Before the Flop - When do You Raise?

Video: Click here

Introduction

In this article

How to play very strong hands
How to play marginal hands
How to play other groups of hands

In the article about the pre-flop game basics you've already learned the basic principles of pre-flop play. Since these principles are very dynamic and dependent on many factors, it is relatively difficult (if not impossible) to display them in a chart.

For this reason, this article will deal with examples in which you hold a playable hand and no aggression was shown before you (there were either limps or folds). You will see here why you raise, what you can expect from your opponents and how you should react after another opponent's action.

How to play very strong hands

Counted amongst the very strong hands are AA, KK, QQ and AK. These hands are very strong pre-flop and are ahead most of the times. With aces and kings it is basically your goal to go all-in pre-flop. You don't need to slowplay or use any other tricky moves, so the general rule is:

With aces and kings you play raise/3-bet/all-in.

Whoever sticks to this won't make any mistakes in the long term, so we don't need to examine any examples. Instead, let's take a look at a few situations that aren't so clear.

STARTING SITUATION

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)

Stacks & Stats
Hero ($25)
MP ($25)
CO ($25) (34/12/1.1/28/101) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
BU ($25) (26/22/3.4/22/390) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
SB ($25) (16/13/2.5/21/456) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
BB ($25)

Pre-flop: Hero is UTG with Q , Q
Hero raises to $1.00,…

Further below you'll see a total of four examples in which you are UTG with queens. Of course, you raise first-in: you want value from weaker hands and you also want to protect your hand.

You are sitting at a short-handed table where you have reads on three of your opponents. However, these reads are only represented by stats, so you can only roughly categorize the opponents:

CO seems to be a loose-passive player, who you consider to be a calling station. The small blind seems to be a TAG, who plays few hands, but these very aggressively. On the button there's a rather loose-aggressive opponent, from whom you have to expect action quite often. Unfortunately, the other two opponents are unknown.

After your first-in raise, you have certain expectations and you can roughly assume the moves your opponents will make, e.g. the CO will call quite often. However, should he raise, you have to keep in mind that even though he is rather loose that he only has a PFR value of 12, which corresponds to that of a TAG. Therefore, his range shouldn't be that big. However, it is somewhat difficult for you to classify his exact range as he plays in a rather uncoordinated way.

With the TAG you can expect that he only 3-bets very good hands and otherwise stays out of the hand. A 3-bet from him out of the blinds is something that you really don't want to see.

With the LAG, on the other hand, you know that he would 3-bet with a very wide range, and that you are very often ahead of him.

Therefore, what do you hope for? In this situation, it would be ideal if the CO cold calls and the BU applies a squeeze. A squeeze means that he would make a big 3-bet after the raise and a cold call. Afterwards, you have a relatively easy 4-bet and can go all-in pre-flop.

This exact scenario takes place in example 2. Unfortunately, it usually doesn't work out as planned.

EXAMPLE 1

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)

Pre-flop: Hero is UTG with Q , Q
Hero raises to $1.00, 1 fold, CO calls $1.00, 1 fold, SB raises to $4.50, 1 fold, Hero...

Here the CO cold calls your raise, which doesn't really surprise you. However, the squeeze comes from a rather tight player - not really a very nice situation.

The small blind doesn't have position on you and has seen that you raised from UTG. So he would have to give you a relatively tight range. Which means that you should respect his raise even more.

On the other hand, he has a profitable squeeze spot here. He will have seen that you have already raised quite often in the past, and that you are also able to open-raise small pocket pairs or speculative hands from early position. Furthermore, he will have noticed that the CO is very loose, so he might feel compelled to collect the dead money in the pot while getting your possible small pocket pair to fold. His line of thought is therefore good: after all, you are now thinking about folding the third-strongest hand.

You have three options, although a fold can only be considered in very rare cases - your queens are simply too strong for this. Against the small blind, you have position, so a call would be an option. However, this would invite the CO to also call leading to potentially difficult situation on the flop, if you have to play it 3-handed.

