Starting Hands

[gazu92]

Hello, I have started to think that i shouldn't play certain hands that you will probably instant-fold them, but because of my ignorance i play them, or when try to save the small blind and play weak hands...

List of hands that i will "pre-flop raise" x3 times the big blid:
AA
AK (suited or not)
KK
QQ

List of hands that i will check or pay a raise of x3 or less the BB
KQ (suited or not)
J10 (suited)
JJ
TT

List of hands that i will "pay the BB or complete the SB, BUT FOLD TO ANY RAISE"
any pocket pair less than TT
a suited conector (with 0 gap)

and any other combination i will fold (except if i am the SB probably if i feel lucky i will try)

obviously I don't play 100% like this, if i know that a good player that NEVER pre-flop raises, and he raises... i wont pay my hand becuase for sure he got AA or KK

so, what do you think of this starting hands? should i considere another ones? how do you play?

[jimmer]

welcome to the forum.

Unfortunatley, it's not that simple. If you play tourneys, when the blinds increase, your range of 'playing hands' have to relax slightly otherwise you will get eaten away by the blinds.

Also, a large percentage of the hands i play will depend on my position and what i know about the other players. So for example, if I am playing a home game and it folds around to me and i'm on the button, i will raise with any two cards because most of my homegames involve alot of chat and not much poker. So all i'm doing is playing the players - not my cards.

The same theory works for poker in general. In the example above, if I knew the big blind was ultra aggressive, then i may fold more hands knowing i will probably get action anyway.

My advice is; read through the forum about specific hands. Quite often people will write some information about the other players which will inflence their decision on how to play the hand.

Good luck and keep asking questions

[jeffonline]

if i know that a good player that NEVER pre-flop raises, and he raises... i wont pay my hand becuase for sure he got AA or KK

This is not necessarily a good player, this is a tight player, you will learn how to handle these players as your own game evolves, think about how others see you, use position to your advantage, start by occasionally broadening your range from a late position, information is a great tool to your arsenal. Eg if you are on the button, you have several limpers in front of you, throw in the occasional raise 5X BB with hands as week as Q9 JT, 89s, test their response. Just look for ways to advance your game

[lwestatbus]

Also welcome to the forum.

Another huge consideration for what hands I will play is the number of players already in the pot (and sometimes, but not often, the number I think may call after me). Hands that you may not normally consider playing take on a LOT of value when you are looking at four (or more) players in the pot. So if you are in late position or one of the blinds and face a raise with two or more callers hands like low pocket pairs, low zero-gap suited connectors (5-6, 6-7, etc.) or medium one-gap suited connectors (9-J) take on a lot of value. You have a relatively low chance of making your hand but WHEN YOU DO the pots tend to be enormous. One reason is that there are more players and more money in the pot. Another is that sometimes the threat is not obvious, especially on sets and straights made around smaller cards. That is, if you have 8-7 suited and make the nut straight very few players would suspect this hand and a player with a set may be willing to bet huge.

The biggest pot I ever won was calling a raise with 8-2 offsuit in the big blind in a $2/4 fixed limit game. There were four of five callers to the raise before it got to me so I was getting around 10:1 to call. The flop was 2-2-2 for quads.

The biggest thing to watch for in these hands is when you catch a SMALL piece of the flop, like second pair or bottom pair, but don't flop progress toward your flush or straight or a set. You have to pay close attention to your odds then so you don't end up dumping a lot of money in subsequent betting rounds with weak holdings and unjustified draws.

[Northern Hillbilly]

In a tourney you have to play more hands. In a cash game you can play super tight, but you won't make much value when you hit a hand. I like to show don a few rag hands when I first sit down at a cash game just to get a donk image. then slowly tighten up. Then after winning a few nice pots show down some more garbage. In a tourney you have to be AGRO imo.

CASH GAMES
I always 3 bet 99 in position. 88 or less I limp/call up to a 3 bet in position, check/fold once in awhile I will limp out of position Was hard to learn to do the whole folding small PP OOP but it has become easy to me now. The times I flop a set are far less then the times I flop 2 over cards.

Suited connectors i will most always call a min raise to a 3bet in position OOP I tend to just muck them unless they are 78 or higher.

Tourney I just play LAG till I have a chip stack to play with then I play TAG and will raise in position with just about any 2 cards, when the blinds are small. As blinds go up I slow down. Why I suck at tourney's probably but meh I don't care tourney is just for fun for me. Ring games is where I make money. While blinds are small in a tourney I see 75% or better of flops that are unraised