Tight aggressive Preflop Play for Intermediates

Foreword

In this article I will describe how to adapt one's pre-flop game to the situation in no limit Hold'em. Since our goal is didactic, we will present a tight-aggressive game (TAG). We know that this is not the only winning style at no limit Hold'em, but we consider it to be the easiest to learn. Moreover, this style has a lower variance than other styles.

Prerequisites for understanding this article are a working knowledge of all the articles from the beginner's area.

Goals of the tight-aggressive pre-flop game

The main objective of the tight-aggressive pre-flop game is to generate profitable situations for the post-flop. The bets pre-flop are just smaller than those post-flop, so if we want to make large gains it will have to be after the flop. To win the pot directly is a secondary goal, but it does make it's own contribution to your winrate. The third objective is the construction and maintenance of your table image.

Tight-aggressive pre-flop games try to win many small to mid-sized pots. Most starting hands you play will not be strong made hands on the flop, so it's best to play these hands for smaller pots. Big pots are won opportunistically, when you get a very strong hand in the pre-flop or hit a lucky flop. Or if your opponents are just really dumb. But the true goal of the tight-aggressive game is to keep the pots small and avoid all-in situations or situations where you are committed to the pot. With small pots, it's easier to play with odds, pot odds, and implied odds and also to leverage your image.

What is a profitable situation for the post-flop game?

To answer this question, we must grossly categorize all starting hands. Here is one possible categorization:

a. Strong Hands
b. Medium Strong Hands
c. Marginal Hands
d. Drawing Hands
e. Steal Hands

Depending on your starting hand, the ideal post-flop situation will change:

With monster hands like AA and KK, the ideal situation is to go all-in even on the pre-flop or to create an all-in (or similar) situation for the post-flop game. These hands have an equity advantage over all other hands. This advantage is made manifest as value by going all in pre-flop. A situation similar to all-in would mean that the pot is already so large that future payments into it do not influence your decision to play the hand further post-flop. These are pot committed situations.

Example: No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (10 handed)

Hero ($49.50)
MP1 ($42.00)

Pre-flop: Hero is UTG with A, A.
Hero raises to $2, 2 folds, MP1 raises to $6.5, 6 folds, Hero raises to $20, MP1 calls $13.5.

Flop: ($40.75)

This an all-in-like situation. The pot is already over $40 on the flop. MP1 only has a stack of $22. With pot odds of ca. 3:1 we are pretty much forced to go all-in on the flop. Hence, we already set things up on the pre-flop.

AA and KK lose equity against multiple opponents relatively quickly, since they rarely improve on the flop. For this reason, these hands should be played with maximum aggression in the pre-flop. Thus, we maximize value as well as the chances to actually win in the showdown. With AA and KK you always want to be the last one to raise pre-flop. It's better to win a small pot pre-flop for sure than to have to play unimproved against many opponents after a bum flop.

Since both of these hands are so strong, position is not as important here. They are playable both in and out of position.

Medium Strong Hands Medium strong hands are those that will become top pairs with a good kicker if you hit them on the flop. These are hands like AK, AQ, AJ, and KQ suited and unsuited. Top pair is a borderline hand in the post-flop game. If the board is right and your opponents few it could be a strong hand, but it would be weak against a lot of players on an unfriendly board.

The ideal situation for the post-flop game would be to go heads-up from in position. You can make gains playing these hands from worse position. Since you „only" have top pair and we're following the maxim „play big pots with big hands and small pots with small hands," you want to play for a small pot. And if you're in position, you will have easier and better control over the development of the pot. This way you can maximize your gains if you're ahead and minimize your losses if you're behind.
The middle pocket pairs QQ, JJ and TT also belong to this group. They won't make top pair on the flop since they are already a pair, but they are similar in strength to the top pairs. Since these hands rarely improve on the flop and since overcards flop a lot, the chances of these hands goes up when you play against as few opponents as possible. Additionally, your odds to flop a set or better are 7.5 to one, which makes it playable in multiway pots too if the implied odds are good. Thus, these hands have the character of a top pair but can also be speculative hands. The ideal post-flop is a heads-up game from in position. If this fails, plan b is to speculate on a set.