If you decide for a 4-bet, you've picked the decision to go broke pre-flop. Naturally, the small blind will only push with very strong hands; however you would even have a profitable call against the AA, KK and AK range, as you would be given the correct pot odds.

This is exactly the scenario you pick - basically, it's no mistake to go broke pre-flop with QQ and AK. In this case, you see that you didn't really have another choice. If you immediately fold queens after a 3-bet, how do you want to play profitably in the long run? You will simply be pushed out of the pot too easily. As a call is not a good option since you don't want to play in a sandwich position while in a 3-handed pot, you almost have no other choice than to go broke.

EXAMPLE 2

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)

Pre-flop: Hero is UTG with Q , Q
Hero raises to $1.00, 1 fold, CO calls $1.00, BU raises to $4.50, 2 folds, Hero...

It could hardly get any better for you: you raise, the loose CO calls as expected, then the loose-aggressive BU applies the squeeze. You see yourself clearly ahead of the BU's range, and especially against the range of the often calling CO. You can still protect your hand, and you thus pick the decision of going all-in pre-flop with a 4-bet. A 4-bet/fold with a strong hand such as QQ doesn't exist anyway.

EXAMPLE 3

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)

Pre-flop: Hero is UTG with Q , Q
Hero raises to $1.00, 1 fold, CO raises to $4.50, 1 fold, SB calls $4.50, 1 fold, Hero...

Here you have a completely different situation: the CO 3-bets you this time, and the rather tight small blind calls, surprisingly. It is not normal that a TAG calls a 3-bet out of the blinds: either he holds a strong drawing hand, or at least a hand with post-flop potential from which he expects enough implied odds. Alternatively, he is trying to trap with a very strong hand.

Once again, you face a difficult decision, but this time you only have two options - a fold is out of question. You are last to act and could simply call for set value. If you hit your set on the flop, you will probably be paid off quite often. Things become more difficult if you hold an overpair on the flop, since you are sitting in a sandwich position, but things are not yet lost.

Just as in the previous example a 4-bet is certainly another option. The CO can be 3-betting with many hands, and especially from such a loose player you can even expect that he is willing to go broke pre-flop with a worse hand. The probability that he calls your 4-bet with e.g. AK, AQ or JJ- is considerably higher than with a regular tight player.

This leaves us with the problem of the small blind, but you lack the necessary reads to expect that he wants to trap you with a monster here. Often, you also see a small pocket pair in this situation as well, with which he wants to stack you in case of a hit on the flop.

Just as in the first example the line of 4-bet/call is probably the best here. However, a call would be more acceptable here than in Example 1.

EXAMPLE 4

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)

Pre-flop: Hero is UTG with Q , Q
Hero raises to $1.00, 4 folds, BB raises to $3.25, Hero...

After your raise, everybody folds down to the unknown big blind, who 3-bets now. You don't have any reads, so you cannot tell with which range he is giving you some action here. A call is certainly an option, as you would now only be playing heads-up and you'd be the last to act. If you still hold an overpair on the flop, you would have to be ready to go broke quite lightly though. There are only few cases in which you would be able to fold an overpair on the flop.

Of course you also have the option of a 4-bet: in this case, you can balance your play a bit, by 4-betting more often than just calling.

REVIEW

With such strong hands, you are very often ahead pre-flop and AK is comparable to QQ in most cases. With the strongest hand, you have to protect, and at the same time, try to build up a pot. To play straightforward with very strong hands is almost always right.

How to play Marginal Hands

The marginal hands include AQ, AJ, AT, KQ, KJ and JJ-88. With two examples from an FR game, we will try to analyse how you should act with a potentially dominated hand or with a hand which is not easy to play on the flop respectively.

