Pre-Flop Strategy
One of the most important changes you can make in your hold 'em game is your preflop strategy. The biggest mistake amateurs make is simply playing too many hands. At a table consisting of good players, the number of people seeing the flop should be between 20 and 30%, or roughly 2-3 people each hand.
Hole Cards Strength
Many players who are new to the game will lose pots (and money) by overvaluing their hole cards. If you can discipline yourself to not overvalue your hand, you will be well on the way to developing a solid style of play which will be profitable in the long run. The trap many players fall into is thinking "I'll just see a flop" with almost any two cards deciding that anything could happen and what appear to be junk hole cards could turn into a monster hand once the flop is dealt. Try not to fall into this trap as it has been proven time and again to be a very unprofitable strategy.
When you are fortunate enough to have been dealt a strong starting hand such as AA, KK, AKs or QQ you need to raise the action pre-flop. By raising with a strong hand, you are chasing out the weaker hands and limiting the number of players you will be up against going into the flop. This again seems foolhardy to the beginner but if you play a big hand 'softly' by not raising, you are opening the door for players with weak cards to see a cheap flop and perhaps hit a hand that is beating you. Remember - AA can be beaten by any two cards given the right flop and it often is when people fail to raise correctly pre-flop. The hallmark of a profitable player is knowing when to fold and knowing when to raise pre-flop.
Position
Position is probably the most important aspect in Texas Holdem and any other game of poker for that matter. Its also the most overlooked aspect of poker. In general, the earlier the position, the stronger your hand must be. You have no idea how strong the opponents behind you are, therefore you only want in on the best of the starting hands early. To determine your position, you divide the table into sections. At a full table with 10 players the table would be divided as follows:
Early position: Players who are seated as number 3 to 5 after the dealer button
Middle position: Players who are seated as number 5 to 7 after the dealer button
Late position: Players who are seated as number 7 to 10 after the dealer button
Poker is a game of knowledge. The game should be played with the knowledge you have on your opponents. This is why positions are of great importance when determining which hands to play and which to fold. This is due to the fact that the player to the left of the player who posted the small blind is the first to take make a decision on whether to play or not. The only information he has is his own pocket cards. This makes it difficult to make the right decision and very risky to play hands with rank 4 to 7. The next player to take a stand has a little more information to make his decision on. This continues around the table, and if you are in late position you should have a good idea on whether to play your cards or to fold them.
An example could be to sit in early position with a pair of 4's and bet only to be re-raised by a player in a later position. The hand is simply not good enough to fight back the raise and therefore probably will cost you money. You can avoid the situation by consistently folding hands with rank 4 or above when in early position. If you are in late position you might be able to call with the same hand - you just have to listen to the information the other players are giving you.
More importantly, position will help you determine when to play drawing cards. When I say drawing cards, Im talking about suited connectors and suited aces, as well as low pocket pairs. These hands only improve to winners a rare number of times, therefore, you must earn enough money when you do win with them to make up for all the times you missed the flop completely. Therefore, you want to play drawing hands when there are numerous players in the pot. In early position, you dont know if there will be many players in the pot or not. If you are first to act with 7h8h or 6h6s the best move would be to fold. If you call and the player to your left raises forcing everybody else out you will not be getting a sufficient ROI (return on investment) even if you do hit.
Therefore, drawing hands are better played in middle or late position when there are already callers ahead of you. It is also best if there has not been a raise. This makes it more likely that players after you will enter the pot, and lowers your variance.
One extra note: These starting hands will vary depending on the type of game you are playing. In general, position is MORE important if you are playing no-limit, since it is much easier to 'buy' the pot or 'steal the blinds' with a big bet.
If you are in EARLY position, you can play only these hands:
AA, KK, QQ, KK, AKs
TT, AQs, AJs, KQs, AK
If you are in MID position, you can play all of the hands above, plus these. However, you should probably not call a raise in front of you with these.