Marginal Hands would make a top pair on the flop with a weak kicker, or a low pair with any kicker. AT, A9, KJ, KT, QJ, QT, JT, suited or unsuited belong to this group. Top pair weak kicker is definitely not a strong hand in no limit Hold'em. You want to avoid going to a showdown over a big pot with these hands. The ideal situation for these hands is to avoid the flop altogether and decide the hand pre-flop, thus taking everything already in the pot or stealing the blinds. If you have to see the flop, though, try to make it heads up. You would usually raise these hands from late position first in or against a few limpers to achieve this. A combination of initiative and position should then allow you to control the hand as much as possible.

Besides making weak top pair hands, these hands also have a speculative character. The better their suitedness and connectivity, the more likely you are to flop a strong draw. If you aren't able to create the optimal circumstances, you can always fall back on the straight and flush value of these hands.

Drawing hands refers to those hands that must develop into at least two pair or stronger in order to win the showdown. You must either flop a strong hand to begin with or improve your draw. This groups contains suited aces from A8 down, suited connectors, suited one gapers and pocket pairs from 99 down.

The ideal situation on the flop would be a small pot, few opponents, and in position. This allows you to play draws relatively cheaply. At the same time, if you have good odds it can pay off if you hit your draw or other strong hand.

If you cannot achieve this situation, you must weigh the disadvantages against each other. If you can see the flop cheaply for a big blind and you have good implied odds, you can afford to take a positional disadvantage along with it. Or if you have a positional advantage and good implied odds, you can afford to pay more to see the flop.

Another profitable venue for speculative hands, particularly middle and smaller pocket pairs, is to play against a very aggressive opponent who has raised on the pre-flop and thus probably has a strong hand. We use the concept of implied odds. You will hit a strong hand less often, but it still pays off against an aggressive opponent with a strong starting hand. Ideally, he will have a big pocket pair.

Steal hands are those that you use only to steal the blinds and any other bets that are already in the pot and win directly pre-flop. They are very weak hands that you don't want to play post-flop. Only sufficient fold equity and the fact that you get to play in position post-flop if you get called makes these hands at all playable. Hands like suited kings to K6s and suited queens to Q7s belong to this group.

Win the pot directly on the pre-flop

Many players are annoyed when their pre-flop raises aren't called and they only win the small pre-flop pot. This is incorrect. If you look carefully at the numbers: you play around 15% of all hands pre-flop, so in a round at a full ring table that's 1.5 hands/round. If you won just the blinds every time, you would win 2.25 Big Blinds per round, but you would only pay 1.5 big blinds per round. Hence, you would net .75 big blinds per round. That isn't a lot. But if it worked like that you would soon be a rich man.

Deciding hands pre-flop is a small but important part of a good no limit Hold'em winrate. You should always check whether the chances to get the pot pre-flop are good whenever you play a hand.

Example: No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (10 handed)

Hero ($73.50)
SB ($52.00)
BB ($69,67)

Pre-flop: Hero is Button with 5, 4.
7 folds, Hero ...

Scenario A: Both blinds are loose-passive calling stations. The best thing to do on the button here is limp. It's unlikely that your opponents will fold after a transparent steal raise. A lot of overcards could flop and make your hand very difficult to play. This kind of lose passive opponent will hardly respect a continuation bet on the flop and is unlikely to fold. A raise would probably hurt more than help since it won't win us the pot directly. If we just limp, we can expect that we won't be raised by our passive opponents and thereby cheaply see the flop and play from in position.