STARTING SITUATION

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (10-handed)

Stacks & Stats
UTG ($25)
UTG+1 ($25) (40/5/0.3/35/432) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
UTG+2 ($25)
MP1 ($25)
MP2 ($25)
Hero ($25)
CO ($25) (8/5/1.8/18/371) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
BU ($25) (15/12/2.1/23/800) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
SB ($25)
BB ($25) (12/9/2.6/21/333) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]

Pre-flop: Hero is MP3 with A , J
…

In both examples shown below you are sitting in MP3 and nobody before you has shown any aggression. You have stats of four players at the table and UTG+1 (a rather loose player who limps a lot and calls, but is seldom aggressively) acts before you. However, three players who are all not very profitable to play against, are sitting behind you. The CO (8/5) can be considered a rock, the button (15/12) a TAG and the big blind (12/9) is something in between.

What would you prefer? You have a hand from which you cannot expect more than top pair/good kicker on the flop. You would want to battle out this hand in a small pot, possibly heads-up, against a rather loose player, because there you can even expect to get some value from a weaker hand.

However, in a multi-way pot, your hand clearly loses strength. Furthermore, you don't necessarily want to play big pots against the rather tight players behind you. It will be difficult to find someone amongst these three player types who will invest money on any board with a worse hand.

EXAMPLE 1

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (10-handed)

Pre-flop: Hero is MP3 with A , J
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.25, 3 folds, Hero raises to $1.25, 1 fold, BU raises to $4.00, 2 folds, UTG+1 calls $4.00, Hero...

Things develop just as we had expected: the rather loose UTG+1 limps into the pot, the others fold. With a raise, you can isolate the player. As mentioned before, you would have no problem with facing this player in a heads-up on the flop. Your hand is clearly ahead of his range and you can also extract value with your marginal hand, as this player can rarely let go of his hands.

However, the joy doesn't last long because the button 3-bets you. You don't like this at all, because you'll be playing out of position on the flop against the button. The loose player calls and gives you rather fair odds. As usual, you now have three options: fold, call or 4-bet.

First, take a look at the 4-bet option. The button is a player who has solid stats, therefore, you have to assume that he is a regular player and has also paid attention to your playing style. He will know that you might raise a bit looser, as only the very loose player UTG+1 has entered the hand so far. However, he also knows that you wouldn't raise just any hand. Because of this, you already have to credit his 3-bet with some strength.

If you 4-bet now, it would be comparable to a bluff, as there is no way you can expect a weaker/dominated hand to call, or go all-in by itself. Therefore a 4-bet with AJ is completely out of the question. A call could be considered, but you have some problems with your hand:

AJo is often dominated.
You sit in the sandwich position between UTG+1 and the button.
You wanted to avoid a multi-way pot and your equity drops rapidly against two opponents.

What kind of board do you want to hit, and how do you want to play? On an A-high board you would virtually have to go broke. However, you can hardly assume that a worse hand (AT-) will pay you off.

Hands like KK won't invest a single cent if the ace appears on the flop. You don't have big expectations with this hand, which is why a call would be a bad option. You should believe that the button has the stronger hand and find an easy fold in this situation.

EXAMPLE 2

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (10-handed)

Pre-flop: Hero is MP3 with A , J
UGT calls $0.25, UTG+1 calls $0.25, 2 folds, MP2 calls $0.25, Hero...

This hand looks similar to the one above, but two more players have entered the hand besides UTG+1. Your previously mentioned plan of playing against UTG+1 in a heads-up if possible seems to be in jeopardy.

You could now raise and try to push as many players as possible out of the pot. However, it is questionable if a multi-way pot can be prevented with this, as the first limper before you will possibly receive good odds if a player cold calls.

The result would be similar to the one in the previous hand - a multi-way pot and an A-high board, which is not really something you want. Nonetheless, there are many aspects that favour a raise:

You have to try to get as many players as possible to fold pre-flop.
Tight players are sitting behind you, so a cold call is rather improbable. If a 3-bet comes, you have a quite easy fold decision, like in the previous example.
With AJ you usually have the best hand and you can raise to extract value.
You have the relative position on every player who is currently in the pot.

