act on every other betting round. Texas holdem rules full house tie. However, the general principles of position will remain the same, as you want to try and play more hands where you have position over your opponents than in positions where you do not.
This means that you should avoid playing too many hands in the blinds or in an early position, as being one of the first to act in each hand can make things very difficult unless you are holding a premium hand. Be very careful when playing in the blinds, and don't feel as though you have to enter more pots in these positions because you have already committed money to the pot. It is far safer to let marginal hands go rather than to call raises with half a holding and play out of position for the rest of the hand.
Your position can often play a more influential role than the strength of the cards that players are actually holding, so try and keeping the upper hand by combining good position with good cards.
The cards listed above in the starting hands selection section can be played from almost any position, but you should try and tighten up your starting hand selection in the earlier positions. So as a general rule, you can play with a wider range of the top starting hands in later positions than you should in the earlier positions in the hand.
So the top strategy tips on preflop position are:
3. Losing players often overvalue or overplay hands that are not likely enough to win, given how much money must be committed to the pot to reach a showdown.
Many players spew off their chips consistently by engaging in wishful thinking, hoping for cards to improve their marginal hands when such help is not likely to come, or hoping that their opponents' hands are even weaker than their own, when all evidence is to the contrary. For instance, a mere unsuited AK pre-flop is the most-often overplayed and misplayed hand in hold em. Very often, you will be beat by somebody else after the flop, so why over-commit yourself pre-flop, putting in so much money that you won't be able to get away from the hand, should you hit some piece of the flop. Likewise, after the flop, a mere top pair, even with the best kicker, is vulnerable to an over-pair, two pair, etc. Just as with AK, if you fail to exercise pot control with any one pair hand you are bound to get destroyed by somebody with a less obvious, bigger hand. The surest way to lose your stack in any poker game is to over-commit yourself to a pot with a hand that is not likely to win.
4. Losing players often fail to give their opponent credit for a strong hand when the opponent's betting suggests that he likely does have a strong hand.
You have to be able to get away from your hand when it is obvious that your opponent probably has you beat. It is especially clear that your opponent may have you beat when your own betting has suggested that you had a certain strength hand and yet your opponent then has raised into a dangerous board. You need to realize that your opponent would not usually bet into an obviously dangerous situation unless he had a pretty solid hand. So when your opponent shows strength with a big raise or a flat call of a large amount, you should recognize that he likely has a hand that is at least as good as the type of hand that you yourself have represented through your betting pattern. To start with the opposite assumption – that he is bluffing, or on a semi-bluff draw, or has a hand much weaker than yours – is a sure way to donk off your chips in a hurry.
Of course, you also don't want to play 'weak tight' poker, i.e. so tight that you fail to make moves that would be profitable for you in the long run. Thus, the key is to know from experience and sound judgment whether a certain play in a certain situation would be profitable over the long term (i.e. has positive expected value, or is 'plus-EV'), and then also to have the discipline to make that correct plus-EV play.
Good Vs Bad Poker Hands Spread
5. Losing players often play a very predictable, simple style that makes it easy for their opponents to figure out their range of hands and play accordingly against them.
It is especially dangerous to play a tight style all of the time. Once your opponents peg you as a rock who only plays 'ABC,' they will take every available opportunity to bluff you out of pots, except for the few times that you actually raise big – because then they know that you have a monster hand. Instead, it is necessary to mix up your play to mislead your opponents. If you fail to do this, good players will be able to follow your tracks like a wolf tracks prey. Your limited range of hands will be obvious to them unless you throw them off the trail with a little subtle deception. Every few orbits, play a bit looser or a bit more aggressive than you generally play, as this allows you to play in more pots, to steal more pots, and, most importantly, to keep your opponents guessing as to how you play.
6. Losing players often fail to bet or raise enough, letting opponents stay in with garbage hands or draws for free or very cheap.