Scenario B: Both blinds are very tight and passive. A raise first in is probably the best choice here. Both opponents will often fold against such a raise. But if they do call you, you can try to catch them with a continuation bet on the flop. They like to fold if they don't hit anything. If one of them is expecting a strong hand, you don't have to worry about a re-raise since they like to see the flop first. But if you happen to hit a good flop, you'll get paid off from a strong opposing hand. Thus, it's a clear raise despite the nominal weakness of our starting hand. The goal here is to win the pot pre-flop, but the situation would allow us to play the hand further.

Winning pre-flop is always a chance for the hand to win on it's own strength and should not be neglected. Check in every situation whether a pre-flop raise might lead to an early win. But check also whether the configuration of your opponents prevents a steal-raise.

Table image

A tight-aggressive game conveys a commensurate table image. If the opponents are watching, they will see that you play relatively few strong hands, but you play them aggressively. Alert players will then respect your moves, knowing that you only play strong hands and don't give up the pot without a fight. This is the desired effect of the tight-aggressive game on the middle to long term table image.

In the short term, of course, you never play your hands with the same frequency. There will be long phases of inactivity when you simply don't get playable hands. Then there are also times when you will play a lot of hands in a short time. Even if opposition does not notice the long term image, they will perceive at least these short term changes and react to them.

If you've played few or no hands for a while, your raises will be viewed as stronger than they really are. If you go through a dry spell with few playable hands, you will often have trouble getting action when you finally do get a good hand. You can work against this by aggressively playing a starting hand from time to time that you normally would not play. You aren't trying to win any big pots, just to make a small investment to ensure a balanced image for yourself. You might raise a suited connector like 87s from middle position or something similar. Be careful, though, not to get sucked into any big pots with this hand. It's all just to present a calculated image and to show what a great guy you are; it's not to show how wild and unpredictable you can be. The success of such a manipulation is that weak opponents will see that you raise so and so often, but they won't notice whether it was in the cheap pre-flop betting round or the more expensive ones post-flop.

If, however, you have been playing a lot of hands, you must expect to get more action than you would prefer. If you get a lot of good hands and play them aggressively, your opponents may get the impression that you're pushing them around and start to defend themselves. This is no reason to throw away a good starting hand, of course. But you should hold back on marginal hands so you don't end up holding them when the pot is unpleasantly large. If you do get a strong hand at these times, you'll often get more action than usual. You should not play more passively on these hands but play them in your normal aggressive fashion. Nobody will suspect that you have pocket aces when you raise five hands afterward.

All in all, the typical weak player in the lower limits is not very perceptive when it comes to table image. If you act inconspicuous they will barely look at you, preferring instead to concentrate on their own cards. And this is most desirable. Lay low, cut the chatting, and never insult the weak players.

Initiative

Initiative is a particularly noteworthy point when it comes to the short term image during a single hand. Initiative means you were the last to bet on the pre-flop. This factor is especially important for preparing a post-flop game.

„Check to the pre-flop raiser." - Even though this rule is often completely wrong, many weak players on the lower limits swear by it. This means that if you raised on the pre-flop, you might get a ton of checks on the flop. Raising pre-flop often gives you the privilege of acting first post-flop. This has 2 concrete advantages: first you get the chance to win the hand directly on the flop with a continuation bet. Second, it's also possible for you to just take a free card in position. In principle you also get more respect from the opposition if you sieze the initiative pre-flop. They often suspect a strong hand behind a pre-flop raise. Thus, you should always think about initiative since it is an important factor in the flow of the hand.

Tight-aggressive pre-flop game in practice

You now know the fundamental goals of the pre-flop game, as well as which starting hands should go after which goal. This knowledge will prove useful again and again in the choice of starting hands.

Whenever you play a no limit Hold'em hand, follow this line of thinking pre-flop: consider the specific strengths and weaknesses of your starting hand. Figure out whether you can win the pot directly on the pre-flop, or how you could set up a successful situation for the post-flop. Pay attention to position, configuration of opponents, action before/behind you, and your table image. From a synthesis of all of these, you will decide whether you call, check, raise, or fold.