So the raise option is definitely profitable here, although it's not mandatory.

Now take a look at the other options: if you call, you have the situation you do not want with a multi-way pot. What do you want to hit there? Furthermore, many players are sitting behind you from which you can definitely expect a raise. This means that you would have to either pay once more (and you would then be in a pot that is much too large for your hand), or you would have to fold. None of the options is really profitable.

If you don't want to raise, a fold would be preferable to a call here. Both options are possible, and you should consider your own table image to decide which is best. If you have been rather active so far, a fold would probably make more sense. If you haven't had a notable hand so far, then this would be a good spot to show some aggression.

Let's now deal with further marginal and potentially dominated hands, in particular KQ-KT. For this purpose, we have three examples from a short-handed game. The opponents are the same ones from the first examples, however this time you are sitting in the small blind. With all three hands, you hold a marginal hand in the small blind. There wasn't any aggression before you, which means there were only limpers. The question now is: how to react?

EXAMPLE 3

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)

Stacks & Stats
CO ($25)
MP ($25) (34/12/1.1/28/101) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
UTG ($25)
BB ($25) (16/13/2.5/21/456) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
Hero ($25)
BU ($25) (26/22/3.4/22/390) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]

Pre-flop: Hero is SB with K , Q
1 fold, MP calls $0.25, 2 folds, Hero raises to $1.50, BB raises to $6.00, MP folds, Hero...

With KQo, you hold a relatively strong hand in the small blind. The player in middle position limps. You see him as being a loose player. Behind you, only the big blind is left to act, who plays a TAG style.

What would you prefer in this situation? You want to isolate the very loose player if possible, as you expect him to also call your raise with bad hands. By 'bad hands' we not only mean those he will have to fold unimproved, e.g. small pocket pairs and suited connectors, but also considerably worse hands. Furthermore, you think he is capable of calling with dominated hands like e.g. KJ or QJ. Therefore, a raise is obligatory here. What you definitely don't want is action from the big blind, so you raise to $1.50. This corresponds to a raise of 4BB plus one big blind, as you already have a limper in the pot. In addition, you add another big blind on top as you would have to play out of position in case of a call.

You are now faced with a raise of the rather tight big blind behind you. The loose player folds and now you have three options: fold, call or 4-bet.

As already mentioned, you didn't really want to see a raise from the big blind, as you have to see yourself behind his range. If you 4-bet now, you will never go all-in against a worse hand and a 4-bet would be a complete bluff.

A call is also bad, as this hand group is often dominated, in this case by AQ and AK. However, no weaker hands would pay you off post-flop if you hit. Furthermore, you have to play out of position against the big blind. Here you have a clear fold.

EXAMPLE 4

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)

Stacks & Stats
UTG ($25)
MP ($25) (34/12/1.1/28/101) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
CO ($25)
BU ($25) (26/22/3.4/22/390) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
Hero ($25)
BB ($25) (16/13/2.5/21/456) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]

Pre-flop: Hero is SB with K , T
1 fold, MP calls $0.25, CO calls $0.25, BU calls $0.25, Hero...

In contrast to the previous hand, you already have three limpers in the pot and with KTo a clearly worse hand, and besides the loose MP you also have the unknown CO, as well as the very loose and aggressive button. The limp by the button is a bit bemusing, as you would have given him a raise-or-fold decision here in most cases. However, the limp might not mean much and it doesn't change your situation.

Of course you could raise, but you also have the problem that no hand which you dominate will call you. On a K-high board, you would have to make a difficult decision when one of the Villains wants to involve you in a bigger pot. With this hand, you will have reverse implied odds too often to expect hitting a really good flop. Furthermore, you can't assume that you'll get all of the players to fold pre-flop after three of them have already shown interest in their hole cards.

A call or a fold would be possible in this situation. The odds are relatively good and as you would never go broke in a non-raised pot, even on a K-high board, your outs are also clean. Therefore, a call is the best option here.

