Play only premium hands?

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pokeyou

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Often the suggestion given is to play only premium starting hands as below

http://www.pokerlistings.com/strategy/how-not-to-suck-at-poker-play-fewer-hands

That shows top 15 hands which come to a total of around 100 possible hand combinations.

We have a total of 52*51 = 2652 total hands possible. If we just play these 100, that is 3.7% of the hands. On a 9 people table, that is exactly one hand in 3 full rounds (total 27 hands seen).

- This is a long wait; Is it really practically possible to play this patiently?
- Are we expected to fold every other hand or can we check and see other hands?
 
terryk

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Pretty boring way to play isn`t it? :p I would prefer to quit playing than play that tight,,,but some do,,,and complain constantly about `bad beats` But what am i gonna say? ,,you know excactly what these guys have in their hand? How can that be good? Set em up,,them knock em down.
 
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helmutm

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best hands

I thing its the wrong way if u play only the best hands. ur opponents will read u in short time and than u don't wil make money. so find out ur own style. it needs time ofc......
 
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ccres

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Often the suggestion given is to play only premium starting hands as below

http://www.pokerlistings.com/strategy/how-not-to-suck-at-poker-play-fewer-hands

That shows top 15 hands which come to a total of around 100 possible hand combinations.

We have a total of 52*51 = 2652 total hands possible. If we just play these 100, that is 3.7% of the hands. On a 9 people table, that is exactly one hand in 3 full rounds (total 27 hands seen).

- This is a long wait; Is it really practically possible to play this patiently?
- Are we expected to fold every other hand or can we check and see other hands?

Hi. First a note on your math, I think the 2652 total hands you referenced would be the total number of unique two card hands if card order was significant. Meaning the following two hands would be counted separately in that 2652 total as different hands:

Hand 1: first card Ace of Hearts, second card Ace of Spades

Hand 2: first card Ace of Spades, second card Ace of Hearts

Obviously we don't care about card order so I think you can cut the total number of hand combinations in half to 1326. That would bring you up to playing 7.5% of hands or so with that top 15 strategy.

In answer to your questions:

- Is it possible to be that patient?
It is. Some people do it, or close to it, they are called nits. They generally don't do very well though. If other players are paying attention they will see fairly quickly that a player is super tight, only playing premium hands, and will not play against them unless they have premium hands as well.

- Are we expected to fold all other hands..
I think the purpose of a strategy like playing only the top 15 hands is to give someone a place to start. Playing so few hands and playing only good hands means you likely wouldn't lose to much too quickly. As you learn more you would expand the range of hands you play from that starting point. I don't think you'll find any long-term winning players suggesting it's a good strategy to play such a tight range all the time.
 
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Dani_California

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There are people who play like this and it might even work at the micro stakes when players are not paying attention to anyone else but themselves. Still, I feel like those type of players are missing a lot of opportunities with weaker cards and don't do well at higher stakes. Small suited connectors for example are one of my favorites since you have high chances to double up if you hit a straight or flush with them against Aces, set, two pairs etc. Plus, you can't still win every time with those premium cards either and players who play with only them, are quite easily exploitable. It's easy to spot a player who keeps folding most of his hands and then suddenly plays and shows strength. I wouldn't go this way but everyone needs to find their own style. Your style can be anything as long as you're winning with it :)
 
cranberry

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For a successful game you have to play not only premium hands.
If we consider tournaments - the blinds are constantly rising, and wait for only premium hands, you risk being on the verge of relegation from the tournament.
 
oakthyago

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you need to choose your range for open in each spot of the table, for example: if you are no the button and nobody open before you can do it with a very large range trying to steal the blinds. Of course this kind of play is very know and everybody does it.
 
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Good depending on the tournament whether it is turbo or regular will change a lot, as for example I play tighter on regular and the turbos game plus the push and fold more lately I am being punished by the deck. :(
 
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C3H6S

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just play premium hands its to rock on the table....must players rob your blinds...
 
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pokeyou

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Thanks guys for the replies and thanks ccres for the correction; that really helps me.

