Pre-Flop Poker Strategy

Hand selection before the flop is crucial to playing Texas Hold'em successfully. The cards you choose to play before the flop will determine how you will play out the rest of the hand. For example, if you play every two suited cards, you will often be calling on the flop looking for a flush; whereas, if you play high cards and high pocket pairs, you will be betting or raising.

Many people think pre-flop strategy is simple, I mean honestly, you only have two cards, and there are only 169 different starting hands that you may be dealt. Some players simply look at their two cards and make their decision. This is the mentality of a losing player, a player who isnt thinking about the game on the right level. Sure, everybody knows what to do when they get pocket aces or a seven/three offsuited. In the first case you raise no matter what, in the second you fold no matter what. But what about a hand like seven/eight suited? Or even pocket fives? For hands like these, and nearly every other starting hand, there are a number of important variables that you must take into consideration.

First we will classify the starting hands into types of starting hands, then we will discuss the variables which you must consider and how they relate to the different types of starting hands. Finally I will give you a detailed walk-through of how you should play each starting hand in a variety of different situations.

STARTING HAND CLASSIFICATIONS

High Pocket Pairs: any pair (AA, KK, QQ, maybe JJ)
Medium Pocket Pairs: any pair (77, 88, 99, 1010, maybe JJ)
Low Pocket Pairs: any pair (66, 55, 44, 33, 22)
High Connectors: any two high connected cards (10J, JQ, QK, AK)
High Cards: two high cards that are not connected (AQ, AJ, A10, KJ, K10)
Suited Connectors: two cards of the same suit that are connected(7s8s, 9h10h, etc.)
Suited Aces: an ace with any other card of the same suit
Suited Kings: a king with any other card of the same suit
Suited Cards: any two cards of the same suit(still a category, but always fold!)
Connectors: any two cards that are connected but not suited(7s8h, 2d3c, etc.)

Your Position & The Number of Players in the Pot

The term position refers to where you are sitting in reference to the dealer button (basically whether you act before most of your opponents or after them.) Position is probably the most important aspect in Texas Holdem and any other game of poker for that matter. Its also the most overlooked aspect of poker. In general, the earlier the position, the stronger your hand must be. You have no idea how strong the opponents behind you are, therefore you only want in on the best of the starting hands early. You would not want to call with Kd10h in early position, in case someone behind you is playing with AK or something. If you are in late position, and nobody has raised, you might consider calling with the same Kd10h simply because your opponents havent shown any strength.

More importantly, position will help you determine when to play drawing cards. When I say drawing cards, Im talking about suited connectors and suited aces, as well as low pocket pairs. These hands only improve to winners a rare number of times, therefore, you must earn enough money when you do win with them to make up for all the times you missed the flop completely. Therefore, you want to play drawing hands when there are numerous players in the pot. In early position, you dont know if there will be many players in the pot or not. If you are first to act with 7h8h or 6h6s the best move would be to fold. If you call and the player to your left raises forcing everybody else out you will not be getting a sufficient ROI (return on investment) even if you do hit.

Therefore, drawing hands are better played in middle or late position when there are already callers ahead of you. It is also best if there has not been a raise. This makes it more likely that players after you will enter the pot, and lowers your variance.

That last part about not playing drawing hands when it has been raised is part of personal preference sometimes. For example, if the first player to act raises, and three others call, you would be getting sufficient odds to call two bets with any pocket pair (even 22) because you stand to win a large pot if you flop a set. However, you flop a set so rarely that you may not want to risk 2 bets pre-flop even if you know you can win a huge pot. Every bet you make in poker can be considered an investment. Poker follows the same theory as any other investment: the higher the risk, the higher the potential return.

Personally, I will call in these types of situations if Ive been winning or if one of the players in the hand is a maniac and will pay me off extremely well when I hit. If Ive been on a losing streak Ill just fold and wait for a better situation.

HOW TO PLAY YOUR STARTING HANDS - A DETAILED WALKTHROUGH

Early Position

Starting Hand Best Action Reason
High Pocket Pair (Re-)Raise Get money in put, put pressure on opponents
Med Pocket Pair Call Call hoping for a set or no overcards
Low Pocket Pair Fold Drawing hand unknown cost/payoff
AK,AQ,KQs Call/Raise Call to trap or raise to pressure, depends on opponents
AJ,KQ,KJ,A10,QJ Call Strong cards but a raise would force only weaker hands out
Suited connectors Fold Drawing hand unknown cost/payoff
Suited ace Fold Drawing hand unknown cost/payoff
- fold everything else including A10, K10, and Q10, unless they are suited of course, the reason is that someone behind you may trap you by flopping top pair with a better kicker

Middle Position

-actions will depend on what your opponents have done, drawing hands are good if there are callers, but bad if there are raises or no players except the blinds

Late Position

-again, the best action will depend on what your opponents have done. In late position, you can call with many more hands because by the time it is your turn to act you will most likely know if the pot will be raised, or if there will be many players. Drawing hands such as suited connectors, low pocket pairs, and suited aces become playable with a few callers.

-it is crucial that you always keep your position in mind and follow this philosophy, "Play tight in early position, loosen up in later position."

Starting Hand Best Action Reason
High Pocket Pair (Re-)Raise Get money in put, put pressure on opponents
Med Pocket Pair Call/Fold Call unless it has been raised and there are a few or no callers
Low Pocket Pair Call/Fold Call unless it has been raised and there are a few or no callers
AK,AQ,KQs Call/Raise Call to trap or raise to pressure, depends on opponents
AJ,KQ,KJ,A10,QJ Call Call but fold some of the weaker hands like A10 if your opponents show strength
Suited connectors Fold or Call With many callers call, otherwise fold
Suited ace Fold or Call With many callers call, otherwise fold

That's pretty much all the advice I have. As you can see, there is not a cut and dry answer for every starting hand. It all depends on your position and your opponents.

This is a general guideline to work off of. As you gain experience you will begin to notice what works for you, and you can tweak this guideline a bit to fit your own playing style. Everybody's different!

For example, some players will fold A10 every time, while others will call even if it is raised.

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