You’re finally sitting down and playing – now what?

Well, if you want to be a winning player – practice folding! Unlike No-Limit Hold’em, your pre-flop decisions make up a big part of whether you’ll be a winner or not. Generally, your opponents will play so badly pre-flop that by just waiting patiently for a big hand, you’ll be way ahead of the game.

But there are some important things to know before you decide which hands you’re going to play.

• Are the majority of pots multi-way? For example, with four or more players.
• Is the game very aggressive? For example, with pre-flop raising more than 50% of the time.
• Do the blinds defend?
• Is the game loose and passive and filled with calling stations? (Common at lower levels.)
• Is the game tight? (For example, most pots only have two or there players.)

Early position – hands to play

Big pairs: play these aggressively. Raise, don’t limp.
Pocket pairs: try and see the flop for cheap. If you hit your set, you’ll punish them later on. I’d raise with Queens, Kings or Aces, but keep in mind one pair doesn’t always take the pot against multiple opponents.
A-K, A-Q suited, A-J suited, K-Q suited: Believe it or not, that’s pretty much all I am going to get involved with in early position and if the game is really aggressive I might start folding a few of them as well.

Middle position – hands to play

All early position hands.
A-Q off-suit, K-J suited, A-10 suited, Q-J suited, A-J offsuit, J-10 suited. If you’re the first to enter the pot, bring it in with a raise. If someone else has already brought it in with a raise, you can call with the suited hands, but I’d three-bet with A-J off-suit or fold. If you’ve got a pair and someone has raised before you, you might consider three-betting to eliminate the rest of the field. If you don’t think that’ll work, you can call with your small or medium pocket pairs for value (if you flop a set).

Late position – hands to play

All early position – and mid-position hands
A-x suited, 4-5 suited, 5-6 suited, 6-7 suited, 7-8 suited, 8-9 suited, J-9 suited, K-10 suited, Q-10 suited, A-10 off-suit, K-J off-suit, Q-J off-suit, J-10 off-suit. Note, do not play A-x off-suit. It only has value in a tight game if you’re stealing the blinds, but in that case, I’d rather steal with 7-6.

Generally, if I’m opening a pot in late position, I’ll be bringing it in for a raise. I’ll call a raise with suited connectors, small and middle pocket pairs if there are at least three players already in the pot. I’m not calling raises with hands such as K-J off-suit. That’s a hand I’ll three-bet and use my position to try and win the pot or fold.

Adjusting to games.

Loose games

Most games play fairly loose and aggressive. If this is the case, keep these points in mind.

• Beware face cards. High non-suited cards like J♠ K♥ and Q♠ K♣ don’t play well against multiple opponents.
• Play pairs carefully. Pocket pairs like 7♥ 7♦ provide great value if you hit a set, but be prepared to fold when you don’t.
• Look out for suited connectors. Hands like 7♠ 8♠ (suited connectors) play well in multi-way pots.

It’s simple, the more players in the pot – the higher the winning hand is likely to be. A♦ J♣ off-suit is not likely to turn into anything more than top pair – and a pair might not be enough in these kinds of games.
Yes, A♦ J♣ can make two pair or trips, but so can 8♠ 9♠ which has the added bonus of possibly turning into a straight or a flush.

Tight games

• Raise. You should open with a raise almost all the time. Take the lead and take control of the hand.
• Play big cards. Big cards like K♠ Q♣ go up in value with fewer opponents.
• Suited connectors go down in value.
• High pocket pairs (Jacks and above) and middle pairs (Eights to Tens) go up in value.
• Small pocket pairs go down in value (Sevens and lower).
• Position is even more important when the game is tight.

The blinds – hands to play

You might be wondering what to do in the blinds – this can be one of the trickier parts of Limit Hold’em. First, you are expected to lose money in the blinds. Accept and expect it, but having said that, there is a way to minimize your losses in the blinds.

If there are only one or two players in the pot and the raise comes from late position, don’t call from the small blind. Raise or fold.

Be careful about defending your blinds against one or two very good players. While you are inherently getting good odds on your money, you can be outplayed very easily when out of position.

If there has only been one raise and the pot is multi-way, feel free to call from the big blind with almost any hand that has some connectivity. (7-5, 5-3, K-x suited)

Don’t feel compelled to complete from the small blind unless the pot is multi-way. If your hand is not strong, just release it and pick a better spot. Against one or two opponents, play aggressively or don’t play at all.