Decent Starting Hands II

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Running Nose II

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It's all very well simply stating all the various hands you can play without taking into consideration your position at the table, early, middle or late and you need to know which hands to play from each. George Orwell's book '1984' springs to mind ' All pigs are equal, but some pigs are more equal than others'. To only play A down to 10 restricts you to play 14% of the possible hands. Playing A down to 9 gives what many players use as the optimum 1 in 5 hands or 21%. Playing A down to to 8 allows you to play about 28% of the hands. Play whichever you wish. If you are playing down to the 9 you will need to rank 36 hands from AA down to 10 9, if playing to the 8 you will need to rank 49 hands AA down to 9 8. Ranking is a minefield where I am not going. Everyone has their own idea of what ranks higher or lower, and the ensuing differences of opinion woukd go on forever. Decide on your own personalised version, but try to keep it simple.
'holdem secrets can' be a useful starting point and adapt it to suit yourself. Use the top third to play in the early position, the top third and the next third to play in the middle position, and all of them to play in the late position.
Let me know if any clarification is needed.

:pcguru:
 
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mojorising

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As well as position, surely the percentage of hands that you will play also depends upon how many people are at the table.

I hear a lot of folk saying exactly which hands they play and which they don't but if there are half as many people at the table then surely you should be playing about twice as many hands.

Are people only talking about 10 player tables when they give these concrete lists of which hands they will play?
 
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Running Nose II

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Sorry mojorising, the number of hands you play has nothing to do with the number of players at the table, be it 10, 8, 6 or 3. It is dependent upon the percentage on whether you include as far down as the 10, 9 or 8. You will be dealt a greater number of hands as the number of players do down, but the number you actually play is constant. Hope that helps.
 
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AlexTheOwl

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As well as position, surely the percentage of hands that you will play also depends upon how many people are at the table.

Lists and charts for starting hands created by poker experts specify whether they are for full-ring (9 or 10 players), 6-max, short-handed, or heads-up, or for special situations such as being short-stacked.
They should also specify whether they are for situations where you are the first to bet, or situations where there have already been bets or raises.
Some charts also specify what stakes they are intended for, and whether they are for live or online play.
If a chart does not specify what type of game and situation it is for, it is usually for full-ring first to bet.

if there are half as many people at the table then surely you should be playing about twice as many hands.

You've got the right general idea that starting hand ranges expand as the number of players shrink.
But the percentage of starting hands that you should play does not double when the number of players is halved.

Google "6 max starting hands" and "full ring starting hands" and compare some of the charts for examples.
 
Wgorham

Wgorham

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I have noticed that the tool by equilab has a portion that you can open that shows starting hands. It has hand charts for each position at both 6, 9, and 10 person tables. You can also customize each chart and save it as a personal chart for each position. I havent found out how to export the charts though.
 
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