Ways to play Early Position

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Sonaaaaa

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Hi guys.

I was just wondering what everyone's strategy to play early position effectively is?

I see so many times I'm sat in early position with 10,10 or J,J, A,Q, A,J and do you just call the BB and see if anyone raises and call again or would you raise the BB x2 or x3 and then if someone 3 bets do you fold, call or 4 bet?

I play early position badly in my opinion because I usually always get called/raised and then then miss the flop. And then you lose a substantial amount of chips.

I have decided to play early position differently going forward as statistics I have read, prove that you will win the mojority of your chips in late position and have substantial losses in early position.

Is it feel, gut instinct, luck, or is it usually just easier to fold and fight another day.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers.
 
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Naserian

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Simply the worst position you can be in. Im guilty of over-playing those hands in position, nevermind out. Depending on how far in the tourney you are they're obviously worth a call at least but if I get isolated by a tight agg player I might be wanting to fold if I miss(I wish I could think this clearly in games).

You cant go wrong with the first part of ''Hold'em for advanced players'' by sklansky and malmuth. It has in-depth strategy addressing the hands you mentioned ie. group 2(if suited) and makes PF play crystal clear for beginner/intermediate.

Looking forward to seeing more experienced players opinion on this one, 'subscribed'
 
BearPlay

BearPlay

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Like everything else in poker, it really is situational, dependent upon reads on opponents, your image at the table, your playing style, your ranges, their ranges, table texture, board texture, etc.

It's really difficult to give a specific response that would work for you to such a general question, but it sounds like would benefit by tightening up your range a bit in EP and letting go of hands that are easily dominated, such as KQ, KJ, etc.

The place for those kinds of hands, especially in an unopened pot, is in later position.

I do disagree that "you will lose most of your chips in early position". If that happens to be your case, then you are playing too many hands from there. Early position is a great opportunity, for example, to set mine, if the implied odds and other variables are present.

If you want to be more specific or even post some hands, then we could probably help you a bit more in this regard.

Thanks for your post ;)
 
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Lekoo

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In the early stage of the tournaments with hands like JJ , TT , AJ,AQ I prefer raising x3 and than call 3bet with AQ or AJ (if the reraise is small) and folding to all-in. If you are playing against Tag it would be wise to fold to raraise with any of these cards except Jacks.

In late phase of the tournament I minraise with AJ and AQ and bet x3 with TT or JJ if I am big or midstack. When shortstack I shove with TT,JJ and call with AQ and if I am raised I go all in. If the tourney is 6max I shove with AJ also if I am shortstack.
 
MediaBLITZ

MediaBLITZ

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If you are coming in early it needs to be via raising. If you are coming in with AJ (as a habit) at a full table then you are too loose and yeah, you are going to end up losing money from EP.
 
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pokrjoker

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im with bear here.. being out of position opens you up to alot of little mistakes that can cost you dearly. im ok with being alittle tight passive in EP with hands like AQ JJ down. i try to not build a pot out of position with marginal or even somewhat decent hands. this does allow me to nail some flops and set the trap to crack the guy who is trying to use his position to snag a few pots

i even limp some big hands if i have a real aggressive player or 2 at the table.
 
Farseer

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i even limp some big hands if i have a real aggressive player or 2 at the table.

This is about only time when it is good plan to limp from early position. Or to limp first in general. And problem with just limping this style is that people learn it quite quickly, but against new opponents it is frightening tactics. If you happen to get someone trapped with monster hand after that you MIGHT want to limp with small pairs in same table.

Of course it depends how your opponents are playing how you should play from early position. If they're giving your raises too much respect, go for raising larger amount but if there's good and agressive players in your left just raise with premium hands (around AQ+, TT+).
 
Mordecoke

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I guess always raise in early position with these hands. You can easily rep strong by raisin in early position making it hard for your opponent to 3 bet you unless they are strong as well. I would probably see a flop with a 3 bet after raising in early position.
You are more likely to have a monster in early position because it would just be foolish to raise in early without a real hand.
Keep the pot small and you'll do fine.
 
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rocksolid124

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Against thinking players, raising in EP can be a strong move even as a bluff. Against players who only care about their own hand strength, you're just bleeding money from EP.

All situationally dependent, of course. In general, not open limping hardly ever though.
 
Nevkryty

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You have to be more selective in the choice of starting hands to draw, because you will have less information about the strength of the hands of your opponents, as you will make a decision in front of them. Thus, in early position you need a lot of attention to their starting cards.
 