Before the flop, when you have a good enough hand to make a raise, you have to raise enough to protect your hand against floaters, i.e. those loose aggressive players who will call a relatively small pre-flop raise with any two random cards like 7-3 off-suit, with the intention of either outplaying you after the flop or catching a miracle hand and blind-siding you for all of your chips. Therefore, if you are going to raise pre-flop, you have to make sure that you always raise enough to get most garbage hands to fold, by cutting down on their implied odds so much that they can't justify calling. In a $2-5 NLHE game, for instance, if you are going to raise pre-flop, it makes sense to make it at least $20 – maybe $25, $30, or even more. In $5-10, I would make it at least $40 always. What is the point of a raise if it is not a real raise? In $1-2, where the amount of the blinds is basically nothing, I always raise to at least $15 – maybe more if playing against super-loose aggressive types who will call $15 with trash hands just to gamble. To raise any less is simply asking for a floater to play with you and then stun you later on by catching a well-hidden two pair or straight.
Likewise, losing players often let opponents stay in cheap after the flop, then, after an opponent catches a card that gives them the best hand on the turn or river, losing players often pay off those opponents with bad calls for large amounts. This is a double mistake. The worst thing that you can do in poker is to let your opponent catch up to you, by not betting enough, and then pay him off with a large call.
7. Losing players often bet or raise on the river in NLHE, in situations when there is little or no value in doing so.
You should not bet or raise on the river if you probably would only be called by a hand that beats you. For example, if you reach the river and have a mediocre hand like top pair with a 9 kicker, with three cards to a straight on the board, you really can't be too excited about it. If you make a bet and get called, your opponent likely will turn over a better hand. He likely would not call you with a hand that you could beat like top pair with an 8 or lower kicker, no matter how aggressive your table image has been. Therefore, there is very little value in betting. You will either get your opponent to fold the worst hand, which is worth nothing extra to you, or you will be giving your money to your opponent for no reason. Of course, a lot of money can be made with a thin value bet on the river if your opponent actually calls you with a losing hand. Such a thin value bet should only be made if there is a great enough chance that the particular opponent or opponents you are facing would call you with a hand that you beat. But this prospect must be weighed against the prospect of an opponent with a hand that beats you calling or raising you. Whether there is any value in betting the river will depend on your opponents' tendencies, as well as the board's texture, how the hand was played from pre-flop to river, whether a bluff is necessary to get your opponent to lay down a slightly better hand, and whether a blocker bet is necessary to prevent your opponent from bluffing.
8. Losing players often act impulsively, without discipline.
Whenever you get any sense during a hand that you are in danger of overplaying it, or misplaying it, stop and think about everything that has happened, especially your opponents' betting patterns in the hand and their tendencies generally. If you get the sense that this will be one of those big losing hands that you will remember for a long time, or that you are about to make a big mistake, stop yourself for a moment and play the hand cautiously. If you simply think before you act and have the discipline to make a big lay down, or to refrain from betting or bluffing when it probably will not be profitable to do so, you can minimize what you lose, when you happen to lose, and thereby increase what you win in the long term.
9. Losing players fail to make decisions that have positive expected value.
My definition of a 'weak tight' player is one who plays so excessively tight, for fear of losing money in the short run, that he fails to make moves that would have long term positive expected value for him, and thereby costs himself money in the long run. A 'strong' (or good) player, in my mind, usually will make whatever move will be profitable for him in the long run, i.e. that which has positive expected value, and a strong player is not afraid to lose money in the short run. This concept can apply to any type of action you can take in poker, including betting for value, betting to block your opponent from betting, raising, checking, check-raising, calling with a draw, calling with a made hand, bluffing, semi-bluffing, making a tough fold, etc. For example, if you have AQ of hearts and the flop comes 943 with two hearts, you have to know that you are actually the favorite against any one pair hand except QQ, KK or AA. So unless you have some reason to believe that one of your opponents has one of those premium pocket pairs, or has flopped a set or two pair, you should confidently bet or raise on the flop for value. Another example is failing to make a call or a value bet on the river with a solid hand like two pair just because there is a possible flush on the board. Unless your opponent played the hand in such a way that you should believe he has such a hand, you should not necessarily conclude that he does.
