Poker
Pre-Flop
When you first get dealt
your cards, and before you start betting like crazy
on your pocket jacks, you need to carefully consider
all the variables involved to develop a solid pre-flop
strategy.
The factors to consider are the
number of players, how aggressive/passive the players
at the table are, your bankroll, your position, and
how much risk you are willing to entail.
Number of players:
When you have eight or ten people in the game, it becomes
much more likely that someone else at the table has
a strong hand in the pocket than in a short-handed game.
Also, you'll need to be more cautious in larger games,
as the chances of someone's pre-flop hand fitting the
flop will be greater. More competition = tougher competition.
Aggressiveness:
Assuming you've been playing with a few people for several
hands, and you noticed some jackass is raising every
hand pre-flop, you'll want to play tighter. Let the
guy win the blinds (big deal) and nail him to the wall
when you have a solid hand in the pocket pre-flop.
Your bankroll:
You'll want to play extremely carefully and select one
hand to bet on if you're short stacked, hoping to get
as many players involved as possible for a larger pot.
You'll want to be all-in before the flop is dealt. On
the flip-side, if you have $1000 at a $1/$2 table, you
can take the high-risk, high-payout bets, and push the
other players around a little bit more.
Your position:
People in late position have the ability to influence
the size of the pot much more than those in early position.
This is especially true pre-flop.
Of course, it's also important
to consider what cards you actually have in your hand.
Naturally, AA is the best to start with. It helps if
your hand is suited or if the cards are sequential in
rank like a Seven and an Eight ("connected").
It's important to understand how your two cards hold
up against other combinations of cards though. A good
discussion of that can be found in our Poker
Odds section.
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