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Poker Strategy: Pre-Flop

 

01-20-19 10:07 PM
tgags123 is Offline
| ID: 1367611 | 1828 Words

tgags123
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Let me start this off by saying that I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL POKER PLAYER. I do consider myself to be a good player, and to be pretty knowledgeable about the game. That being said, I still have a lot to learn, and there's a pretty good possibility I will look back on this a few years down the road and cringe at how dumb I was. This strategy has been winning me money though, so for now I think it's pretty sound.

For the past few weeks I've been working on writing up a poker strategy guide for one of my friends from college. He loves to play, and we play together a lot, but I am a much better player than him. We talked about going to the casino together at some point, but he was scared he would lose all of his money. So I started writing a strategy guide to help him improve. This is the first part of that guide. If you guys like it, Ill consider posting the other parts when I finish writing them.

Also, if there are any terms you don't understand, or questions you may have about things I am saying, feel free to ask! I'm more than willing to clarify and help you understand what I'm talking about. I'm also very open to criticism, it can only help me grow as a player!

Pre-flop play is probably the most important part of poker. It tells you a lot about what kind of hands your opponent may have, and sets the tone for the rest of the hand. For example, you know if you're opponent 3-bets you, it's unlikely he hits the board if the flop comes 9, 3, 2. Here are my pre-flop tips to put you in the best position to win hands.

7, 8, or 9-handed

General rule: In cash games, you generally want to play slightly more hands than in tournament play. You can re-buy as many times as you’d like in cash, but once you run out of chips in a tournament, you’re out. Other people generally play looser in cash, so it will be beneficial for you to do so as well. I’m not saying to go crazy and raise pre with 46o or something like that, but you’ll find that you can win some additional pots by seeing more flops in cash than you can in tournament play.

UTG and Early Position

When playing at a table with 7 or more people, you should not be opening many hands under-the-gun. The whole table is still yet to act behind you, and you could be facing a 3-bet or even a 4-bet when action comes back around to you. You will also be out of position against most players post-flop. Because of this, you should only be opening and playing a small percentage of hands.

Though hands like KJo and K9s are technically better to open than hands like A8o and A9o, my personal UTG open range when playing 7+ handed looks a little like this:



If you want to play on the tighter side, folding a lot of weaker suited aces is probably the more “correct” play, especially in tournament play.

Limping under-the-gun is generally a bad idea, for the same reason opening loose under-the-gun is a bad idea. You will almost certainly be facing a raise if you limp, so it’s better to just raise yourself, or fold.

You should play similarly in other "early positions" (early positions are UTG, UTG+1, and UTG+2). You can open up your range a little more UTG+1 and UTG+2, but still be aware that most of the table is still yet to act behind you, and you won’t be in great position post-flop.

My UTG+2 open range looks a little like this:



If someone opens UTG or UTG+1 in front of me, I’m folding a lot of hands. When someone opens in early position, they are usually strong.

Middle Position

If you’re in middle position and no one has opened before you, you can widen your opening range a bit. Maybe something like this:



Button

If you’re on the button and no one has opened in front of you, you want to open a lot of hands. You will be last to act post-flop, and you can use that to your advantage. Typically you will want to increase your raise size if opening on the button, to put more pressure on the blinds. I’m gonna stop making charts because I’m lazy lol. Obviously still fold trash hands, but play a lot more suited one-gappers and stuff like that.

Small Blind

A lot of new players think you should be calling loose from the small blind since you already have money in the pot, but this is not necessarily the case. You will be out of position against every player post-flop, making it very difficult to play. I would recommend calling an open with a smaller range of hands in the small blind as opposed to the button or cut-off, because of position.

If the action folds around to you in the small blind, limping with a wide range isn’t as bad of a play. You only have to worry about the big blind behind you, and oftentimes he will check behind, allowing you to see a cheap flop.

If action folds around to you in the small blind and you choose to raise, opt for a larger raise size, to put pressure on the big blind. If you go for a 3x raise, the big blind will defend with ~80% of hands. A 5x or 6x raise will force him to fold more often, and give you a better understanding of his range if he does call.

Big Blind

With the exception of hands like 72o, 83o, 62o, and other absolute garbage, I defend my big blind against a 3x or 4x raise almost all the time. You’re getting a discount and you already have money committed to the pot, so you might as well see the flop. Additionally, it protects you from being exploited. If an opponent knows you’re folding a lot in the big blind, they’ll raise it up every time in an attempt to steal the blinds.

