Part 2 - Pre-Flop Strategy

In part one we talked mainly about preparing for the poker game, topics such as which tables to play and how much money to join a table with, now let’s get into actually playing poker.

This section will cover your pre flop strategy, what to do, with what cards before the flop is dealt, are you in the hand or have you folded?
Throughout this article I will refer to position and action, two key things that will help you decide what you should do with those cards. This article assumes a full table of 10 players.

Position refers to where you are sat in relation to the dealer button

Early Position

The 3 seats on the left of the Blinds, the first people to act once the cards have been dealt. If seat 1 is the dealer, seat 2 is the small blind, seat 3 is the big blind and seats 3, 4 and 5 are in early position.

Mid Position

The 2 seats next to the Early positions. Seats 6 and 7 in the example above.

Late Position

This should be your favourite, this is the next 3 seats. Seats 8, 9 and 10 in the example above. The last people to act. From late position it is much easier to control the hand and you get to see what everyone else is doing before making your decision.

Action refers to what has happened in the hand by the time it is your turn to act.

Raised

You are not one of the blinds, and the hand has been raised by the time the action reaches you. This does not mean that all players have raised, some will have folded, or called and not had the opportunity to raise or call again.

Called

You are not one of the blinds, and the hand has been flat called by the time the action reaches you. This does not mean that all players have called, some will have folded.

Blinds

You are in one of the two blind positions, and the hand has been raised by the time the action reaches you.

So now we have established the terminology, let’s look at what you should do, with what starting hands.

Before we do....it is important that we play aggressive poker, we are not sitting back waiting for action, when we get our chance we are going to bet or raise and put our opponents under pressure. A poker player under pressure is more likely to make mistakes and throw away that playable hand.

If you can be the aggressor in the hand you will limit the number of players you are playing against as more will fold, thus your hand stands a better chance of winning. You will give yourself two ways of winning that pot, your cards standing up and other people giving up. Finally, and most importantly, the pots you win will be bigger, as you have put more money into them, so someone has to match...or fold.

The Cards

There are dozens of examples of starting hand strategy tables on the internet, and being a poker nerd, I have probably read them all. I have distilled them into one easy to understand table, which I hope you can follow, with the aid of the example below it. 

What to do in an Called Hand, pre flop, with what cards

What to do in a Raised Hand, pre flop, with what cards

What to do if you are one of the Blinds and the action is has been raised

So let’s look at some examples

• You have QQ in a mid position, the player before you raises, you should Re-Raise.
• You have TT in a late position, the action before you has been called, you should Raise, if you are Re-Raised, you should then call.
• You have 55 in an early position with no raises yet, you should fold. But if you got the same hand in a mid or late position, and the action has not been raised, you should call.
• You have A8 suited in a late position, and the action has been raised when it gets to you, you should fold.
• You get T9 unsuited in any position you should fold.
• You are the blind, with AJ and the action has been raised by a player in a mid or late position, you should call, but if the player was in an early position, you’d fold.

Take some time to study the tables, print them out and keep them handy, it is easy to refer to them mid game, you’ll quickly get used to what to do. These guides are designed to maximise your cash poker play, by following them, and playing aggressively, you stand a much better chance of building your poker bankroll.

So how do we combine the advice about aggressive play and the tables, just how much should we raise?

The general rule of thumb is that an opening raise should be 3 or 4 times the big blind. So in a $0.50 / $1 No limit game, the raise should be between $3 and $4. Position comes into the equation, and I like many other poker nerds would advise to raise slightly more from an early position, and slightly less from a late position, however never be predictable.

For me, reraising follows the same principle, I like to play nice aggressive poker, when I get the chance, so I recommend reraising on the same way.

So, now we have covered what to do pre flop, the next article will focus on after the flop, and what those 3 cards are telling you to do.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article, I look forward to seeing you at the tables very soon.

Waldorf1