Pre-flop strategy

Now the time has come to work on getting better at knowing which hands to play and which to throw away. We will look at the game by a 10-hand table right after the players have received their pocket cards - at the pre-flop stage of the game. To be able to win in poker you should build a fundamental knowledge on which cards you should play with and which you should lay down. As a Texas Hold'em Poker player you are given a privilege that allows you to throw away your cards for FREE before putting any money into the game. The only players that are forced to put bets into the game are the ones who happen to sit at a position that calls for one of the blinds. This gives all players an opportunity to throw away a poor hand (fold) and only play with good hands. Poker is a game that requires great patience because about 80 percent of the possible pockets hands should be thrown away (when there are 10 players at the table).

The concept of poker is simple - if you play with better hands than your opponents, you will end up winning.

If you master this pre-flop stage you will be off with a good position every time you decide to play a hand. You should know the bad cards and fold while you can. Of course this alone does not make you a good poker player, it takes more than this. It is just a prerequisite to become a good player.

Valuable Texas Hold'em Poker hands

You can put together a table with a classification of the possible hands pre-flop. In the table below hands that always should be folded has been left out. The classification is based on hands at a ten hand table. If there are fewer players the table would look different because more hands would be better with fewer players.

Rank	Hand
1	A+A, K+K, Q+Q, J+J, A+Ks
2	10+10, A+Qs, A+Js, K+Qs, A+K
3	9+9, Q+Js, J+10s, K+Js, A+10s, A+Q, K+Q
4	8+8, K+10s, A+J, Q+10s, A+10, K+J, J+9s, 10+9s, Q+J
5	Q+9s, K+10, Q+10, J+10, 7+7, 6+6, 5+5, J+8s, 9+8s, 10+8s, 8+7s, 9+7s
6	10+9, 7+6s, J+9, 8+6s, 10+7s, 6+5s, 5+4s, A+Xs
7	4+4, 6+4s, 7+5s, 9+8, 7+8, 3+3, 4+3s, 6+5, 5+3s, 2+2, K+Xs, Q+8s
8	A+9, K+9, Q+9, J+7s, J+8, 7+6, 4+2s, 5+4, 3+2s, 9+6s, 8+5s, 7+4s, 10+8
s=suited and X denotes a card with a value of less than 10

This classification is only a guideline because other factors play a part in determining if a hand is a good hand or not in a given situation. The most important thing to notice is that factors such as the number of players in the game, your position, what other players have done before your turn and an evaluation of the strategy of the individual players plays a role in determining whether to play your hand or to lay it down.

We are focusing on a low-risk profile rather than giving a lecture in more advanced poker theory.

What significance does my position at the table have?

You divide the table into sections to determine your position. At a full table with 10 players the table would be divided as follows:

1. Early position: Players who are seated as number 3 to 5 after the dealer button
2. Middle position: Players who are seated as number 5 to 7 after the dealer button
3. Late position: Players who are seated as number 7 to 10 after the dealer button

Poker is a game of knowledge. The game should be played with the knowledge you have on your opponents. This is why positions are of great importance when determining which hands to play and which to fold. This is due to the fact that the player to the left of the player who posted the small blind is the first to take make a decision on whether to play or not. The only information he has is his own pocket cards. This makes it difficult to make the right decision and very risky to play hands with rank 4 to 7. The next player to take a stand has a little more information to make his decision on. This continues around the table, and if you are in late position you should have a good idea on whether to play your cards or to fold them.

An example could be to sit in early position with a pair of 4's and bet only to be re-raised by a player in a later position. The hand is simply not good enough to fight back the raise and therefore probably will cost you money. You can avoid the situation by consistently folding hands with rank 4 or above when in early position. If you are in late position you might be able to call with the same hand - you just have to listen to the information the other players are giving you.

Which hands should be avoided?

In general you should avoid playing hands with rank 6 to 9 and other combinations not mentioned in the table above. The novice player tends to think that a hand with an ace and a nine is worth playing, but do yourself a favor and take a look at the table again. You will more likely succeed if you stick with the basic rules.

The kicker problem

You should also notice that hands as A+X, K+X, Q+X and J+X should not be played. If playing these hands you will run into problems when your opponents has a higher kicker than you. A kicker is the lowest card in a hand that doesn't form a pair. If you have A+3 in your hand, your kicker would be the 3. The kicker will determine who wins in the games where one or more players have the same hand. I.e. if you have A+3 and your opponent has A+4 you will loose because of your opponents kicker.

Hands with rank 6 to 8 could be played as long as you ensure that the following requirements are meet:

You are in late position
five or more opponents has called before you
no player has raised before your turn

If these requirements are not meet you are most likely to get beaten if you choose to call.

If you decide on playing a rank 6 to 8 anyway you should be prepared to fold without hesitation if the flop does not show the card(s) you sought.

If you have A+Xs and the flop shows another Ace but no cards in the suit you need to consider that your hand might be beaten. You should be ready to fold if another player bets and you can't read him. One of the most common mistakes a novice poker player makes is to take such a hand all the way. It should have been folded because it is almost certainly beaten. If you can avoid "falling" for these semi-good hands you are likely to avoid many losses.

Any hand has a given probability of winning. If there are enough calls before your turn you will get what is called correct pot-odds. There should be a balance between the hands chance of winning and the size of the pot to be won otherwise you should not participate in the game.

In other words it should be worth the effort to play with marginal hands. Mathematically it is not reasonable to play with a marginal hand if you are in early or middle position.

But my cards are suited?

If your hand is showing A+5s it is important that you don't overestimate the significance of the hand. There is only a 7 percent chance of hitting a flush on the flop. A rule could be that you should never play a suited hand that you would not play if it was unsuited. On the other hand it could be a good hand to play if you have one of the blinds and are late position. Your opponents will not have a chance at knowing what you have in your pocket. But again - be prepared to fold after the flop if you don't hit any of your outs.