Starting Hands

Debi

Debi

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Poker Starting Hands

Read the article and let's discuss it here!

Knowing which hands to play in various situations is one of the first things you need to learn.

I am anxious to hear your thoughts on this article - and how you think it varies based on whether you are playing tournaments, sng's or cash games.

CardsChat Forum Challenge
 
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Ivansito26

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It is good to read articles of initial hands that help us every day to know how to open a game and know how to get into the hands. As we all know that premiun cards are hands that we must raise and increase the bet with this type of hands, and even consider going All, we can play these cards from any position, and if we tie on the flop, it is usually the best hand. .. we also have hands of the same suit, maybe we can play it if nobody has increased and we see the flop, but it is risky to play it when someone enters all in. The best thing is to retire, we also have low and medium pairs hands that, although the bet is cheap, it is good to see the flop ... for example, there are other types of hands in which you can enter a simple hand that we can even bluff ... but the important thing is to know also that the position is vital when you play a couple of weak cards or letters, it is my opinion......... that I hope we create a good forum here with this thread ...
 
playinggameswithu

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I like playing Ace cracking hands like 53s,64s,75s,56s,76s,J10s any pocket pair
 
mtl mile end

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Typo:

Suited Gappers (97s, T8s, KJs).....
.....Some players advise raising suited three-gappers even (96s, for example) for added value.
 
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Good. The only thing that I can add is that it's good for beginners. The time were you would have 3bet/have been 3beted buy only QQ-AA are gone. People are starting to 3bet lighter, and this does not have to be WCOOP/TCOOP/some_otherOOP or series of the same sort. What I did like is the coverage of suited conectors. On many posts/articles I have read I see strange point - not to make a point about 89s and how it plays, when often this are the $ hands for you. It's not hard to figure out that you have to 3 bet AA, or push 99 with 9bb left, but what do you do with 87s with on MP with 20bb stacks is a question.
 
woohoo sue

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REFRESHING!

After 10 plus years at online freerolls I had forgotten most of this. O forgot may be too harsh a word , let's say pushed aside this. That said I wholeheartedly agree with everything said in the article. It's like reading the bible. It all sounds perfect until you apply it in the world we live in today where players are making new rules.

I printed up the starting hands chart and plan on using it as a cooler in my games. The information is sound and should be used more often in our CC games than the free buys I face everyday where i swear there's a crystal ball App I'm unaware of out there.

Also keep in mind that all the "this is the right way to play poker" advice., can be and quite possibly already has been turned against you.Online Poker is and always will be a journey of skilled and unskilled minds navigating through a sea of skilled and unskilled players waiting for a random generator to elicit your fate as to the decision you made when dealt 2 cards.

We can do the math and say here iis the science but in the end probabilities are just best guesses. Here's to being the best guessers out there!
 
Hackerosito

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Always the poker evolves, but to have a foundation of study in initial hands, resubidas, position, bluff, always I give a review to videos and articles like this then, they lower me again to earth. Excellent sharing in the forum and good for games that start in this exciting world.
 
keokeokk

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This is our discussion for Week 4 of the CardsChat Forum Challenge. Even if you are not participating in the challenge - feel free to join in on the discussion!

Poker Starting Hands


Read the article and let's discuss it here!

Knowing which hands to play in various situations is one of the first things you need to learn.

I am anxious to hear your thoughts on this article - and how you think it varies based on whether you are playing tournaments, sng's or cash games.

View attachment 169151
Well, I like to have many chances with 7As, TT, QQ, KK, 9Js, 79s ... these are cards, I'm sure I'll see the flop ... any pair too, I know it's a little crazy, but this is my style about me ^^
 
Sakisdask

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A new player in poker will have to respond to one with many strong and experienced players ...
very good article for a player who wants to start poker online !!
in my opinion, good for a starting point is to play cards with A and pairs over 4 4 ... and then a beginner does not start with a great prize tournament !!
it is good to practice his knowledge with small Buy-in S&G
:)
 
Herkstwin

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Two Cards - Now What?

The article backs up just about every other book/article I have read about hole cards and how to play them. The math is all there and has been for eons. None of the recommendations change much from one writer to the next.
One author, many years ago, created an Arrow, to help beginners understand hole cards. I liked his visual and have modified it as my game grew.
Screen Shot 2017 11 26 at 33742 PM
While the author had only one chart with the AA on the right, I created several charts, and changed them to read from left to right.
Naturally, this diagram applies only to the kind of game I prefer, late position on the hand, and an understanding of the type of play happening at the table.

Then comes the flop and the games begin, because a great start needs great play post-flop to make a winner.
 
AgentXtreme

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This article is the best for someone who wants to have an online poker experience , and personally I read it before and I admit it was and still very helpful for me , in addition with a lot of playing time and experience you earn plus the article instructions you will find yourself ready to handle all the possible situation and adjust your range of hands with your oppenent one depending on their play style.
I read the article many times and I highly recommend it .
 
zam220

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Good article for a player who starts to play poker online !!When I started playing poker online , I watched the starting hands chart, and he was always in front of me !
Now I understand that it is only suitable for the early stages of tournaments, and at later stages you need to know the ranges of push-fold.
This stage of the tournament, perhaps the most interesting part of the tournament, different activity and importance of decisions.
 