99, JTs, QJs, KJs, ATs, AQ
T9s, KQ, 88, QTs, 98s, J9s, AJ, KTs
77, 87s, Q9s, T8s, KJ, QJ, JT, 76s, 97s, Axs, 65s
66, AT, 55, 86s, KT, QT, 54s, K9s, J8s, 75s
If you are in LATE position, you can play these hands as well. Again, you probably do not want to call a raise in front of you.
44, J9, 43s, T9, 33, 98, 64s, 22, Kxs, T7s, Q8s
87, 53s, A9, Q9, 76, 42s, 32s, 96s, 85s, J8, J7s, 65, 54, 74s, K9, T8
Kicker
You should also notice that hands as A+X, K+X, Q+X and J+X should not be played. If playing these hands you will run into problems when your opponents has a higher kicker than you. A kicker is the lowest card in a hand that doesn't form a pair. If you have A+3 in your hand, your kicker would be the 3. The kicker will determine who wins in the games where one or more players have the same hand. I.e. if you have A+3 and your opponent has A+4 you will loose because of your opponents kicker.
Hands with rank 6 to 8 could be played as long as you ensure that the following requirements are meet:
- You are in late position
- five or more opponents has called before you
- no player has raised before your turn
If these requirements are not meet you are most likely to get beaten if you choose to call. If you decide on playing a rank 6 to 8 anyway you should be prepared to fold without hesitation if the flop does not show the card(s) you sought.
If you have A+Xs and the flop shows another Ace but no cards in the suit you need to consider that your hand might be beaten. You should be ready to fold if another player bets and you can't read him. One of the most common mistakes a novice poker player makes is to take such a hand all the way. It should have been folded because it is almost certainly beaten. If you can avoid "falling" for these semi-good hands you are likely to avoid many losses.
Any hand has a given probability of winning. If there are enough calls before your turn you will get what is called correct pot-odds. There should be a balance between the hands chance of winning and the size of the pot to be won otherwise you should not participate in the game. In other words it should be worth the effort to play with marginal hands. Mathematically it is not reasonable to play with a marginal hand if you are in early or middle position.
If your hand is showing A+5s it is important that you don't overestimate the significance of the hand. There is only a 7 percent chance of hitting a flush on the flop. A rule could be that you should never play a suited hand that you would not play if it was unsuited. On the other hand it could be a good hand to play if you have one of the blinds and are late position. Your opponents will not have a chance at knowing what you have in your pocket. But again - be prepared to fold after the flop if you don't hit any of your outs.
Advance Pre-flop Strategy
Once you have played some games and are more comfortable with playing your hands, it is time to advance your strategy. Another good starting hand involves two suited cards. Suited connectors, such as 8-7, are good drawing hands. These pocket cards are good because it will give you a chance to make both a straight and a flush. This type of hand, you can win many big pots with. You will see online a lot of players play a tight game with playing all face cards. So when a flop shows nothing but mid pair cards, you have a good chance to hit your straight. These types of hands many players do not expect you to play with. So with a player playing with high pocket pairs (say A-A), which you have 8-7 and then see a flop of 9-6-5 will NEVER expect that from you and will most likely be aggressive since they have the highest pair in their hands, without seeing your straight. Again, it depends on the flop and then from there you should make your decision wisely.
Your chip stack - the difference in the way you play as short-stack or big-stack varies drastically and can be the difference between first and last place in a tournament or the difference between taking down easy pots in cash games or having to have the nut hand to make any money. In a tournament, as the short-stack you will be looking for that one premium hand and wanting to get all your chips in pre-flop to maximise your potential winnings and get yourself back in the game. In a cash game, as the short-stack you will be looking to hit a big hand and getting it to pay off big against a big-stack who is perhaps playing loose due to his or her stack size. The advantage lies with the big-stack in almost every situation but sometimes being short-stacked and desperate leaves you fearless and you can exploit the loose play of big stacks. Make no mistake though - the more chips you have, the better off you are!