EXAMPLE 5

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)

Pre-flop: Hero is SB with K , J
UTG calls $0.25, 3 folds, Hero...

The difference between KT and KJ is rather small. So, one could also assume that a call is not wrong in this hand. However, the situation is quite different from the previous one.

The player in early position limps, the three following players fold. Behind you is once again a TAG, who could interpret your call as weakness, and will try to isolate the player UTG. Therefore, you should raise.

In comparison to the previous example, you have a lot of fold equity against one player. A limp from UTG is mostly a sign of weakness, some players limp/fold weak hands, and many also limp/call their small pocket pairs. These hands will often fold on the flop after your continuation bet.

In addition, you have the opportunity to hit a good flop with KJs. Naturally, the added flush chance sweetens the whole situation. If you receive a 3-bet, you have an easy pre-flop fold with KJs. All in all, an isolation raise would be the best decision in this spot.

REVIEW

These example hands show the problems with marginal hands rather clearly. If you show aggression, the danger that you will be called by dominating hands is high. It is difficult to hit a really good flop with such hands and if you also expect little fold equity pre-flop, a passive variant is often the better choice.

How to play speculative hands?

The speculative hands include holdings such as small pocket pairs and suited connectors. They have the nature of often being behind pre-flop, in terms of equity, but can become a very strong hand on the flop, while being nearly never dominated. Therefore, they have good playability as you generally know where you stand on the flop, and you can avoid expensive mistakes.

For this, let's take a look at two full-ring examples. If you have a good position at the table and many opponents have already entered the pot before you, then you can often limp along profitably and hope to hit a good flop. If you hit, you will be paid off well enough. If you draw, you often receive good odds.

EXAMPLE 1

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (10-handed)

Stacks & Stats
UTG ($25)
UTG+1 ($25) (40/5/0.3/35/432) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
Hero ($25)
MP1 ($25)
MP2 ($25)
MP3 ($25)
CO ($25) (8/5/1.8/18/371) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
BU ($25) (15/12/2.1/23/800) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
SB ($25)
BB ($25) (12/9/2.6/21/333) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]

Pre-flop: Hero is UTG+2 with 4 , 4
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.25, Hero raises to $1.25, 4 folds, BU raises to $4.00, 3 folds, Hero...

In this hand, we have several problems at a time: you sit in UTG+2 and hold a more or less speculative hand with 44. Should you raise, call or fold?

You realize that you are rarely ahead with 44 and not many weaker hands will call you. Even if so, it will be almost impossible for you to take this hand to the showdown post-flop. If you don't hit a set, you will mostly have to muck your hand if you are faced with opposition after your possible continuation bet.

However, if you do hit your set, you have good chances of being paid off. So far, only UTG+1, who you noticed to be a loose player and calling station, has limped into the pot.

As usual, you have your three options. A fold would certainly be possible from early position when you think you don't have sufficient implied odds. You know that at least three tight-aggressive players who will often raise, act behind you. You could also limp your hand and call a possible raise, with the hope of hitting a set on the flop. The problem with this is that it makes your hand rather obvious. On the other hand, the loose UTG+1 player could also stay in the pot and you could extract quite some value post-flop with a hand that hit.

Both lines are no big mistakes, however a raise also has its advantages. The TAGs behind you will only rarely 3-bet and you have the advantage of being able to place a continuation bet on the flop. It could certainly be that someone behind you calls with a better hand, but then gives it up on the flop after the continuation bet. Therefore, you pick a raise here.

However, the button 3-bets. You don't like this as you have the big disadvantage of having to act out of position against him. From this position, it will be difficult to extract sufficient value. For your pocket pair, it is not only important that you hit, but that Villain also holds a hand with which he is ready to go broke, and that you furthermore have the opportunity to lay out your play for an all-in on the river. In position, this is clearly easier as you have the last word on every street. Out of position, however, you would often have to disclose the strength of your hand early on.