Naturally, in order to do what is 'plus-EV,' one needs to first know why a certain move is or is not plus-EV. That is, he must have a great deal of poker knowledge, especially as to the mathematics related to draws, as well as the ability to read opponents' hand ranges based on their betting patterns in various situations. But much more important than this knowledge is having the confidence to put your money at risk based upon that knowledge. Of course, some people will never learn to make the plus-EV move, no matter how many years they play – and lose – because their innate 'weak tight' poker personality won't let them grow. These are the same people who are afraid to cross the street because there is one car coming, even though it is moving slowly and is 100 yards from the intersection.
10. Losing players often fail to see the holes in their game and make no effort to fill those holes through study, reflection and self analysis.
Many varieties of mistakes and shortcomings define the play of losing players. Some people are way too loose, while others are way too tight, or passive, or aggressive. Some people get overconfident when they are winning and proceed to play like idiots and donk off everything they won and a lot more. Some people are bad at pre-flop decision making, while others stink after the flop. Believe me, we ALL have our weaknesses – even the successful professional or semi-professional players among us – and those who deny to themselves that they have leaks in certain areas of their play are doomed to continue leaking from the same holes forever.
[Please post your own thoughts about these or other habits of losing players in the comments section below. The purpose of this website is to allow serious players to share insights, ideas and information, to help each other out – so please post your own thoughts any time in the comments.]
Hand Guide: Preflop > Flop > Turn > River
Preflop Planning is an excellent guide on how to think before the flop when deciding whether to fold, call or raise based on your position and starting hand. It's the perfect compliment to this article.
Preflop overview.
Before the flop is where it all starts, where you are forced to make your first important decision depending on all of the variables involved with the hand. It is important to make good, solid decisions before the flop, as it will form the foundations for how the rest of the hand will be played out.
If you make a high-quality decision before the flop, you will set the tone for the rest of the hand and give yourself the best opportunity to get into a moneymaking position. However, if you make a bad decision before the flop, you may well set yourself up for a big loss by getting yourself into a sticky position or missing out on a potentially rewarding hand.
Start as you mean to go on in every hand. Poker machine parts sydney aust. Make quality plays at the beginning and continue throughout the rest of the hand.
Therefore after you have been dealt your cards preflop, it is important to take your time to evaluate all of the different variables in the hand, and not just make decisions on the cards that you are holding. It is important to consider your position and the type of opponents you are playing against, as well as know the correct starting hand requirements. So make sure you think very carefully before every flop and build the foundations for a profitable hand by making the correct preflop strategy decision.
Preflop starting hand selection.
Choosing which hands to play and which hands to fold is fundamental to playing a winning poker game. The best hands to play in Texas Holdem are:
- Big pocket pairs: AA-TT
- Big suited connectors: AK, AQ, AJ, KQ
- Big connectors: AK, AQ, AJ, KQ
These particular combinations of cards have the best chances of winning than other cards, so if you stick to these you will find yourself in more profitable situations after the flop. It is possible to play other combinations of cards successfully, but if you are a beginner player then it is advised to stick with the big cards until you find your feet at the poker table.
Preflop position strategy.
Your position in the hand is an incredibly important variable that you should be aware of in every hand, yet it is something that is all too often forgotten about.
The dynamics of play are slightly different in the preflop betting round, as the small and big blind will be last to act, whereas they will be the first to act on every other betting round. Texas holdem rules full house tie. However, the general principles of position will remain the same, as you want to try and play more hands where you have position over your opponents than in positions where you do not.
This means that you should avoid playing too many hands in the blinds or in an early position, as being one of the first to act in each hand can make things very difficult unless you are holding a premium hand. Be very careful when playing in the blinds, and don't feel as though you have to enter more pots in these positions because you have already committed money to the pot. It is far safer to let marginal hands go rather than to call raises with half a holding and play out of position for the rest of the hand.
Your position can often play a more influential role than the strength of the cards that players are actually holding, so try and keeping the upper hand by combining good position with good cards.
The cards listed above in the starting hands selection section can be played from almost any position, but you should try and tighten up your starting hand selection in the earlier positions. So as a general rule, you can play with a wider range of the top starting hands in later positions than you should in the earlier positions in the hand.