K

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Starting hands

Startin hands in poker can be measured :
Monster hands --> AA KK QQ
Very good hands --> AKs AQs JJ
Good hands --> 1010 99 QKs KJs JQs 10Js
Playable hands -> 10K offs ..qk offs suited connectors etc
Not playable hands -> 62 10 2 73 .. 82 .. q7 etc
 
pedro2125

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very interesting, I think and because of what I studied about poker, that making good decisions with the starting hands are those that lead us to have a better stack , when the final phases of the tournament that is being played begin and a very important thing is that many times we do not know how to play the premium cards to get the most out of it, you can also talk about pocket pairs that can be very beneficial if you come to a game of flirting, for that reason, and it seems to be good in your article and as advice never forget these basic articles that helps us a lot when playing
 
MTCashman

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It can really be situational, but when starting out you should definitely follow the starting hands chart. With more chips and position you can be more flexible with the types of hands you will play, and when shortstacked and out of position you really need to be selective.

You need to constantly pay attention to chip stacks and table dynamics and that can really determine which hands you play and when you choose to play them.
 
RidersFan

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I think charts like the one in the article are good for early stages of a tournament and for players that are just starting out and haven’t developed their own style yet.
There are a lot factors that should alter your hand selection like how tight/loose your opponents are and your relative position to those opponents, the skill level of the other players at the table, your confidence in your ability to make correct decisions post flop.
 
BentleyBoy

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Understanding starting hands and their relative value and strength is an essential part of playing poker, but I strongly believe that this knowledge is just part of the game, and not the first thing that a player should be thinking about. Considerations relating to poisition, stage of tournament, the information about the other players at the table, and indeed information about yourself, as well as the relative stage of the tournament, in terms of stack sizes and blinds and antes, should all be things to consider before even looking at your cards. Having said this, card value is always a consideration, but there may be times when playing 72 is a profitable play.

So , while this article does represent a valuable lesson on starting hands, it must be remembered as simply that. Good luck with your poker and keep learning and improving.
 
Anatoliy73

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When playing in tournaments, it is very important what kind of cards you have on hand, but very often knowledge of the theory does not bring you closer to winning, as a very large percentage of luck is present in the game.
 
demibar

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its really good article for starting hands ,poker is about taking decisions and that is help for choosing the right one ,of course it depends also the stage of tournament and the size of our stack
 
chicopaw

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The article itself is a great starting point, but we all know depending in what tournament you get into ,,your starting hands played will differentiate depending on the few players to left and behind you. Position plays the most important part and knowing how tight/loose the others are.Also the later your in the game most of us also widen up our opening/raising bets,Some games are better off to play from the seat of ur pants,
 
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It depends on the situation. But in the cash games and SNG I play more hands than MTT, because in MTT I try in order to keep my mind up for the tournament longer, unlike the game cache, where you can refill the budget right after the defeat.
 
whiskers77

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I think, it is a very good written article. No fear, Debi. ;-)
For the SNG games there is not so much difference what is written there about positioning and hand selection. Maybe at the later stages or better said when you are in the money you also can open up some more your hands.
Interesting for me to read is to include also about the gapers at late position, well I heard that as well, but I rarely do it, honestly, because most of the time they are not working for me. Only when I know there is someone very tight behind be, but then it is pure stealing in my opinion.
 
Rijckenborg

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Another awesome article.
It is very good to read it to be able to make better decision on which hand to play or fold.

I think that no matter the starting hand we have,
it can be beated my smaller pocket pair ; luck is involved in each hand, always.
 
Alucard

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A very interesting article indeed but I feel it's a bit outdated & do not agree with some of the stuff that is written.
As everyone knows nothing in poker is set in stone. The game isn't "solved" so there's no clear cut way to play in certain scenarios.
I feel like the article is leaning towards a more passive line, & as being a cash game player I feel sticking to these guidelines, you'll get crushed in the game even in the micro stakes specially in a site as pokerstars.

But it's very much important to realise hand strength & the position as well and then have a decent starting hand chart for each position.
But once again it's not written in stone that you should fold small pockets vs a 3bet & similar. As everything, it depends on position, player & the stack sizes.

Btw I personally love playing suited connectors :cool:
 
CRStals

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The worst thing a player could do is to read a set of preflop hand charts, and strictly go by them when making decisions preflop. Poker is one of those games where no two hands are identical, unlike blackjack where you're always going to double down on 11, split tens, etc.

Being predictable is basically saying you're a fish - you'll be read so much easier and it will be straightforward for your opponents to know what you're playing. Recently, I saw someone in CC League re-raise pre-flop OOP with 64d. Should you always re-raise 64d OOP? No, but in certain circumstances it makes sense as being unpredictable makes it that much more difficult for your opponents to continue.

Being in position certainly opens your ranges up and you need to be aggressive, but note that no hand is unbeatable pre-flop, no hand is drawing dead pre-flop, and understanding who you're playing against (aggressive, fish, manaics, etc) is just, if not more important, than your two cards.
 
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