This line of thinking should always be assessed when playing a hand of no limit Hold'em. It all sounds more complicated than it is. After a time much of it will seem instinctive to you. But before you get to that point, I can only advise you to play fewer tables and proactive letting all these factors flow into your game.

Choice of starting hands

You know the generally strong and weak starting hands and know about the importance of position. We must now define a range of starting hands whose playabilities depend on position. In the end, this will be something very individual, dependent on personal abilities and your own style. In contrast to fixed limit, there is no „optimal" pre-flop strategy in no limit. You can get the same winrate with a wide variety of playing styles and hand ranges. And every player develops a hand range over the course of his no limit career. All good pre-flop strategies get their bearings from the concepts presented here, particularly position.

Caution: The following selection of starting hands is the result of far-reaching studies of literature about no limit Hold'em and personal experience. The drive behind most no limit hands are implied odds. These are difficult to describe mathematically and are not easily calculated in practice. All „recommendations here are based substantially on personal experience and the experiences of others. Be careful with it. What works for me won't necessarily work for you.

Early Position

In general, only play hands in early position that are playable OOP. This is all strong hands and very strong medium hands, namely: AA, KK, QQ, AK, AQ, suited or not. These hands are always raised first in from early position. Additionally, JJ and TT are usually raised first in to keep the number of opponents down. This increases your chances of winning the pot unimproved in the post-flop. You also have the chance to hit a set with these hands and win the pot with a strong hand.

You can limp in early position with all other pocket pairs. These hands are not so strong, per se. But your odds to hit a set on the flop are 7.5:1 or better, so it's almost always worth it with an unraised pot just from the implied odds, even if you're OOP. Depending on the implied odds you can also call raises with the lower and middle pocket pairs.

The game is easy to structure from early position. Just stay tight and conservative. Since there are still a lot of opponents with potentially strong hands behind you, this is the strategy with the greatest promise of success. And at least you get a halfway optimal situation for the post-flop game.

Middle Position

In middle position you can begin to play some nominally weaker starting hands. Some of your opponents have already acted so you know if one of them might have a strong hand. Besides which, you'll get better position in the post-flop than from early position.

In addition to the hands from early position, it's common to raise AJ and KQ suited or not against a few limpers or a first in, as well as middle pocket pairs (99-77) if you're first in. Middle pocket pairs gain a lot of value against a small number of opponents, since one or two opponents will often miss the flop so that you can win the pot unimproved. Limp or call raises if you have small pocket pairs with good implied odds. Also, suited connectors or one gapers are acceptable if there are just limpers ahead of you.

Of the marginal hands you can play weaker top pair hands if the opponents behind you are very tight. Hence, there is a good chance that most of them will fold. Be careful however, since it's easy to be dominated on a hand like KJ or AT. This is also a measure for preserving a balanced image.

Late Position

In late position, you have the greatest freedom in selecting a starting hand. You have information about the quality of most of your opponents and only a few behind you who could have a strong hand.

The typical hands for a first in raise are: all pocket pairs, all top pair hands, suited or not, suited or unsuited aces down to A8.

Usually you limp with drawing hands, suited connectors down to 54s, suited one gapers to 75s, suited two gapers to 96s, small suited aces and offsuited connectors to 76o, in the case where there are already limpers in the hand. Think carefully whether you can win the pot directly with a raise. Keep the implied odds in mind when deciding whether a limp is even worth it. If you're first in, you should raise many of these hands. You'll either decide the hand pre-flop and steal the blinds (fold equity), or you'll present your hand as stronger than it really is and increase your chances of winning unimproved post-flop.

Marginal hands should be played to win the pot pre-flop. Normally this is done first in to steal the blinds. These would be hands like suited kings down to K6s or suited queens to Q7s. These hands are very weak and require a lot of fold equity to be profitable. This means you must be able to win pre-flop with a high enough probability. Since the blinds are a small part of the possible wins and losses later, you should be careful trying this if you are in doubt. Most of the time in these situations, a small gain is overshadowed by a potentially large loss.