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joe777

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It really depend on the dynamic of the table,phases in tourney and current stack.This all dictate on how aggressively should you play the hand.
 
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YouNeedToChill

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Play tight from EP, should only be opening with AQ+ 1010+ circumstantial though, at a table with bad players you can open a lot wider.
 
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thatgreekdude

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Play tight from EP, should only be opening with AQ+ 1010+ circumstantial though, at a table with bad players you can open a lot wider.

This would literally word for word be the advice I'd give, strong first post ;)
 
TheCol

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I tend not to raise in early position unless I have qq kk aa. I dont limp with those hands. All other pairs I just call the BB and see were it goes. Its a safe bet to limp and see if someone raises and then if the raise is not to big then call it. I dont recommend limping with premium hands though. I have been burned to many times limping with AA.
 
Everybodylovesdeuces

Everybodylovesdeuces

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Hi guys.

I was just wondering what everyone's strategy to play early position effectively is?

I see so many times I'm sat in early position with 10,10 or J,J, A,Q, A,J and do you just call the BB and see if anyone raises and call again or would you raise the BB x2 or x3 and then if someone 3 bets do you fold, call or 4 bet?

I play early position badly in my opinion because I usually always get called/raised and then then miss the flop. And then you lose a substantial amount of chips.

I have decided to play early position differently going forward as statistics I have read, prove that you will win the mojority of your chips in late position and have substantial losses in early position.

Is it feel, gut instinct, luck, or is it usually just easier to fold and fight another day.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers.

First of all, if you are not comfortable playing post flop then you should for sure tighten your range. As you start to feel better about your post flop play then loosen up.

With these mid to fairly good hands you should be playing at least some of them in early pos (I tend to fold the AJ but raise the AQ and mid pairs). I like raising more than limping. Yes you're going to get called a lot, but then you have the lead in the hand. If it's 4-bet, you throw it away but don't be afraid to call a reraise sometimes. If you flop a set, 2-pair, etc, you can win quite a few chips (I'm assuming deepstacked here. If stacks are shallow than you have to either reshove/call and shove the flop or throw it away). A limp is ok if you either have a table that will let you limp and set mine or if you plan to reraise. A limp call looks so weak and these hands are tricky enough to play if you don't smash the flop.

It gets tricky if it's early on and you don't know your table well, but after a few hours you should know what kind of players are calling/raising you and what their ranges are. Use that and play the best you can. It's not ideal, but I think it's far too nitty to always be throwing these hands away. That said, don't be afraid to chuck it in the muck if there's a lot of action after you (depending on which players the action comes from).
 
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sabina1511

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I noticed on 888 you have a strong adavtnage with these cards
 
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hffjd2000

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As they say in poker, position is everything.

In early position must have decent hand to compensate for the "out of position"

situation.
 
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killblind

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re: early position

without stating knowledge of the other players and whether or not the table is aggressive or passive, I would proceed with caution and play your starting range tight like me. I play nothing in these situations but AA down to 99 AK un and AQ su. I raise about two and a half times to three times in early because it makes it erasier to get rid of hands when something seems off. most of the time depending on the player or players that I'm against I will raise and reraise with everything but AK unsuited AQ suited and pairs 99, 10 10 and JJ if I get a raise with AA down to QQ I three bet and if I have jacks then I reraise loose players that raise too much prefop. the good thing about betting two and a half times the pot is that you can play some hands that you normally wouldn't every once in a while if there isn't too much preflop raising! A5 suited is a strange hand because it has top wheel straight possibility, a nut flush possibility and top pair possibility and when you hit Aces and fives with it then it's hard for your opponents to tell what you have. A5 suited is in the top twenty percentile even though it looks like a rag hand. and in the blinds if there are less people to worry about then IO might consider limping with KQ suited AK, AQ suited AA and KK that way if you hit top pair or if you have an over pair you can bet to control the action and if you hit a big hand like trips or two pair then you always have the option of a trap depending on your opponent.
 
