Starting hands and the reasons to play them

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Muckem

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Hello guys!

I'm seeing so many different starting hand charts all of them quite similar but they all have differences i know I'm a beginner but i hate just following guidelines without putting any thought into it my self..

For example. As I looked up some charts I overcame hands that you only play if other players have limped into the pot... their is no reasoning behind why you should only play it when others have limped in... and fold if no one has entered.

Another one is why you would ONLY call with a hand like KQo from early position?? Are you expecting to see the flop that cheap with 5-8 players behind you... What if someone raises?? What do you do???

What makes a good hand a good hand and why do you play them as you would???

Thank you very much
 
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Clysse

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There are a multitude of factors why one would play the same hand differently under various conditions. The most important of those factors are position, analysis of other players preflop range, the size of the pot, and the cards that you hold. To address your question of why you would be more inclined to call or fold based on the amount of limpers, the factor in play is the size of the pot. For example, If you are in the small blind with 9-10s, and UTG minraised with everybody else calling behind. There are now 9.5 BB in the pot, and it only costs you 1.5 BB more to call. With say the 9,10 of hearts, youll have a lot more combo draw possibilities that you can play aggressively post flop. But more importantly, you are getting decent pot odds and implied odds to win the pot (at most you are losing 1.5 BB if you miss the flop). Take the same hand and play it in the SB with everybody folding and the button raising 3x. Now you need 2.5 BB to call, with a pair of 10s being the best case scenario a high percentage of the time. Its the same deal with KQo in the SB. You have a high possibility of making the best top pair, and hands like QQ+, AJ+ almost always will raise before the action reaches you.

The biggest mistake that I made when i first started was underestimating the importance of position. I would always call a raise OOP with like QJo, thinking that if a Q or J came I would be holding the nuts. Then a Q 2 7 rainbow board comes and you raise to showdown and lose like 50 BB to QK or AQ
 
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Muckem

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There are a multitude of factors why one would play the same hand differently under various conditions. The most important of those factors are position, analysis of other players preflop range, the size of the pot, and the cards that you hold. To address your question of why you would be more inclined to call or fold based on the amount of limpers, the factor in play is the size of the pot. For example, If you are in the small blind with 9-10s, and UTG minraised with everybody else calling behind. There are now 9.5 BB in the pot, and it only costs you 1.5 BB more to call. With say the 9,10 of hearts, youll have a lot more combo draw possibilities that you can play aggressively post flop. But more importantly, you are getting decent pot odds and implied odds to win the pot (at most you are losing 1.5 BB if you miss the flop). Take the same hand and play it in the SB with everybody folding and the button raising 3x. Now you need 2.5 BB to call, with a pair of 10s being the best case scenario a high percentage of the time. Its the same deal with KQo in the SB. You have a high possibility of making the best top pair, and hands like QQ+, AJ+ almost always will raise before the action reaches you.

The biggest mistake that I made when i first started was underestimating the importance of position. I would always call a raise OOP with like QJo, thinking that if a Q or J came I would be holding the nuts. Then a Q 2 7 rainbow board comes and you raise to showdown and lose like 50 BB to QK or AQ


Ahh makes alot of sense thank you. Let's say your holding those same two suited connected cards but are now in middle position. Can you take me through a few scenerarios on how would you play.

Ex. It folds to you, do you limp or open??

Ex. It's limped to you, do you raise or limp?? If you do limp what if there is a raise behind you of 3xbb plus 1bb per limper. Example he bets .30 in a Nl5 game. Does it matter again how many of the limpers call that raise in order to get the right odds??

And if you could also take me through the hand of Kjo. In middle position. Since this is a hand you are more then likely hoping to connect with with a pair or even better a straight,

How are you playing this pre flop.

Would you open with a raise if it's folded to you??

Would you limp in??


Thank you boss
 
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Clysse

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Ahh makes alot of sense thank you. Let's say your holding those same two suited connected cards but are now in middle position. Can you take me through a few scenerarios on how would you play.

Ex. It folds to you, do you limp or open??

Ex. It's limped to you, do you raise or limp?? If you do limp what if there is a raise behind you of 3xbb plus 1bb per limper. Example he bets .30 in a Nl5 game. Does it matter again how many of the limpers call that raise in order to get the right odds??

And if you could also take me through the hand of Kjo. In middle position. Since this is a hand you are more then likely hoping to connect with with a pair or even better a straight,

How are you playing this pre flop.

Would you open with a raise if it's folded to you??

Would you limp in??


Thank you boss

These questions are a tad too general to give black and white answers. Again, you will need to evaluate all of the factors listed in my last post before reaching a conclusion. In MP though, i will typically only open suited connectors that are 10j+because as you point out in your post, there are too many people behind you for you to be confident you wont get 3bet (which is not ideal in MP with a smaller suited connector *In 6max I wouldn't be against this open). If I do decide to open with that range, I will never limp, but rather I will raise with only my premium hands, mid to high suited connectors, and mid to high pocket pairs (if given proper implied odds I will set mine with worse). This gives me more post-flop mobility because there are a lot of flops that will scare your opponent. For example if u are raising in MP 75% of the time with AJ+ and 10-Js+ 25% of the time, your opponent will usually fold to a CBet on a dry A high board or connected boards like Jc, 10c, 8s if they miss it (which is gonna be a majority of the time). You can also take down boards like 222J if they dont have a pocket pair, 2, J or sometimes AQ+. This style can be exploited though if your opponent is TAG post flop and likes to float or 3bet your CBets on scary boards. If he is only playing AJ+ against you from MP, he will not be folding a dry A high board and has drawing potential on the high connected boards. You really shouldnt be basing your decisions purely on number of limpers, it should be betting patterns and the size of the pot. For example, if people are limping and seeing flops with 70%+ of their hands, you can 3bet more profitably because the pots will be bigger and many of your opponents hands will be marginal. Suited connectors however play much better in multiway pots, due to the multiple times high implied odds (more players = more chips you can win, it also means you will be going to showdown against top pair hands that will pay you off big when you make your hand). If there are less than 3 players in a pot and somebody 3bets pre, I will almost always fold from UTG or MP with less than J10s. And I almost always avoid playing KJo in those positions as well because a majority of the time you will either win small or lose big. An exception would be if u have a lot of calling stations at your table and you feel comfortable with your post-flop play
 
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Awrpze

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The later in position I am, the looser I get. I don't worry too much about hand strength unless I'm in early position, or the blinds. That isn't to say I advocate going crazy with 27o, but you'll lose a lot of profit if you only focus on hand strength. Otherwise, you won't find the right balance between loose and tight play. Don't get too bent out of shape about specific hands. You'll discover what works for you as you build up experience.
 
Stuey

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You have to change your mentality about the game. Winning in NL is not what hands you play but how you play them.
Playing this or that hand UTG and other hands in late position and ... etc is not gonna make you a winning player. Not even in a 1000 years.

You don't play a specific hand because is AK or 65s or A5s but because for a very specific reason and that reason has nothing to do with your intention to make a flush or to flop TPTK with AK. That "reason" what I'm talking about is the KEY to the money vault.
 
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