On the other hand, Villain is certainly more inclined to go broke in the re-raised pot, as he has already shown clear strength. Nonetheless, you check if your calling station has also entered the pot. You know that he calls much too often, and that he would be a further hot candidate to pay you off with your set. You decide for a call if UTG+1 calls as well.

However, he folds. Thus you are in the heads-up against a TAG, and you are out of position. You know that you hit your set with a pocket pair every 7.5th time. What could you theoretically win post-flop?

The pot is already at $5.50, and Villain has a remaining stack of $21. Thus you have the opportunity to win $26.50. For this, you would have to invest $2.75 which does not even give you the theoretical implied odds of 10:1. This is far away from the call20 rule, meaning a fold is the only possibility.

EXAMPLE 2

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (10-handed)

Pre-flop: Hero is MP3 with 5 , 6
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.25, 3 folds, Hero raises to $1.25, 2 folds, BB raises to $4.00, UTG+1 calls $3.75, Hero...

In this situation you have to also consider two options. You are sitting in middle position and hold a playable suited connector with 56s. By now, you are used to the fact that UTG+1 likes to look at the flop.

From this position, you can certainly fold, as suited connectors cannot be played easily, and you need a lot of post-flop experience.

Nonetheless, a raise is an option here, especially considering you have known players sitting behind you against which you will certainly have a high fold equity. A limp however is bad. Too often, there are raises behind you and the call of a raise behind is only questionably profitable. Not only do you not hit as often as with a pocket pair, you also usually only hit a draw, if you do hit. Your suited connector lives from its fold equity, which is why a raise would be the preferred course of action here.

However, you now receive a 3-bet from the BB. This time, the calling station remains in the pot. Earlier, we mentioned that a pocket pair would often call there. However, now you have the problem that you hold a draw in case of a hit (you don't hit a made flush often enough to speculate on this), and you will have to play it aggressively. Whether you even have fold equity against the calling station is anyone's guess. Whether you have sufficient implied odds against the BB is also unknown. Your only advantage would be that you are in relative position post-flop and be able to finish each betting round. This important point could speak in favour of a call every now and then, but by default you should fold here.

In contrast to the full-ring game, you cannot be too choosy with your hands in the short-handed area. Even though small pocket pairs are in terms of playability, speculative hands, they can often be the best hands at the table in a 6-max game. At least considerably more often than on a 10-max table.

This is why you want to raise any pocket pair first-in, no matter which one and from which position. The same applies to the suited connectors. Starting at 54s+ you have the maximum amount of possibilities for a straight with them, and so they can be played extremely well. From the middle position on, you should play with them aggressively and open up the pot. As you don't limp first-in anyway, you raise. Depending on your own style, your opponents, the previous action and the overall table image, you can also raise in early position every now and then, or also fold in MP.

As there is already quite a lot of content for these two hand groups, we will now deal with three further groups of more speculative hands.

At first, the off-suited connectors, then a gapped hand (in this case a suited 2-gapper), and finally a suited ace.

In all three examples, you are sitting in the SB. The hands themselves are always the same. A further analysis based on the action behind you is not necessary, as you would have to fold after a 3-bet every time in case you decide for a raise.

Furthermore, you should also view these three situations from the point of view of what would happen if you weren't in the small blind, but instead sat on the button.

EXAMPLE 3

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)

Pre-flop: Hero is SB with 4 , 5
1 fold, MP calls $0.25, 2 folds, Hero...

You hold an off-suited connector. You know that you rather rarely hit with it. MP is rather loose. For speculative hands, you need a lot of fold equity should you decide to play them aggressively. Of course, you have a problem in the small blind where you will have to act out of position, which makes the situation more difficult.

The big blind is a relatively tight player. So you would very often isolate yourself against the calling station. However, due to the positional disadvantage, you decide against it.

To complete remains an option. The odds are acceptable, but you would be playing out of position against both Villains. Plus, the big blind could come up with the idea of raising. In the long term, you won't extract much value here, and so you decide for a fold.