The number of players at the table - there can be any number of players at a table but it is usually limited to a maximum of 10. The more players there are, the more cards leave the deck and statistically, the more chance there is that someone will make a good hand pre-flop. At a full table, you should place extra emphasis on only playing strong starting hands pre-flop as a rule (as discussed above).
Other players' styles - You should spend a lot of time studying the other players at the table and spot the loose players against the tight players, especially in a cash game where you may sit with the same players for hours at a time. Adjust your style to suit each player by playing the opposite to them as a general rule. A table full of loose players can be combated by adopting a tight strategy as any premium hand you get dealt is likely to pay you off big even if you follow the strategy of raising pre-flop. You may not chase out weak hands if the players are especially loose but if you get a little luck and no-one flops a miracle hand, you will come out on top by playing the opposite to them. Conversely, at a table of tight players, it is often more profitable to loosen up as they are likely to fold all but the best hands pre-flop if you start raising. Of course, any time one of them raises over the top of you pre-flop when you have a weak hand, you know that you should fold given that you know they only play strong hands. Studying the other players at your table is vital to playing profitable poker.
The skill of the other players at the table - at any skill level you can gain 'table respect' by simply playing well pre-flop. If you can establish to the other players early that you know what you are doing and keep them guessing, you give yourself great scope later on for stealing and remaining unreadable. The very best players will win a lot of pots either pre-flop or with a bet on the flop by establishing a good regime of raising and folding when appropriate, especially against weak opposition. A very good pre-flop player will often dictate the play of a tournament table, especially in a no-limit game, without too much effort.
The pre-flop is an important strategy that every player must utilize in order to become a good poker player. You must learn how to evaluate your hand, estimate its strengths, and understand how well your cards will play given your position. Learn to fold your hand when you sense strength of an opponent. As a general rule for beginner players, we recommend playing a tight game to increase your chances of winning and reduce your chances of losing.
Pre-Flop Tips
A carefully thought out pre-flop strategy is essential if you are to win at Texas holdem poker. Here is a basic Texas holdem pre-flop strategy to get you off to a winning start:
Consider the Number of Players - With 10 people in the game, there is a greater chance of someone having a good hand, than in a game with a lesser number of players. Players need to be more cautious in large games as more players means more competition.
Consider the Other Players Playing Style - Consider how the other players are playing and adapt your strategy to give you the best possible advantage against them. For example, if you notice a player is raising every hand pre-flop, you should consider playing tighter. You can then take him out when you have a good hand in the pocket pre-flop.
Your Bankroll - If you only have a small bankroll, you should play extremely carefully and select one hand to bet on, hoping to get as many players involved as possible for a good size pot.On the other hand, if you have a large bankroll, you can take the higher-risk higher payout bets and be more aggressive.
Consider Your Table Position - Players in late position have the ability to influence the size of the pot more than players in early position. This is especially true pre-flop. The dealer is obviously in the most advantageous position, as they get to see how all the players play before making their own playing decision. Players must be more selective with their hands in early position, as they don't have the advantage of seeing other players betting before they decide if they want to stay in the hand. Players in late position can play weaker hands with less fear of loss.
Know the Hands You Should Play - When playing Texas Holdem, it’s essential to know which hands you should pursue during pre-flop betting i.e. which hands are most likely to yield a win, and to determine which hands are worth risking money on. There are many books and downloads on the Internet that will do this for you automatically, and for novice players these tools are useful until you gain experience.
Discipline - The most important pre-flop skill is to play with discipline and patience. The idea is to only play a hand when you have an advantage. You have to beat 9 other Poker players, and most of the time, your hand will simply not be good enough to win. Playing only the hands when you have an advantage requires a great deal of discipline, since you will not be involved in many pots. Playing with this strategy, will however, provide you with a lot of time to study other players and their potential weaknesses that you can exploit.
Texas holdem is a game of psychology as well as odds, and the above are general pre-flop strategy guidelines to follow. As you gain experience you will begin to notice what works for you, and you can tweak this guideline a bit to fit your own playing style.