So you see, the boundaries between strong, weak, and marginal hands blur depending on the situation. With weaker hands, it's important to decide how likely the hand is to win the pot straight away (fold equity) and how the implied odds look. Many hands are theoretically playable from the late position. How playable they are is dependent on the situation.

Blinds

You have a great advantage if you are sitting in the blinds. You either act last or next to last in the pre-flop betting. You have a clear advantage of information. In consequence, you must act as first or second in subsequent betting rounds. You are typically OOP for the rest of the hand as well. This disadvantage is not so grave that you cannot play many profitable hands this way.

Hands that you would usually raise first in or against limpers are AA-TT, AK, and AQ, suited or unsuited, AJ suited and KQ suited. The disadvantage of position is too much for other hands, so you should be a little more passive pre-flop and hope for a good flop.

Drawing hands are particularly good to play from the small blind in an unraised pot, like suited connectors, suited one or two gapers or unsuited connectors. Since you don't have to pay full price to see the flop, your pot odds increase. Good pot odds can also overturn the disadvantage of position if the hand will be playable OOP. Suited connectors, suited one gapers, suited two gapers, offsuited connectors, small suited aces.

There will be another article on the playing in the blinds: blind stealing and blind defence. These topics are generally not central to the strategy of no limit Hold'em on full ring tables. So just a general recommendation: play particularly tight from the blinds because of your bad position and use the good pot odds in the small blind to play drawing hands on unraised pots.

Influence of the opposition on the pre-flop game

Dealing with raises

Whenever you are confronted by a raise, re-raise, or all-in, there is some information to be gained about the probable hand range of the opponent. You should compare your own hand to this estimate. An easy way to do this is with the PFR% from PokerTracker. This tells what percent of all starting hands the opponent raises pre-flop. If you cannot access this value, you must determine it from your own observation. If you are unsure, give him a tighter range, so you'll err on the safe side. If multiple opponents are involved you must read their hands too.

The PFR% only tells how many hands your opponent raises in total, regardless of his position. The range of the opponent from early position is usually tighter than from the late, just like yours. A rule of thumb, take a raise from UTG as 2/3 the PFR% for determining range, and double the PFR% for a raise from the button. The raises from the other positions are somewhere in between. Be aware that many more raises come from late position than from early position.

Example: An opponent with 5% PFR raises from UTG. The expected range of hands would be about the top 3% of all hands: AA, KK, QQ, AKs, AKo, and AQs. If the same opponent raises from the button, the range would be the top 10% of all hands: AA-88, AK-AT (suited and unsuited), KQ-KJ (suited and unsuited).

For a re-raise by an opponent you can use a similar rule. The re-raising range is around .25 of the PFR%. The re-raising range is often independent of position, since most of the strongest hands are in it. The opponent in the example above had a re-raising range of the top 1.25% of all hands: AA, KK, and sometimes QQ. In the definition of this range it must be noted that players tend to re-raise with pocket pairs more than with strong top pair hands like AK.

To compare your hands to the others you must also consider your position and the probable actions of those behind you.

Example 1: No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (10 handed)

UTG ($49.50)
Hero ($52.00)

Pre-flop: Hero is UTG+2 with A, K.
UTG raises to $2, 1 folds, Hero ...

Scenario A: UTG has a PFR of 3%. That means he raises from UTG with around the top 2% of all hands: AA, KK, QQ, AKs and AKo. We are clearly behind against this range. Despite a very good starting hand we must fold.

Scenario B: UTG has a PFR of 6%. That means he'll raise with something like the top 4% of all hands: AA-JJ, AKs, AKo, AQs, AQo. We are even with this hand range. This would intuitively speak for a call to wait for a good flop. But a re-raise is a better choice here. This represents a strong hand and has good chances of winning the pot pre-flop. Furthermore, it shuts out those who might have stronger hands behind us. We definitely don't want more players in on the hand, which would cause us to lose position and have to play against them after the flop.