I think, Phil hemuth's premium list is a good one

All pairs
Anything with A as long they are suited
Suited connectors 56 and above
AK, AQ, KQ

This is 176 hands which is 13.3% of the hands out of the total 1326 hands (thanks ccre). This will make us get one of these hands every 7 to 8 hands which is every round in a 9 ppl game. Pretty playable. Not sure if we should raise with all these hands though
 
Dailon Arroyo Blandon

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If you play only premium hands you will hardly win a poker tournament .... because premium hands do not appear very often ... however the important thing about premium hands is knowing how to play well to get the most out of it ...!
 
thatguy6793

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Thanks guys for the replies and thanks ccres for the correction; that really helps me.

I think, Phil hemuth's premium list is a good one

All pairs
Anything with A as long they are suited
Suited connectors 56 and above
AK, AQ, KQ

This is 176 hands which is 13.3% of the hands out of the total 1326 hands (thanks ccre). This will make us get one of these hands every 7 to 8 hands which is every round in a 9 ppl game. Pretty playable. Not sure if we should raise with all these hands though

Just don't get into the trap of trying to play to many hands. Certain tourney's and table you have to play those 11 hands and only those because of donks that might get lucky with straights and flushes, sometimes you can play bad hands like 9Jo because you know the other two people that called fold every time unless they have a pair. The way you should really be thinking about it is something like this, "I have these premium hands that I know if I play them right I'll mostly always win with, what are the other hands that might not be as good but given my skills and what I know about the others at the table I can win with in this particular circumstance." The range of hands you play should be fluid and not so much play these hands no matter what because poker is a dynamic game and more then likely you won't get a playable hand 13.3% of the time but you gotta figure out the best way to make the other 86.7% of your hands work in your favor. The more you play the more that kind of stuff makes sense, just keep learning and playing smart and you'll see the benefits, good luck to you!
 
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rhombus

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Eek I'd fall asleep if I could only play those hands.
Maybe in 2003 you would make money as the players were so bad, but not its probably a break even play to be so tight
 
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PLAYFUL1

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When playing premium hands get ready to lose more often than not says Playful
 
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mikey481968

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play the stupid hands and hit them watch players cry thats what its about lol i can get people up set at me with in 30 minutes lmfao and say any 2 cards can win then say thats poker live that is its hards to play crappy cards on line
 
Amanda A

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I think you have to consider position, type of players in the hand and size of chip stacks as well as cards when deciding whether to play a hand and how to play it. Cards are just a piece of the puzzle, they are important but there are other things to consider as well.
 
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paulsmall007

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yea u cant just play premium hands, factoring u may not get any action when that good hand finally comes
 
tagece

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I think this kind of chart is just a reference.
The most important to choose the hands you play is your position and who you are playing against.

Obviously KTo have different values if are playing UTG or LP.

I tend to open my range against very tight players, because when you have a dry pot, specially with low cards, is easy to bluff. And I tend to call with medium hands against maniac players too. If you hit the flop, the chances you get a big pot it's very good.
 
AMTF1988

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In my opinion, these hands are the ones to play in Super Turbo games, where you need to double up with a pre-flop shove before the blinds raise too high
 
BlackJesus

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YOu mean tournaments or cash games?

Premuim only would be a losing strategy in tournaments - the blinds go up too quickly, you just have to take chances with lower hands.

Cash games may be another thing though. But even those will notice your strategy quickly, unless you play zoom. Then you can attempt premium hands only. Its not how I play, but its certainly possible.
 
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marakhovskii

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This is a good strategy against stealing the blinds, your button is all-in :)
 
GRIN281289

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I don't play only premium hands. play a weak hand when you feel the need to win
 
quick

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For new players I think it's fine. Sticking to tight pre flop ranges makes post flop decisions much easier most of the time. As you grow as a player you'll want to open up a bit and mix up your starting hands so 1.) regs don't figure you out and 2.) so you can start learning better post flop play with hands like suited connectors.

But at 1/2 live in a casino I've seen players do well by literally only playing like top 10 starting hands. Boring? Yes. Profitable...probably since live 1/2 is lots of people who didn't come to 'fold all night."
 
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72 can also transform to full house after flop.. so .. there is situation when every hand can be very good against any player. My experience is that on micro limit should play more good cards and tighter because lucky donks :) If you know your opponents then much wider range is playable.
 
eberetta1

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That sounds pretty much how i play. Now when i have 10 times the chips of my opponent, i may go in with any two cards just to put them out of their misery. Also, I play a little bolder if I accumulated some chips already. Other than that, i probably play once in 27 hands, yep.
 
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