Variant 2: When you sit on the button

On the button, you would have the absolute positional advantage. If the player in middle position calls, you could grab the pot unimproved more often post-flop than out of position, or you can treat yourself to a free card in case of a draw. From the button, a raise would definitely be more worth it, however since 54o remains a very weak hand a fold is certainly not a mistake either. Naturally, a limp is out of the question.

EXAMPLE 4

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)

Pre-flop: Hero is SB with 8 , J
1 fold, MP calls $0.25, Hero...

This time, you hold a suited 2-gapper. So the possibilities post-flop are also rather limited. The probabilities for a straight, or a straight draw, are considerably lower compared to those of a suited connector.

Basically, the same aspects as those mentioned in the example concern us here. In this hand as well, you should rather muck your hand pre-flop. A complete is conceivable, but remains problematic due to the big blind, as noted previously.

A raise is only rarely a possibility, but one should not be ruled out completely.

Variant 2: When you sit on the button

On the button, things look different. In position, you could certainly play this hand aggressively. To play passively is out of question anyway. A limp is also out of question. A fold is, of course, an option, but in position you can certainly take the initiative with such a speculative hand every now and then. In case of a hit like top pair, you also have the opportunity to bring such hands to a cheap showdown, as you often play in the heads-up against the loose player. You can simply hit considerably more often than with an off-suited connector.

EXAMPLE 5

PartyPoker $25 NL Hold'em (6-handed)

Pre-flop: Hero is SB with A , 2
1 fold, MP calls $0.25, 2 folds, Hero...

Further speculative hands are the suited aces. Naturally, they have the huge advantage of being the nuts in case of a flush (except on paired boards of course). Furthermore, A2 also offers marginal straight chances. Naturally, only the combination of 345 on the board comes into consideration, so that you shouldn't overestimate this advantage (nonetheless, it is for this very reason that e.g. A5s has this small advantage over A6s, as the kicker almost never matters here).

Of course, you can also hit a top pair, but the big danger is obvious:

Most of the time, you have a miserable kicker, and with hands like A9s you can hardly expect to get value with a top pair in a raised pot from a hand with a weaker kicker. Caution should be exercised here.

The hand however has a certain potential and shouldn't be considered a default pre-flop fold. A complete is surely an option, however you have to keep the previously mentioned dangers in mind. A raise is certainly possible. Especially against the loose player, you can assume that he will often bring hands which are worse than top pair to the showdown. However, if this player gives you a lot of action on the flop on an A-high board, then you can certainly still separate yourself from the hand.

Variant 2: When you sit on the button

Here, an isolation raise should be your standard move. There's no limping, and a fold is definitely too weak.

REVIEW

Speculative hands can be divided into many groups. Each of them has pros and cons which have to be closely examined each time. Especially for hands with which you have to put your hopes on the turn card due to a draw, it is important that you play them in position if possible. Out of position, you should rarely get into such situations.

The question is: What can you hit with this hand and what value can you extract from possible opponents in case of a hit?

Nonetheless, here – and especially in short-handed games– it matters: If you don't know if you should fold or call, then raise.

In full-ring games, these hands have to be viewed differently. If there are indications that many players are interested in a flop, then it is also worth playing passively and hoping for a good hit every now and then. The fold equity for aggressive play is not as high pre-flop as it is at the SH game. However, if not much has happened before you yet, then you should use the opportunity and act as aggressively as possible here.

How do you play Steal Hands?

It is not really easy to come up with a definition of what a steal hand is, as in theory actually every attack on the blinds is a steal. So, it also includes an open-raise with aces, KQ or 78s. You could theoretically raise with crap hands just as well, or even a first-in with 72o, as long as you give yourself enough fold equity. However, neither of these groups will be reviewed here.

For steal hands we will be considering those hands which are worse than the already mentioned aces or KQ, but which are also better than any two cards and thus have a certain potential.