Example 2: The hand from example 1 unfolds:

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (10 handed)

UTG ($49.50)
Hero ($52.00)

Pre-flop: Hero is UTG+2 with A, K.
UTG raises to $2, 1 folds, Hero raises to $6, 7 folds, UTG raises to $16, Hero ...

UTG raises again, so we must tighten his range. Realistically, it's only a question of AA or KK, so we have an easy fold.

Example 3: No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (10 handed)

UTG ($49.50)
Hero ($52.00)

Pre-flop: Hero is BB with A, K.
UTG raises to $2, 7 folds, Hero ...

The same hand as in example 1, but in a different position. The opponent has a PFR of 12% and therefore a range of ca. AA-JJ, AKs, AKo, AQs, Aqo. In contrast to the other example, you probably would just call here. You have no position on your opposition and OOP it's best to keep the pot small. Furthermore, you are already heads up and don't need to drive any more players out of the hand.

Example 4: No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (10 handed)

UTG ($49.50)
Hero ($52.00)

Pre-flop: Hero is MP2 with 9, 9.
UTG raises to $2, 3 folds, Hero ...

UTG has a PFR of only 3%. With 99 we are clearly behind. But because of the implied odds you have an easy call and can play on set value. You can be sure that he has a strong hand since he is so tight and that he will play it aggressively. So if you hit the set on the flop, he'll pay off. It's a further bonus that more players might join the hand since it further increases the payoff and with it the implied odds.

Conclusion: Like in the examples, the first thing to do when confronted with a raise is to define a hand range for your opponent and compare it with your own hand. Consider both position and the configuration of the opposition for the post-flop game, and do not forget the implied odds, then make a decision about how to play on.

If you are favored against the hand range of your opponent, then re-raise just for value and to get position on your opponents post-flop. If this is not possible, perhaps you're in the blinds or there are already too many opponents in the hand, then you usually will call to wait for a good flop. It's better than getting into large pot situations against a lot of opponents with marginal advantages.

If you're behind the range of your opponent, you must determine whether the implied pot odds are big enough to justify a call. If you are in doubt, the position will cinch it. In position you will have only marginal advantages. If you're OOP, a fold is often the better choice in boundary cases.

Dealing with limpers

Players who limp before you usually don't have a strong hand. You must assume that they would otherwise have raised. You can get an idea of their hand ranges from the PokerTracker VP$IP and PFR.

Example: An opponent with a VPIP of 16% and a PFR of 8% limps pre-flop. Looking at these numbers, we expect that he would limp on the top 16% of all hands minus the top 8% which he would otherwise raise. This means a range of something like: 99-22, A9s- A6s, KJs-KTs, QJs- QTs, KJo-KTo, QJo.

You can't get an exact range, but you have an idea at least of what his possible hands could be, given that he limped, and how your hand looks in comparison.

If limpers are already in the hand, you must make the first in raise against them to reduce the number of opponents. Most starting hands are best played against as few opponents as possible. The formula for the size of a raise in unraised pots is 4 BB + 1BB per limper (BB= big blind).

For playing a speculative starting hand, though, it's best to have as many limpers present as possible. The more limpers already in the hand the better your implied pot odds if you hit a strong hand. A large number of limpers also reduces that possibility that someone will raise behind you. Many opponents are impressed enough by a bunch of limpers that they will no longer raise strong hands in such a situation.

Example: No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (10 handed)

UTG ($49.50)
UTG+1 ($32.70)
MP1 ($79.64)
Hero ($52.00)

Pre-flop: Hero is MP2 with 6, 5.
UTG calls $0.50, UTG+1 calls $0.50, 1 folds, MP1 calls $0.50, Hero ...

