Starting Hands
Check, raise or fold - perhaps these are the biggest questions of any poker game, and the winner is the one who knows the correct answer. If the starting hands could be clearly divided into groups and we could with absolute certainty say that: "With this hand I’ll win for sure, but with this hand I’m doomed" - the check, raise or fold decision would not exist in the first place but, then poker would become a roulette and not poker anymore.
Of course, the classification of starting poker hands is there, and its usage can significantly improve your game, but cannot fully rely on it. While evaluating your starting hand it is important to take into the account not only the cards themselves, but also your position at the table, the size of the bets, skill level of your opponents, the number of opponents, the size of your current stack ... this list goes on and on. The more factors you’ll be able to take into the account, the better poker player you become
The idea of it all is to have positive mathematical expectations from your actions and not just win by any means. Not so rarely (1 time out of 8), 7 2 - the lowest starting hand can beat A A (very strong starting hand), but this does not mean that 7 2 is worth playing! The main mistake beginners make is that they play pre-flop almost all their hands.
One great player once said: “When making a raise - be prepared for the re-raise”. It is certainly not the rule, but do not forget about this saying next time you decide to make a raise.
You have to understand that by making a Re-raise, you clearly represent that your hand is very strong and good opponent will play with you keeping that information in mind, and he can try to collect a hand combination which can beat you. In addition, most probably he will not bet on the flop as he would normally do because you have raised his bet pre-flop. Furthermore please keep in mind that KK and QQ are easily beaten by Ax, if the Ace comes on the flop. In this case you can surprise your opponent with the Ace at showdown by calling at the flop. As you can see, you have to re-raise your opponents, but you need to do it smartly and be creative.
call re-raise: depends on the size of re-raise, it is possible that the opponent has AA or KK. Experienced players quite often can fold a pair of queens (QQ) for example if they feel something is not right in this hand. You've got to play very carefully and rely on your strong cards.
call raise: you can always call a raise with AK and AQ and fold the other weaker cards - in a distance, they make you lose. Also you can call with connectors like (QJ, JT, T9, 98, 87, 76), pocket pairs and A x suited.
To sum up – here is the table with starting hands which are divided into 8 groups:
Group 1: A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, A-Ks*
Group 2: 10-10, A-Qs, A-Js, K-Qs, A-K
Group 3: 9-9, J-10s, Q-Js, K-Js, A-10s, A-Q
Group 4: 10-9s, K-Q, 8-8, Q-10s, 9-8s, J-9s, A-J, K-10s
Group 5: 7-7, 8-7s, Q-9s, 10-8s, K-J, Q-J, J-10, 7-6s, 9-7s, A-xs**, 65s
Group 6: 6-6, A-10, 5-5, 8-6s, K-10, Q-10, 5-4s, K-9s, J-8s, 7-5s
Group 7: 4-4, J-9, 6-4s, 10-9, 5-3s, 3-3, 9-8, 4-3s, 2-2, K-xs, 10-7s, Q-8s
Group 8: 8-7, A-9, Q-9, 7-6, 4-2s, 3-2s, 9-6s, 8-5s, J-8, J-7s, 6-5, 5-4, 7-4s, K-9, 10-8
* s - the first letter of the word "suited" – cards have the same suit.
**x - any card
According to the theory of this table, in the early position you should play the hands from group 1 to 3, from the middle position hands group from 1 to 5, and from the late position hands group from 1 to 7. As you already understood by now – your position at the table in Texas Hold’em poker is crucial.
Of course, the classification of starting poker hands is there, and its usage can significantly improve your game, but cannot fully rely on it. While evaluating your starting hand it is important to take into the account not only the cards themselves, but also your position at the table, the size of the bets, skill level of your opponents, the number of opponents, the size of your current stack ... this list goes on and on. The more factors you’ll be able to take into the account, the better poker player you become
Playing the Pre-flop
The first round of the game is when all players are dealt two cards face down is called a Pre-flop. The success of your game depends on which hands you play, how you play them, and against whom. You need to come up with your own list of starting Poker hands which you’re ready to play with and depending on your positions at the table and action before you decide whether you have to call, raise or re-raise in that particular situation.The idea of it all is to have positive mathematical expectations from your actions and not just win by any means. Not so rarely (1 time out of 8), 7 2 - the lowest starting hand can beat A A (very strong starting hand), but this does not mean that 7 2 is worth playing! The main mistake beginners make is that they play pre-flop almost all their hands.
Raising pre-flop (Raise)
This move has several objectives:- increase the pot size (as a result of winning more money)
- reduce the number of opponents in this hand, because even if you have AA against 5 opponents who have something like 7 2 your chances of winning are just 60%.
- win the pot right now – in this case it does not matter what are your cards.
One great player once said: “When making a raise - be prepared for the re-raise”. It is certainly not the rule, but do not forget about this saying next time you decide to make a raise.
Re-Raise on pre-flop
This move has several objectives:- increase the size of the pot (as a result of winning more money)
- win the pot right now – in this case it does not matter what are your cards.
You have to understand that by making a Re-raise, you clearly represent that your hand is very strong and good opponent will play with you keeping that information in mind, and he can try to collect a hand combination which can beat you. In addition, most probably he will not bet on the flop as he would normally do because you have raised his bet pre-flop. Furthermore please keep in mind that KK and QQ are easily beaten by Ax, if the Ace comes on the flop. In this case you can surprise your opponent with the Ace at showdown by calling at the flop. As you can see, you have to re-raise your opponents, but you need to do it smartly and be creative.
Calling a bet on the flop (Call)
There are a lot of options, let’s take a look at few of them:call re-raise: depends on the size of re-raise, it is possible that the opponent has AA or KK. Experienced players quite often can fold a pair of queens (QQ) for example if they feel something is not right in this hand. You've got to play very carefully and rely on your strong cards.
call raise: you can always call a raise with AK and AQ and fold the other weaker cards - in a distance, they make you lose. Also you can call with connectors like (QJ, JT, T9, 98, 87, 76), pocket pairs and A x suited.
To sum up – here is the table with starting hands which are divided into 8 groups:
Group 1: A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, A-Ks*
Group 2: 10-10, A-Qs, A-Js, K-Qs, A-K
Group 3: 9-9, J-10s, Q-Js, K-Js, A-10s, A-Q
Group 4: 10-9s, K-Q, 8-8, Q-10s, 9-8s, J-9s, A-J, K-10s
Group 5: 7-7, 8-7s, Q-9s, 10-8s, K-J, Q-J, J-10, 7-6s, 9-7s, A-xs**, 65s
Group 6: 6-6, A-10, 5-5, 8-6s, K-10, Q-10, 5-4s, K-9s, J-8s, 7-5s
Group 7: 4-4, J-9, 6-4s, 10-9, 5-3s, 3-3, 9-8, 4-3s, 2-2, K-xs, 10-7s, Q-8s
Group 8: 8-7, A-9, Q-9, 7-6, 4-2s, 3-2s, 9-6s, 8-5s, J-8, J-7s, 6-5, 5-4, 7-4s, K-9, 10-8
* s - the first letter of the word "suited" – cards have the same suit.
**x - any card
According to the theory of this table, in the early position you should play the hands from group 1 to 3, from the middle position hands group from 1 to 5, and from the late position hands group from 1 to 7. As you already understood by now – your position at the table in Texas Hold’em poker is crucial.