Examples for this are:

K 4 (suited kings)
Q 3 (suited queens)
A 3 (small off-suited aces)
7 9 (off-suited one-gapper)

All of these hands have the characteristic of having relatively little post-flop potential, but could still be good enough for a steal to simply fold them by default. The theory is similar to the one of the speculative hands: What do you want to hit and against whom do you want to play them?

Off-suited aces have, for instance, the same domination problem as their suited companions, however they don't even have the chance of hitting a flush. What board do you want to hit then with A3o? On which board will a weaker hand still pay you off?

For all of these hands, it is known that they hit relatively seldom post-flop, and furthermore that they are very difficult to play. Therefore, they are designated as steal hands. Basically, you don't want to be called and to see a flop. You want to win the pot pre-flop.

So your aggression is based on the following principles:

You want to win the pot pre-flop.
You want to win the pot on the flop with a possible continuation bet.
This more frequent aggresion helps to balance your strong hands, since the opponents will not know when you actually hold strong hands and pay these off more frequently in subsequent rounds. The strategy of frequent steal is therefore also a part of your overall concept of your deception.
The possibility of hitting an acceptable flop every now and then.

So first and foremost, the fold equity and the deception matter to you. However, you have to discern between full-ring and short-handed games again.

In a full-ring game, it is not a mistake to not play such hands at all. Against nine opponents, your fold equity is lower anyway, and the deception is not as pivotal as it is in a short-handed game. On the other hand, you also have the possibility of every now and then getting the blinds cheaply, in case every player before you did indeed fold, and you have reads that the blinds are relatively tight or short stacks. In case of a push by the short stack, you have no problem finding an easy fold. This is especially interesting when you have been card dead so far and there has been no awe-inspiring action from you at the table yet. In this case, you should get a lot of credit for holding a strong hand.

However, in a short-handed game, the situation looks different. Here, it is very important, just alone for deception, to also play such hands. It is also not incorrect to raise these hands first-in from the cutoff at times. At least you can balance out your card dead phases with them. However, if you have been very active lately, then you should rather restrain yourself from the cutoff.

From the button however, you have a very good opportunity to attack the blinds first-in. If you consider your fold equity to be high enough, you should also attack with these hands, even though you know that you will only rarely want to, or be able to play for a big pot post-flop. Nonetheless, you accept this, as it is not your primary goal, as explained above.

Especially against tight opponents who either fold or 3-bet, these hands are quite valuable, as you almost never get into difficult situations with them. The play becomes considerably richer in variance against loose players who call relatively often. Here it matters post-flop that you don't overplay these hands.

RECAPITULATION

With steal hands, the most important thing is the ability to evaluate the fold equity well enough. You want to steal with these hands, and not play for a big pot. So, it is crucial to have precise knowledge of your opponents. These hands are also important to balance your stronger hands which will be paid off well in later rounds. For this reason, a good player cannot avoid learning how to deal with these hands.

Conclusion

A straightforward play with strong hands is never a mistake. Pre-flop, you are very often ahead and should protect yourself as well as trying to build up a pot.

However, with marginal hands, a more passive playing style is often better. You will often be called when you show aggression, you'll only rarely hit a really good flop, and there is the danger of being dominated. Furthermore, you often have very little fold equity.

If possible, you should always play speculative hands in position. However, especially short-handed, you can also play them aggressively depending on the current situation.

In FR the passive option will often be the wiser course of action, especially when many players showed interest in the pot. This is because your pre-flop fold equity is not as high is in a SH game, and since you will be in a multiway pot when you do hit the flop. However, if your opponents are very passive, then you should use the opportunity and act aggressively.

With steal hands, you want to take the pot pre-flop and should therefore evaluate your fold equity and your opponents fairly well. In addition, they allow you to better balance your stronger hands.

LINKS

	Related articles: Before the Flop – The Basics Before the Flop – When there has been a Raise before you
	Discussion forum: Discuss the content of this article in the forum