65s is a hand that you would not normally play from MP2. But since 3 limpers are already in the hand and have relatively large stacks, you can get in on the hand with a call provided there are not any particularly aggressive players behind you. You must be sure that the implied odds are big enough for this and that you will not be raised from behind.

Limpers do have an unpleasant trait. Weak players on the low limits especially will not leave hand before the flop once they have put money into the pot, even against a raise. This means that some hands that actually belong to the standard repertoire of a certain position are no longer playable against a bunch of limpers.

Example: No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (10 handed)

UTG ($47.32)
UTG+1 ($18.70)
MP1 ($79.64)
MP2 ($39.50)
CO ($10.99)
Hero ($105.76)

Pre-flop: Hero is Button with A, T.
UTG calls $0.50, UTG+1 calls $0.50, 1 folds, MP1 calls $0.50, MP2 calls $0.50, 1 folds, CO calls $0.50, Hero ...

In this situation you expect a raise to be called, if you could still raise at all. With Ato you want to be heads up after the flop or not even have to see the flop at all. You cannot achieve this here. The best solution seems to be to fold and wait for a better opportunity.

Predicting the post-flop configuration of opponents

Whenever you join a hand, the possible configuration and actions of the opposition for the post-flop influence your decision about how to handle the starting hand. I showed a similar situation in the example in part 2.2.

With the VPIP and PFR values from PokerTracker you can get a rough image of the probable actions of those players who come after you. There is no rule of thumb for this, though. It's just something that takes experience to judge. Generally the following principles are true: opponents with a high VPIP like to call and those with high PFR like to raise. How an individual opponent behaves is best learnt by observing him at the table.

In earlier chapters, we discussed how to win certain conditions post-flop with certain starting hands. After all of this is checked, you must see to it that the arrangement of the other players is not standing in the way of your plans.

The „right" size for raises

The current pot size is always a point of orientation for the size of raises in no limit Hold'em. A pre-flop raise about the same size as the pot is a good middle road between getting maximum value and clearing out the opponents.

In unraised pots, the rule of thumb is that a pre-flop raise should be 4 big blinds + big blind per limper. This value is just over the raise of pot size. But this is good enough for the lower limits against typically weak opponents since they call too much anyway. You will seldom drive away too many opponents or fail to get enough value.

For the same reason, it is generally true that you can raise the pot size. To repeat: a raise of pot size means everything that's in the pot already plus that same amount over again, which one would have to call just to stay in the round.

There are seldom cases in which you have a very good hand against alone against an opponent with what is probably a very weak hand. In these situations it can be better to raise less so as not to lose value. But this is only correct in a few exceptional cases. Generally: it's better to win a small pot pre-flop for sure than to take your chances on big pots after the flop.

Adaptation for shorthanded tables.

The game and the dynamics of shorthanded tables have a few pointed differences with full ring tables. This is felt most clearly in the constellation of the opponents.

Typical conditions at shorthanded tables

There are, of course, fewer players at a shorthanded table than at a full ring. This causes the probability that any arbitrary opponent has a strong hand to fall. That means that you generally have more fold equity and can decide the hand pre-flop more easily. The probability of being dominated by stronger hands is also reduced.

Because of this, the value of weaker starting hands goes up, particularly in early position. You will also generally face fewer opponents after the flop than you would at a full ring table. If there are only a few opponents at the table to start with then it's much easier to get their numbers where you want them. Weak players are easy to isolate and the chance to win the hand pre-flop increases.

Since things tend to happen faster at SH tables than at FR tables, try to suck in particularly loose-aggressive players who are looking for a lot of action. They are often extremely loose and play a lot of nominally weak starting hands without paying any real attention to position. Playing against opponents with weaker starting hands means that you don't need as strong of a hand to beat them. Thus, the value of nominally weaker starting hands is increased at these tables.

These opponents play not only with weak starting hands, but they play them more aggressively. You will see more bluffs and semi-bluffs at SH. To avoid playing against these opponents on big pots with marginal hands, it's better to play a little tighter. Against particularly aggressive opponents you should wait for very strong hands since weapons like semi-bluffs and continuation bets usually don't do much against them.

