Hold’em or fold’em?
To begin with, your decision to play or fold the hand should be based on two things; the quality of your cards and your position on the table.
Over time you’ll start to recognise other clues that will tell you whether you should play a hand or not, but if you start with a good understanding of quality and position you’ll be well on your way.
Are they good cards?
There are no hard and fast rules for what hands should be played and what hands should be folded in a game of hold‘em. Some of the most successful players in the world will play almost any two cards given the right circumstances. But until you’ve reached those dizzy heights it’s important to understand that some cards win a lot more than others.
There is a lot of information out there about the probability of various hole cards winning a pot, including our own handy guide. The more you learn, the better you’ll get. Use the list below to get yourself started.
Early position
Middle position
Late position
Remember, suited hands (where both your cards are of the same suit) are slightly more valuable because there is a better chance you will make a flush with them.
Betting pre-flop
Calling and folding pre-flop are pretty straightforward, but what does it mean when a player raises the stakes on the first round of betting? When should you think about doing the same thing? There are many possible answers to the first question – the more you play the more you’ll learn about how unpredictable poker players can be. The most likely answer though is that the player has a premium pair: A-A, K-K, Q-Q or J-J, or ace-big: A-K, A-Q, A-J.
Why raise before the flop with these cards? Well, let’s say you’re in a no-limit game and you’ve been dealt the ‘bullets’ (A-A). This is the best hand in poker and right now you know you’re winning the hand (unless someone else has A-A, in which case it’s a draw). You also know that there are five other cards to come that could potentially make any other hand on the table strong enough to beat you. After all, A-A is very strong, but it’s still only a pair.
Knowing the law of averages then, you’d be smart to limit the number of other hands up against yours when the flop comes – reducing the chance of a player with a weaker hand drawing cards to beat your A’s. Your hand could get better too, but it’s far less likely as you know for a fact that there are only two more A’s out there. A pre-flop raise will force players with weaker hands to fold before the flop – hopefully leaving you ahead and against a dominated hand.
One caller is generally considered ideal when playing premium pairs. Every other caller significantly increases the chances of being beaten.
What's this position stuff?
Your position on the table in relation to the dealer determines which order you’ll be playing in. The earlier your position, the weaker your cards. The earliest position in hold'em sits directly to the right of the big blind – the player sat here is ‘under the gun’ and, as the name suggests, it’s not a comfortable place to be. The problem with early position is that you lack information because you have to act before everyone else, so everyone else on the table knows what you’re going to do before you know what they’re going to do.
The best place to be on a poker table is ‘on the button’, with the dealer button in front of you and the big and small blinds to your left. You’re the last to act and can make decisions on your hand based on what you see other players doing.
A lot of beginners make the mistake of ignoring position, but it’s a big deal. Remember, poker is all about getting information and the smallest scraps can make the difference between winning and losing.
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