Preflop play is somewhat basic compared to post flop play, but it is the most important part of the hand. That’s not to say it’s easy though. If you mess up on your preflop play, the rest of the hand is doomed.
It is true that you must be tight in selecting your starting hands, but there’s more to it than that. Overall, yes you must be tight, but you don’t just play tight based on your starting cards. There are five major factors you must consider when choosing your starting hands.
They are:
1. Hole cards
2. Position
3. Stack sizes
4. Opponents’ playing styles
5. Your image
The Hole Cards
Out of the above 5 factors, this one is the most flexible. Certain situations require certain hands, other situations allow a little more flexibility. Most of the time, you want to raise your strong hands and fold your weak hands. There are certain situations in which it’s acceptable to limp in, but usually it’s either a raise or fold.
The Hole Cards section is going to be divided up into four parts: folding hands, raising hands, calling hands, 3-betting hands.
Folding Hands:
Sadly, about 80% of the hands you’re dealt will fall under this category. Most of them will be complete trash; others will be semi-decent hands that just got dealt to you at the wrong place or wrong time.
You want to fold the complete trash hands like A3o, K7s and so on. When in early position, you also will want to fold some of the medium-strength hands that you would normally play in late position. Hands like 78s, TJs, KJo are ok to play in late position, but should be folded when out of position.
Raising Hands:
When out of position, the list of hands you want to come in raising with is short. I recommend raising all pocket pairs from 22-AA, AK, AQ and KQs.
You don’t necessarily have to raise small pocket pairs from early position, I just prefer to do so because they can win pots on their own if you get it heads up against a single opponent. Plus it helps to mix up your game so that you’re not only raising powerhouse hands from early position.
Mixing up your early position preflop game probably isn’t a big deal at small stakes no limit tables, so it’s entirely up to you to decide if you want to play them. If you don’t want to play small pocket pairs from early position, just fold them. Don’t limp in from early position with anything.
This is a pretty tight range, but as you get used to no-limit strategy, it will serve you well. Seriously, it’s hard to play hands from out of position.
When in late position, the list of raising hands increases greatly. Now you can raise with all of the above hands plus AJ, AT, KQo, KJ, TJ, and the occasional small suited connector like 78s. If nobody has entered the pot yet, you can raise with any two decent cards and steal the blinds.
Calling Hands:
If several people have limped in and you have position on them, you can limp a few hands in along with them. The small pocket pairs 22-66 can be limped, but I would raise 77+ to get rid of the limpers. I also limp suited connectors and any two face cards, except for the strong ones like AK, AQ and KQ. The strong ones I would raise big to charge the limpers.
If someone else raises, there are very few hands you should just call with. Mostly it should be 3-bet or fold for you if someone else has raised preflop. I do recommend calling raises with small pocket pairs in the hopes of making a set and breaking someone.
One thing about small pocket pairs don’t call from out of position against people in late position who may be trying to steal the blinds. Their range is too wide for you to put much hope in breaking them if you hit a set. Most of the time you’ll just have to check and fold anyways. When out of position, don’t call late position raises with small pocket pairs. There are too many disadvantages to playing from out of position.
A 3-bet is when you re-raise someone who has raised preflop. If I get a good starting hand and raise it to the standard 4BB, and you re-raise it up to 12BB, you have just 3-bet me.
3-bets are powerful moves because they quickly increase the size of the pot. Anytime a 3-bet is placed, the pot is just a step away from dragging both players all in. The main purpose of a 3-bet is to get more money into the middle with a very strong hand.
If someone in front of you raises preflop and you have aces, you want to 3-bet so that you can get more money in the middle. You want to win as much money as possible while at the same time charging the opponent to take a shot at your aces.
Position
You always have to take position into consideration when choosing your starting hands. You want to be very tight when in early position and more relaxed when in late position. When you choose to play a hand from early position, remember that you’re going to be out of position the entire hand. It’s hard to play hands from out of position, so you need all the help you can get with strong cards.
If you play a hand from early position there is also the risk that someone acting after you will raise and make it expensive for you to see the flop. That’s why it’s a bad idea to limp in with weak hands when you’re first to act.
When in late position, you get to act last each street so you have all the advantage. Cards that would be costly in early position can be played for a profit in late position. This includes hands like suited aces, suited connectors and unconnected big cards.
Stack Sizes
You should always be aware of relevant stack sizes when it’s your turn to act. Your own stack size and your opponents’ stack sizes will affect when and how you play certain hands.
For example, if an opponent puts in a preflop raise with what you suspect is a big hand, you can call with a hand like 22 if he has a large stack. If the opponent has a small stack, you should fold it.
The general rule for small pocket pairs is to only call a raise that is less than 10% of the smallest stack out of you and your opponent. The logic behind this rule is that pocket pairs only hit a set 1/8th of the time so it would be unprofitable to call a raise any larger than 1/8th of the opponent’s stack. I actually think the 10% rule is a little generous, because for it to work, you have to get the opponent’s stack almost every time your set hits. I recommend keeping it closer to 5%.
For the rest of your hands, the general rule is that the smaller an opponent’s stack is, the stronger your starting hands should be. As the stacks get deeper, you can open up your preflop range and go for a big score with an unexpected hand.
If your opponents are playing wild and recklessly, you can loosen up your preflop starting requirements a little and go for a big payoff. These opponents are more likely to pay you off if you do hit something. Don’t overdo it though and start playing like a fish.
When tight opponents raise, it’s less likely they’ll give you a big payoff, so you want to drop some of the speculative hands that you might play against a looser player. On the other hand, some tight players can be abused if they play timid and fold too much. These opponents you can mess with but it takes aggression to win money from them, not strong hands.
Your Image
You also want to be aware of how other players view you. If you’ve gotten a string of good hands lately and taken a few pots down without showing down, your opponents might perceive you as overaggressive. They don’t know you’ve been getting good hands – all they see is you raising a lot and taking pots down.
That kind of image can get some loose calls from your opponents. In that case you’d want to go easy on the bluffs and play your strong hands faster, trying to generate some action.
If you’ve been getting weak cards and had to fold a lot, your opponents will think you’re a tightwad. That’s OK though because now your steal attempts will have a higher success rate. It’s going to be a little harder to get action if you get a strong hand, but you can make up for it by making the occasional, well-timed bluff.
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