So the top strategy tips on preflop position are:
- Always be aware of your position in a hand
- Try to avoid playing out of position unless you have a strong holding
- You can afford to loosen up your starting hand requirements in later positions
- Don't feel committed to playing hands when in the blinds
Preflop betting tips.
When the action reaches you before the flop, you will be faced with the decision to either fold, call or raise. If there has been no raise before you, then a call will simply mean matching the size of the big blind, which is also known as ‘limping in'. This is generally not a good play, as if you are entering any pot in Holdem you will want to be making a raise and show aggression.
If you are limping in with a hand, you are either entering the pot with a sub-standard hand or you are playing a premium hand too weakly. So the real question you should ask yourself if you are first to enter the pot before the flop is; 'Am I folding or am I raising?'
Good Vs Bad Poker Hands Against
The majority of the time you should either 'pump it' or 'dump it'. Avoid limping in by simply calling the big blind.
Preflop bet sizing.
If you decide that you are going to enter the pot, you should be looking to make a raise of about 3 or 4 times the size of the big blind. By making a minimum raise you are letting opponents with marginal hands come in cheaply, and you are almost defeating the object of making a preflop raise.
The idea of a preflop raise is to reduce the amount of players who follow you to see a flop, as it is easier to make profitable decisions when there are fewer players in the pot. So make sure to come in with a strong 3 or 4 BB raise, and increase the size of the raise if you find that a lot of players are still calling these raises with marginal hands or if other players have limped in before you.
If there has been a raise before you, you must now consider whether you should fold, call or raise. If you have a poor or marginal starting hand you should look to fold. If you have a good starting hand like the ones mentioned above you should be happy to call and see a flop. If you have one of the top starting hands like AA or KK, should re-raise to help try and get as much money into the pot as possible.
Limping in.
There will be a few cases where limping-in will be an acceptable play. This will normally be when there have been a number of other players limping-in before you, and so you will have better odds to see a flop.
The best hands to limp in with are strong drawing hands such as suited cards with an ace or king, or any connecting cards that can make a straight. You are not looking to make top pair in these limped multi-way pots, as they can often land you in trouble. So aim to play hands that can land you a very strong holding or a strong draw, and then comfortably fold on the flop if neither of these materialize.
Top strategy tips for preflop betting:
- Don't be afraid to bet or raise
- Make solid 3 or 4 BB raises when entering an un-opened pot
- Increase the size of your raise if other players have limped or are calling stations
- Avoid limping with mediocre hands
- Only limp if you have a potentially strong hand and others have limped before you
Other preflop strategy tips.
If you are playing in a shorthanded game such as a 6-max table, you can afford to reduce your starting hand requirements so that you can see more flops. If you stick to the starting hand requirements mentioned above, you would probably find that you are folding too often and missing out on opportunities to win money. So you can afford to play other hands such as AT, KJ, KT, QJ and so on.
Good Vs Bad Poker Hands
When making your decision pre flop, you should also consider the type of players who you are playing against. Clams casino pizza near me. If you notice that a tight player has made a raise, it is likely that they have a very strong hand, so you should re-evaluate the strength of your cards in this hand. Similarly, if a loose player makes a raise, it is more likely to be profitable to be call with a decent hand as you could well be holding a stronger hand than them.
Good Vs Bad Poker Hands Held
It is important to not be afraid about making bets or raises before the flop. It is important to be aggressive in poker, as it is a winning style that all good players adopt. If you are afraid to make bets and raises when you should be, then you will be making unprofitable decisions and you will find it hard to ever win money from the game. To help accustom yourself to being aggressive, you could try dropping down in limits where there is less money at stake, so that you can become comfortable with playing aggressively and notice the advantages of an aggressive style over a weak playing style.
Useful preflop strategy articles:
- Starting Hand Selection (Beginner)
- Position (Beginner)
- The Gap Concept (Intermediate)
- Relative Position (Advanced)
Good Vs Bad Poker Hands Play
Go back to the thorough hand guide.