3-betting

3-betting is an extremely important tool that, up until recently, I hadn’t been using often enough. It gives you the option of taking down the pot without even seeing a flop, narrows your opponent(s) range if you do get called, and builds a bigger pot if you have a premium hand. It also makes you appear strong, which you can use to your advantage regardless of whether or not you hit the flop. You should almost always 3-bet your premium hands. KK, QQ, JJ, AK should all be instant 3-bets, no matter what. AQ, AJs, TT should be 3-bets most of the time. AA should almost always be a 3-bet as well, but there are very specific circumstances where flat calling to trap may be acceptable, such as if you’re trying to get a short stack to jam into you at a tournament. 99% of the time though, you should be 3-betting AA. 99, ATs, and AJo are also hands that you should be 3-betting some of the time, but certainly not all of the time.

You should also mix in some 3-bet bluffs, which allow you to either steal the pot pre-flop, or set you up for a bigger bluff if the flop is favorable to your range. A5s is my favorite 3-bet bluff hand. Your opponent is less likely to have an A because you block it, leading to a higher chance of the bluff being successful pre-flop. Even if you get called, you are a favorite against some hands that may be calling you like KQs or QJs, and you also have a lot of playability post-flop with straight and flush possibilities. You can also hit an A to beat out pocket pairs. The only downside to 3-bet bluffing with A5s is that, if you do get called, there is a decent chance your opponent will have you dominated, and you could get into trouble if the flop comes A-high. Other good 3-bet bluff hands are middle suited connectors, because they have great playability post-flop, and it’s unlikely that your opponent has you dominated.

As far as sizing goes, a 3-bet should be big enough to put pressure on the raiser (and other callers) and force them to fold their weaker hands. The exact amount depends on the situation, and whether it is tournament or cash. As an example, the typical 3-bet size in our .25/.50 games is $5.50 to $6 (if the open is $1.50).

If you get 3-bet

Getting 3-bet pre-flop is one of the toughest spots in poker in my opinion. You don’t want to fold too much, because if your opponents pick up on it they will be able to exploit you. You also don’t want to call with too many hands, because your opponent may have you dominated a good amount of the time. I’ll break it down by your three options, and which one I like to go with for each type of hand.

4-bets: AA, KK, QQ, AK should be 4-bets most of the time, especially in cash games. You can throw in hands like JJ and AQs in there some of the time as well. I don’t 4-bet bluff often, but if you feel like you can get your opponent to fold, A5s is a good candidate, for the same reason I mentioned in the 3-betting section.

Flat calls: JJ and AQs some of the time. AQo, AJo, AJs, ATs, KQs, TT, 99 most of the time. AT, 88, 77, QJs, JTs, KJs some of the time.

Folds: Aces worse than AT most of the time (because you’re often dominated by a better ace). Pocket pairs lower than 77. Suited connectors lower than JTs (would prefer a 4-bet if you’re going to play them).

I want to emphasize that these are just general rules about how I typically construct my ranges, and are in now way set in stone. The point of these examples is to give you an idea of how tight or loose you should be in certain situations. These are in no way rules that you need to follow every time, as every situation is different.

6-handed or less

When you play with less people, you should open your range up more. Basically take everything I said in the previous part, and add an extra 5%-10% of hands to your range.

And that's pretty much it for my pre-flop strategy. Like I said, if you have any questions about anything, please let me know. I'm super receptive to questions, as well as criticism. I know there aren't a ton of poker players on Vizzed, but I'm hoping this strategy guide can help at least one person out!
Let me start this off by saying that I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL POKER PLAYER. I do consider myself to be a good player, and to be pretty knowledgeable about the game. That being said, I still have a lot to learn, and there's a pretty good possibility I will look back on this a few years down the road and cringe at how dumb I was. This strategy has been winning me money though, so for now I think it's pretty sound.

For the past few weeks I've been working on writing up a poker strategy guide for one of my friends from college. He loves to play, and we play together a lot, but I am a much better player than him. We talked about going to the casino together at some point, but he was scared he would lose all of his money. So I started writing a strategy guide to help him improve. This is the first part of that guide. If you guys like it, Ill consider posting the other parts when I finish writing them.

Also, if there are any terms you don't understand, or questions you may have about things I am saying, feel free to ask! I'm more than willing to clarify and help you understand what I'm talking about. I'm also very open to criticism, it can only help me grow as a player!

Pre-flop play is probably the most important part of poker. It tells you a lot about what kind of hands your opponent may have, and sets the tone for the rest of the hand. For example, you know if you're opponent 3-bets you, it's unlikely he hits the board if the flop comes 9, 3, 2. Here are my pre-flop tips to put you in the best position to win hands.

7, 8, or 9-handed

General rule: In cash games, you generally want to play slightly more hands than in tournament play. You can re-buy as many times as you’d like in cash, but once you run out of chips in a tournament, you’re out. Other people generally play looser in cash, so it will be beneficial for you to do so as well. I’m not saying to go crazy and raise pre with 46o or something like that, but you’ll find that you can win some additional pots by seeing more flops in cash than you can in tournament play.

