alasdairm said:
that's an interesting comment - do you have very rigid rules about what you'll play? do you always stick to them?
Here's a good excerpt from poker pro Rory Monahan which may help, long but worth it:
Here is a DANGEROUS MISTAKE that I'd say about 97%
of people make when playing Texas Holdem:
THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY PLAY IN FIRST
POSITION BEFORE THE FLOP.
This is the player immediately to the left of the
big blind. It's the first person to act as soon as
the cards are dealt.
This position is nicknamed "under the gun".
And with good reason, too.
Because this is THE the most DANGEROUS and COSTLY
position at the table.
Here's why:
1. When you're under the gun, you are FIRST to act
BEFORE the flop... and one of the first to act
AFTER the flop.
This means you DON'T EVEN GET A CHANCE to get a
read on the other players before you must make
your decisions about betting...
2. The other players can check-raise you, trap
you, and get a READ on YOU much more easily when
you're in this position at the table...
3. You are more likely to get bluffed, pushed
around, out drawn, and BEAT when you're in this
position.
Let's examine WHY this table position is so
terrible... and what proven strategies you can use
to play under the gun PROPERLY, so that you don't
lose any more money because of it.
Here's an example...
Let's say you're under the gun at an 8-man table.
You get your cards and look down at an A,10 off-
suit. You decide to limp in, and you call the big
blind (50).
The action goes around the table to the other
players. The man on the button (Drew) decides to
RAISE and make it 300 total to play.
You're not sure if this is a position raise, or if
he really does have a solid hand.
With all the chips already in the pot... plus the
50 you already put in from your own stack, you
decide to call with your A,10.
There's one other caller, and both the big blind
and small blind players fold.
The flop comes out:
A,3,6 - all different suits.
You've hit top pair. Congratulations.
What sucks is that you're FIRST to act, and you
know that Drew is probably going to raise you no
matter what you do...
But you don't have a read on Drew or the other
player. If Drew raises, you have to call, right? I
mean, you hit top pair in a raised pot.
So let's say you throw out a "feeler bet", just to
see where you're at.
Drew calls, and the other guy folds.
Hmmmm... so now you wonder if Drew is SLOW-PLAYING
a big hand or if he's just going to bluff at this.
The turn comes. It's an 8.
You check... and now Drew bets 1000.
What now?
You're "pot committed" and you still have top-pair,
so you decide to call.
Now the river comes, you check again, and Drew goes
all-in for 3000 more.
You've already got about 1500 in the pot. You're
getting over 2:1 on your money, and you're really
not sure if Drew's bluffing or not. So you call...
And sure enough, Drew throws over his Big Slick
(A,K), and rakes in the pot.
Ouch.
And the REASON you lost that big pot wasn't just
the cards... it was your POSITIONING.
If you're under the gun and you hit top pair on
the flop, you're just ASKING for trouble...
Because it's very difficult to get an accurate
read on your opponents when you're first to act.
I mean... let's just look at the many ways you can
LOSE your money when playing under the gun:
- If you call the blinds, but then the pot gets
raised before the flop and you fold. (You've lost
your blinds.)
- If you call the blinds (and maybe a pre-flop
raise) and the flop is no help to you. You check,
and there's a big bet by another player and you
are forced to fold.
- If you bet after the flop but get raised and are
forced to fold.
- If you have a good hand but someone else has a
MONSTER and slow-plays you. (It's much easier for
someone to slow-play you when you're first to act.)
- And more...
Now multiply all of these LOSSES by the number of
times you will be under the gun every single time
you play cards.
The result is a TON of lost chips...
But I do have good news:
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.
You don't have to lose money every time you're
first to act before the flop...
You just have to know EXACTLY WHICH HANDS TO PLAY
and HOW TO PLAY THEM.
Let's take a look...
In our example above, the biggest mistake made was
playing A,10 in the first place.
Since under the gun positioning is so dangerous,
you shouldn't play anything except PREMIUM HANDS.
The rule is this: TIGHTEN UP YOUR GAME.
Only play these exact hands:
AK, AQ, KQ, and pairs.
The only other hand you may want to play is suited
connectors, but that just depends on your style...
Personally, I don't like to play them here.
OK, now let's look at HOW to play the starting
hands. There are basically two groups:
Group 1: AA, KK, QQ, and AK.
Group 2: AQ, KQ, and all other pairs.
Got it?
Now stick with me here, because this is VERY
SIMPLE to understand and will save you a lot of
money at the Holdem table.
When you're under the gun, you should always CALL
THE BLINDS (LIMP-IN) when you get any hand in
Group 2.
That means if you get any pair between 2's and
Jacks... or AQ or KQ... you should CALL.
Period.
The goal is to hit something good on the flop. If
someone makes a reasonable raise before the flop,
you can feel comfortable calling it with one of
these hands.
I love playing small pocket pairs, because if you
spike your card on the flop (giving you a three of
a kind or a "set"), your opponents will usually
never see it coming.
Now let's talk about Group 1 hands. The monsters:
AA, KK, QQ, AK
The way you play these depends on whether the
table you're at is LOOSE or TIGHT.
Here's the rule:
If you're at a LOOSE table (where a lot of pre-
flop raises occur), you should LIMP-IN (call) with
your monster.
If you're at a TIGHT table (where not many pre-
flop raises occur), you should RAISE the pot
before the flop.
Here's why...
If the table is LOOSE, and you limp-in before the
flop, the pot will most likely get RAISED and the
action will come BACK to you.
This is good. It means more money in the pot for
your monster hand.
But if you make a big bet, there's a good chance
you will NOT get raised. Because you're first to
act and everyone will know you probably have a
good hand.
If you limp-in and the pot gets raised, you should
probably make a RE-RAISE. Always try to get as
much money in the pot whenever possible with your
monster hand...
But you DON'T want more than 1-2 callers, because
that would increase the odds of catching a bad
beat.
Now if the table is TIGHT, you want to make a
RAISE before the flop. You don't want a bunch of
players to all limp-in and see a cheap flop...
Instead, you want to narrow down the field to 1-2
players and get some money in the middle before
the flop. Period.
Playing first position before the flop is just
plain tricky...
You're first to act pre-flop, in early position
after the flop, you can't get as good of a read
on your opponents, and you're at risk to getting
slow-played.
So just remember, the next time you're under the
gun, follow these three simple rules:
1. Only play premium hands: pairs, AK, AQ, or KQ.
2. With AA, KK, QQ, and AK, you should RAISE at a
tight table and LIMP-IN at a loose table.
3. With the other starting hands you should just
LIMP-IN.
Play by these easy rules and you'll stop losing
money and start MAKING money from this very
dangerous position.
And you'll have a MAJOR ADVANTAGE over everyone
else at the table who DOESN'T know this strategy.