The key to beating low stakes Hold’em games is choosing the right cards.
And the ‘right cards’ varies depending on your position at the table. You should change which cards you play depending on where you sit and whether anyone has called or raised by the time it’s your turn.
Sounds complicated? It’s not. Let’s look at what to do in each position.
Under the gun
The player to the left of the big blind is known as being ‘under the gun’. This is because he has to act first ater the cards are dealt. As usual, he has three options: fold (throw away his cards), call (put in the same as the big blind) or bet (this can be any amount, as long as it’s at least twice the big blind. Since this is No-Limit Hold’em he can bet all his chips if he wants to – but this is a pretty stupid thing to do as a rule.
The most likely bet is either three or four times the big blind. So in a $0.25/$0.50 game you would bet $2 if you had good cards, and fold otherwise.
The action then moves clockwise with all the remaining players facing the same fold, call, raise decision until the action gets back to the blinds. If there has no raise by the time the action gets to the big blind he can either call, raise or if there has been no raise he can choose to check – meaning he declines the option to raise.
If the big blind checks, that signifies the end of the betting round and the flop is dealt. If the big blind decides to raise then the action once more proceeds in a clockwise direction with each player being allowed to fold, call or raise. If nobody raises and either calls or fold then the betting action stops when it reaches the big blind once again.
Ok, so what cards should we fold, call or raise with in each position?
The simplest way is to break it up into four sections – early position, mid position, late position and the blinds.
Early position
In early position, because there are so many people to act after us we should only play the very best hands. These are the big pairs and two very good good cards. So with 10-10, J-J, Q-Q, K-K, A-A, A-K and A-Q we should raise to four times the big blind. We should fold all other hands.
Why are we raising? Well firstly it is to build a bigger pot – so that we can win more money with our good cards. But it is also to ‘protect’ our hand. In Hold’em no hand is ever that much of a favourite against another and the chances of you winning with the best hand goes down the more players in the hand. Against one other player pocket Aces is 80% to win. Against seven other players it can be as little as 20%!
Mid-position
Moving round to mid-position we should add a few more hands to our raising range. The reason for this is that as there are less players to come if everyone has folded before the action gets to us there is more chance our hand is going to be the best. If there has been no raise in front of us we should also raise here with A-J, K-Q, 9-9, 8-8 and 7-7 and A-10, K-J, Q-J, J-10 and 9-10 where both cards are the same suit – these cards are known as suited connectors. In the hijack seat we should also raise with 6-6, 5-5, 4-4, 3-3 and 2-2.
Late position
In late position (the cutoff and button) we should raise with a lot more cards. Here we should be raising with most Aces and Kings in addition to the mid-position hands. The idea here is that as well as the previously stated reasons for raising we are also looking to steal the blinds by making the last few players fold. So we should also raise with any Ace where the other card is of the same suit, K-J, K-10, Q-10, K-9, Q-9 and all suited connectors.
When playing in the blinds your starting hand selection should be based on the previous action. If there have been several limpers (players calling the big blind) you should call with a range of hands equivalent to a late position player. If there has been a raise then you should stick to an early position starting hand selection. Don’t get into a habit of calling just because you have put in a big blind. Re-raise with good hands or fold.
If there has been a raise in front of you then call with the hands where previously we have stated you should raise as the first player in, except if you have J-J, Q-Q, K-K, A-A, A-K or A-Q. In this situation you should re-raise to 3 times their original raise. So if they have bet $2 and you hold J-J you should re-raise to $6. If they re-re-raise then if you hold K-K or A-A you should go all-in. If not then call.
Try not to call, however, if there has been no raise before the action gets to you. If you are entering an unraised pot you should always be looking to raise or fold. This is probably the best habit you can get into as a cash game player. Being the pre-flop raiser allows you to bluff more post-flop and will win you more with your good hands.
The basic idea is to play only the strongest hands in early position, good hands in mid-position and to play a few more hands in late position as this is the best position to be in poker. As times goes by you can start to add a few more hands to these ranges but it is best to start of playing few hands and playing them strongly when you start out as it is after the flop where things get tricky and sticking with good hands makes playing after the flop easier.
Early Position
Play 10-10, J-J, Q-Q, K-K, A-A, A-K and A-Q
Fold All other hands
Raise Q-Q, K-K, A-A, A-K or A-Q
Mid-position
Play All Early Position hands plus A-J, K-Q, 9-9, 8-8 and 7-7. A-10, K-J, Q-J, J-10 and 9-10 (suited)
Fold All other hands
Raise J-J, Q-Q, K-K, A-A, A-K or A-Q
Hijack
Play All mid-position hands plus all pairs
Fold All other hands
Raise 10-10, J-J, Q-Q, K-K, A-A, A-K, A-Q
Cutoff and button
Play All hijack hands plus K-J, K-10, Q-10, K-9, Q-9, A-x (suited) and any suited connectors (eg. 5♣ 4♣, 8♠ 7♠ etc)
Fold All other hands
Re-raise 10-10, J-J, Q-Q, K-K, A-A, A-K, A-Q, J-10, K-Q