UTG and Early Position

When playing at a table with 7 or more people, you should not be opening many hands under-the-gun. The whole table is still yet to act behind you, and you could be facing a 3-bet or even a 4-bet when action comes back around to you. You will also be out of position against most players post-flop. Because of this, you should only be opening and playing a small percentage of hands.

Though hands like KJo and K9s are technically better to open than hands like A8o and A9o, my personal UTG open range when playing 7+ handed looks a little like this:



If you want to play on the tighter side, folding a lot of weaker suited aces is probably the more “correct” play, especially in tournament play.

Limping under-the-gun is generally a bad idea, for the same reason opening loose under-the-gun is a bad idea. You will almost certainly be facing a raise if you limp, so it’s better to just raise yourself, or fold.

You should play similarly in other "early positions" (early positions are UTG, UTG+1, and UTG+2). You can open up your range a little more UTG+1 and UTG+2, but still be aware that most of the table is still yet to act behind you, and you won’t be in great position post-flop.

My UTG+2 open range looks a little like this:



If someone opens UTG or UTG+1 in front of me, I’m folding a lot of hands. When someone opens in early position, they are usually strong.

Middle Position

If you’re in middle position and no one has opened before you, you can widen your opening range a bit. Maybe something like this:



Button

If you’re on the button and no one has opened in front of you, you want to open a lot of hands. You will be last to act post-flop, and you can use that to your advantage. Typically you will want to increase your raise size if opening on the button, to put more pressure on the blinds. I’m gonna stop making charts because I’m lazy lol. Obviously still fold trash hands, but play a lot more suited one-gappers and stuff like that.

Small Blind

A lot of new players think you should be calling loose from the small blind since you already have money in the pot, but this is not necessarily the case. You will be out of position against every player post-flop, making it very difficult to play. I would recommend calling an open with a smaller range of hands in the small blind as opposed to the button or cut-off, because of position.

If the action folds around to you in the small blind, limping with a wide range isn’t as bad of a play. You only have to worry about the big blind behind you, and oftentimes he will check behind, allowing you to see a cheap flop.

If action folds around to you in the small blind and you choose to raise, opt for a larger raise size, to put pressure on the big blind. If you go for a 3x raise, the big blind will defend with ~80% of hands. A 5x or 6x raise will force him to fold more often, and give you a better understanding of his range if he does call.

Big Blind

With the exception of hands like 72o, 83o, 62o, and other absolute garbage, I defend my big blind against a 3x or 4x raise almost all the time. You’re getting a discount and you already have money committed to the pot, so you might as well see the flop. Additionally, it protects you from being exploited. If an opponent knows you’re folding a lot in the big blind, they’ll raise it up every time in an attempt to steal the blinds.

3-betting

3-betting is an extremely important tool that, up until recently, I hadn’t been using often enough. It gives you the option of taking down the pot without even seeing a flop, narrows your opponent(s) range if you do get called, and builds a bigger pot if you have a premium hand. It also makes you appear strong, which you can use to your advantage regardless of whether or not you hit the flop. You should almost always 3-bet your premium hands. KK, QQ, JJ, AK should all be instant 3-bets, no matter what. AQ, AJs, TT should be 3-bets most of the time. AA should almost always be a 3-bet as well, but there are very specific circumstances where flat calling to trap may be acceptable, such as if you’re trying to get a short stack to jam into you at a tournament. 99% of the time though, you should be 3-betting AA. 99, ATs, and AJo are also hands that you should be 3-betting some of the time, but certainly not all of the time.

You should also mix in some 3-bet bluffs, which allow you to either steal the pot pre-flop, or set you up for a bigger bluff if the flop is favorable to your range. A5s is my favorite 3-bet bluff hand. Your opponent is less likely to have an A because you block it, leading to a higher chance of the bluff being successful pre-flop. Even if you get called, you are a favorite against some hands that may be calling you like KQs or QJs, and you also have a lot of playability post-flop with straight and flush possibilities. You can also hit an A to beat out pocket pairs. The only downside to 3-bet bluffing with A5s is that, if you do get called, there is a decent chance your opponent will have you dominated, and you could get into trouble if the flop comes A-high. Other good 3-bet bluff hands are middle suited connectors, because they have great playability post-flop, and it’s unlikely that your opponent has you dominated.

As far as sizing goes, a 3-bet should be big enough to put pressure on the raiser (and other callers) and force them to fold their weaker hands. The exact amount depends on the situation, and whether it is tournament or cash. As an example, the typical 3-bet size in our .25/.50 games is $5.50 to $6 (if the open is $1.50).