Michael Paler

Michael Paler

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Rule number one: Never Limp UTG
How many players have limped HUGE hands UTG, never got a raise from those left to act (so they could re-raise/jam), and found themselves facing numerous players (3/4/5 way pot) with a coordinated board that some joker with 4-7off just hit the nuts with? Too many to count.
Rule number two: Always open for the same amount (2x - 2.5x)
If you vary your opening amounts, what are you basing it on? Hand strength, right? Maybe 2x for J-10/Q-J, then 3 or 4 x for big aces or kings. Well, guess what? You are telling everyone what your hand is by your bet size. Don't do that.
Rule number three: Occasionally open UTG with something other than the expected AA/KK/AKs.
This includes other strong aces, but small-medium suited connectors as well. Why? Any idiot who knows you only raise UTG with big cards will chew you up on boards with all middle cards. They know you do not always have a big pair, so they can bluff you off easily when you do not hit. They know your Cbetting with Ace high at best on boards with no paint. What is even worse, they could all just fold. How long can you survive occasionally picking up only the blinds and antes? Not long.
Rule number four: Learn how to properly Cbet.
You are OOP on the flop when UTG. So you are facing 5 callers. You don't hit. C-betting here is probable suicide as ANY board with 6 players in means someone most likely connected with something. This does not mean you fold, but you need to use pot control here. You may or may not want to call a bet. Checking seems weak, but it is prudent to see what others do, especially when you have NADA.
Rule number five: Never forget you are out of position the rest of the hand. Start asking what the others call with before you start betting with a weak hand OOP. You win more in position than out.
Rule number six: Remember that early in the game is THE place to find weaker players who call with almost any two.
Do not be surprised you come in for a raise UTG and get 5 callers. Do not bet down 5 others OOP with AK high early in a game. Later, when the fish are fried, and you can get heads up more often, do it, but proceed with caution.

Part of becoming a good player means learning how to play and win UTG. It's not impossible. Just gotta be careful.:proud:
 
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DrHorrible

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Rule number one: Never Limp UTG
How many players have limped HUGE hands UTG, never got a raise from those left to act (so they could re-raise/jam), and found themselves facing numerous players (3/4/5 way pot) with a coordinated board that some joker with 4-7off just hit the nuts with? Too many to count.
Rule number two: Always open for the same amount (2x - 2.5x)
If you vary your opening amounts, what are you basing it on? Hand strength, right? Maybe 2x for J-10/Q-J, then 3 or 4 x for big aces or kings. Well, guess what? You are telling everyone what your hand is by your bet size. Don't do that.
Rule number three: Occasionally open UTG with something other than the expected AA/KK/AKs.
This includes other strong aces, but small-medium suited connectors as well. Why? Any idiot who knows you only raise UTG with big cards will chew you up on boards with all middle cards. They know you do not always have a big pair, so they can bluff you off easily when you do not hit. They know your Cbetting with Ace high at best on boards with no paint. What is even worse, they could all just fold. How long can you survive occasionally picking up only the blinds and antes? Not long.
Rule number four: Learn how to properly Cbet.
You are OOP on the flop when UTG. So you are facing 5 callers. You don't hit. C-betting here is probable suicide as ANY board with 6 players in means someone most likely connected with something. This does not mean you fold, but you need to use pot control here. You may or may not want to call a bet. Checking seems weak, but it is prudent to see what others do, especially when you have NADA.
Rule number five: Never forget you are out of position the rest of the hand. Start asking what the others call with before you start betting with a weak hand OOP. You win more in position than out.
Rule number six: Remember that early in the game is THE place to find weaker players who call with almost any two.
Do not be surprised you come in for a raise UTG and get 5 callers. Do not bet down 5 others OOP with AK high early in a game. Later, when the fish are fried, and you can get heads up more often, do it, but proceed with caution.

Part of becoming a good player means learning how to play and win UTG. It's not impossible. Just gotta be careful.:proud:

The only thing I would change about this post is the order of the rules...I make rule 6 into rule 1.
 
L

love that omaha

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I actually play a very tight range early in position and from the blinds in the early stages of a tournament. Raising is usually not an option I choose with AJ or AQ 10 10 9 9 even JJ i will limp 40 pct raise 60 pct of the time. I don't think it can be said enough, most of your profits in tourneys are made when you are in position and hit a nice flop....I honestly feel I can play 56 suited thru 10 J suited much more profitably in position than AJ or AQ from under the gun. Also, the tighter you play early stages the more your raises later on from early position may allow you to steal. When the blinds go up people are suspicious when you raise consistently from late position but one steal from early position per level helps you keep ahead of the curve.
 
romych007

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I try to avoid playing out of position with no hands lady kings aces as it will be difficult to resist the pressure of opponents
 
VizziVizo

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I am usually playing with premium hands ta the early position.It is more comfortable to play at the late position
 
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