As you can see: there are generally reasons to play both looser and tighter at SH tables. Against a table of unknown opponents you should not change your pre-flop game from your FR game. You must only remember that there are 4 fewer positions when considering your starting hand.

If you have good reads on your opponent either from PokerTracker stats or your own observations and can put their hands in ranges, you will be able to react to these ranges and reduce the potential for unrest in the hand.

The game goes faster at SH tables. You have less time to think through the situation. Therefore, you should only attempt SH games if the most important decisions are already automatic for you. For this reason, it's also good to reduce the number of tables that you play when you first switch to SH, at least until you're accustomed to the higher tempo.

Starting hands on shorthanded tables

Even though you can be a little looser at an SH table in your choice of starting hands, don't overdo it. SH games are normal poker, too. Many inexperienced players make the mistake of following the aggressive dynamics of the such tables right into playing too many hands from poor position. Don't make this mistake!

A typical range of hands for consideration by a tight-aggressive player are as follows:

Under The Gun

Like playing on an FR table, stay relatively tight here.

Commonly raised hands: AA-77, AK - AJ + KQ (suited or unsuited).
Commonly called, limped hands:66-22, Suited Connectors down to 54s on passive tables, where you won't be raised from behind.

Middle Position

Commonly raised hands: AA-55, AK - AT (suited or unsuited), KQ - KJ (suited or unsuited).
Commonly called, limped hands: 44-22, Suited Connectors down to 54s on passive tables, where you won't be raised from behind.

Cut Off and Button

In keeping with FR games, you can be clearly looser with your starting hands from late position.

Commonly raised hands: AA-22, AK - A8 (suited or unsuited), KQ - KT (suited or unsuited), QJs - QTs, QJo, JTs.
Commonly called, limped hands: Suited Connectors down to 54s, Suited One Gapers down to 75s, Suited Two Gapers down to 96s. Only when the implied odds are good, of course.

Finally, there is a broad range of hands for steal raises which must win pre-flop and are „only" to steal the blinds. This includes: all hands mentioned above plus A7s - A2s, K9s - K6s, Q9s - Q7s, suited connectors and one gapers. Just as at FR tables, you must guess how probable it is that you will win on a steal raise.

Blinds

The general principles for playing the blinds at FR tables are valid here. The disadvantage of position is so heavy that you will play a tighter range.

Commonly raised hands: AA-TT, AK - AJ + KQ (suited or unsuited). With all other hands that you would have raised from the late position you should take the free play in the big blind, or complete in the small blind.

You can complete in the small blind with a wide range of hands because of the superb pot odds: suited connectors, suited one gapers, suited two gapers, offsuited connectors, and small suited aces.

Gaming development and evaluation

I would like to recommend that all those who want their pre-flop game to stand upright to not try and get away from the beginner's starting hands chart all at once. A much more promising way to better your pre-flop game is to do it in steps. Take one hand group at a time whose play you want to improve. With a more open pre-flop game, you will also see many different situations on the flop. It would be unfortunate if you were unprepared for it and lost money because of it. You should follow your own learning pace inside your own comfort zone.

Additionally, I recommend you check the suitability of everything you try using PokerTracker. Furthermore, you should post hands that you are unsure abut in the example hand forum. Many mistakes and weak spots are only uncovered through dialogue. Use everything available to you from PokerStrategy.de to evaluate your game.

Afterword

A „perfect" no limit Hold'em pre-flop game will not come overnight. It takes a lot of time and practice to develop it. This article should give you a firm basis upon which to refine your game. Much of what is here may seem theoretical and unintelligible at first. A good way to get a look at no limit Hold'em in practice is to go to live coachings. There you will see how professionals put theoretical knowledge into practice. Use this discussions and example hands on the forums to check your game further, and keep building it up through dialogue with other no limit Hold'em players.