If you get 3-bet

Getting 3-bet pre-flop is one of the toughest spots in poker in my opinion. You don’t want to fold too much, because if your opponents pick up on it they will be able to exploit you. You also don’t want to call with too many hands, because your opponent may have you dominated a good amount of the time. I’ll break it down by your three options, and which one I like to go with for each type of hand.

4-bets: AA, KK, QQ, AK should be 4-bets most of the time, especially in cash games. You can throw in hands like JJ and AQs in there some of the time as well. I don’t 4-bet bluff often, but if you feel like you can get your opponent to fold, A5s is a good candidate, for the same reason I mentioned in the 3-betting section.

Flat calls: JJ and AQs some of the time. AQo, AJo, AJs, ATs, KQs, TT, 99 most of the time. AT, 88, 77, QJs, JTs, KJs some of the time.

Folds: Aces worse than AT most of the time (because you’re often dominated by a better ace). Pocket pairs lower than 77. Suited connectors lower than JTs (would prefer a 4-bet if you’re going to play them).

I want to emphasize that these are just general rules about how I typically construct my ranges, and are in now way set in stone. The point of these examples is to give you an idea of how tight or loose you should be in certain situations. These are in no way rules that you need to follow every time, as every situation is different.

6-handed or less

When you play with less people, you should open your range up more. Basically take everything I said in the previous part, and add an extra 5%-10% of hands to your range.

And that's pretty much it for my pre-flop strategy. Like I said, if you have any questions about anything, please let me know. I'm super receptive to questions, as well as criticism. I know there aren't a ton of poker players on Vizzed, but I'm hoping this strategy guide can help at least one person out!
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01-20-19 11:42 PM
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tgags123 : It's a good basic guide honestly, Poker is one of those games where Logic is useful but doesn't mean you'll be successful. 

I could call with a 2,7 and beat your pocket Q's sometimes.. (not likely I know) but if I get into the hand for cheap and flop a full house... 

Also my poker style is pretty erratic and not that safe. By that I mean I won't just play with great opening cards. Doing so just makes you super easy to read. Winning with a bad hand is fun because it tilts a lot of players.. And you can take advantage of it. 

Playing safe will likely get you further in tournaments but at the same time its unlikely you'll be the big stack and will constantly be forced out of hands. 

Like I said though. This is a great guide for people new to poker or those that want to understand how strong the two cards in their opening deal are. Which doesn't sound like a lot to some people but if you've ever played poker some people grossly over value or under value their hands sometimes.
tgags123 : It's a good basic guide honestly, Poker is one of those games where Logic is useful but doesn't mean you'll be successful. 

I could call with a 2,7 and beat your pocket Q's sometimes.. (not likely I know) but if I get into the hand for cheap and flop a full house... 

Also my poker style is pretty erratic and not that safe. By that I mean I won't just play with great opening cards. Doing so just makes you super easy to read. Winning with a bad hand is fun because it tilts a lot of players.. And you can take advantage of it. 

Playing safe will likely get you further in tournaments but at the same time its unlikely you'll be the big stack and will constantly be forced out of hands. 

Like I said though. This is a great guide for people new to poker or those that want to understand how strong the two cards in their opening deal are. Which doesn't sound like a lot to some people but if you've ever played poker some people grossly over value or under value their hands sometimes.
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01-20-19 11:48 PM
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Davideo123
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Sonicmcmuffin : That's true, regardless of how good or bad you are, you won't win or lose every time. And there are times where hands like 27 will beat QQ. But poker is all about odds, and the goal should be to put yourself in a position where you will win most of the time.

That being said, I hate playing against players that play the way you do because, like you said, it makes you hard to read. I have one friend that likes to play super loose like that, and there are plenty of times where he's been able to clean me out. There are also plenty of times where he's lost all of his chips in 5 minutes lol. Pros and cons.

You're definitely right about tilt though. If you can notice a player is tilted, it's super easy to take advantage of them. A lot of the time they'll throw chips around like it's nothing, in an attempt to force everyone out of the hand and win some money back. I know I play like complete garbage when I'm tilted. I'll try to make crazy plays with nothing and it backfires every time.
Sonicmcmuffin : That's true, regardless of how good or bad you are, you won't win or lose every time. And there are times where hands like 27 will beat QQ. But poker is all about odds, and the goal should be to put yourself in a position where you will win most of the time.

That being said, I hate playing against players that play the way you do because, like you said, it makes you hard to read. I have one friend that likes to play super loose like that, and there are plenty of times where he's been able to clean me out. There are also plenty of times where he's lost all of his chips in 5 minutes lol. Pros and cons.

You're definitely right about tilt though. If you can notice a player is tilted, it's super easy to take advantage of them. A lot of the time they'll throw chips around like it's nothing, in an attempt to force everyone out of the hand and win some money back. I know I play like complete garbage when I'm tilted. I'll try to make crazy plays with nothing and it backfires every time.
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