In a full ring No Limit Hold'em game is the right hand selection of the first crucial step to profitable play. Decisions on the flop, turn or river you may need to meet only once or twice per round, but pre-flop decisions you make in each hand. These can cost a lot of money - or save.
Money you save is in the long run as good as money won. Save yourself so unwise bets and do not play these more marginal hands. It is quite difficult to create guidelines for pre-flop hands. There are so many different factors that one must note that many players probably argue that it is simply impossible even. I will be careful, therefore, to tell you, you should play this hand, and those not. Rather, I will give you the information to hand, you need to make the right decisions at the table.
The position is critical
Rate the strength of your hand depends on your position. In short, their position is almost as important as your cards. As in earlier position, a moderate to weak hand, may be from late position, a good to very good hand.
Playing in position so the biggest advantage is you can have in Hold'em.
Early Position
The first three players left from the big blind sitting in early position. On these sites you should be very tight and only play the best hands.
Try to generally as seldom as possible "out of position" to play. If you do not have a position, you know in one hand not know where you stand. They are dependent on assumptions, and which is riskier, the marginal hands are you play.
We can therefore not do enough to emphasize that you should play from early position always very tight. Hands like AK, AQ, A-Js, K-Qs high pairs are so obviously good enough. Hands like A-Jo, A-To, small suited connectors and zusammenhänglose hands should be avoided, especially beginners, however.
Middle Position
In middle position (the three seats to the left of early position), you are often faced the same problems. Often, you have to play out of position.
However, you have position on the players in early position. Your situation is not all bad. In middle position you can add to your range of hands a few hands. Although you should do anything crazy like K ♠ J ♥ ♠ ♠ limp or increase T, but you can with a hand like A T ♣ ♥.
Late Position
From late position, you will earn the most money in NLHE. They are pretty much on a gold mine. For most players this is the most lucrative position.
It must be your goal to get control of the hand. You raise with good hands and attack the limper from early position. In the rear position of moderate hands good hands and good hands out very good.
Hand selection for beginners
For a hand is playable, it should be classified in one of the following categories:
High pocket pairs: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT
These are now already made hands. Often they will also win in the showdown even if they do not improve! With these premium hands, you should always raise.
They are valuable as an Over Pair and become monsters, if you flop a set. Enjoy, if you get such a hand.
Top-pair hands: AK, AQ, AJ, KQ
These are good hands, you should raise with. They are called top-pair hands because you will make when you usually have top pair with a good kicker.
These are poker hands basic foods. Top pair is often enough to win a showdown.
Good speculative hands: A-xs, Q-Js, T-9s, 8-9s, 99-22
When you meet with these hands, it is usually very expensive (for the opponent). These hands are straights and flushes. Play it if you can see the flop cheaply.
Limp with these hands from middle or late position. They are best to play against multiple opponents. From early position you should fold more.
Weak, speculative hands: 5-6s, 6-7s, T-9o, K-xs, Q-Jo, etc.
These are marginal hands, and generally too weak to be playable. They are especially after the flop to play hard and often develop the second-best hand.
You can request the cut-off or limp from the button when it has already been limper in front of you. Try this but not from early or middle position.
If your hand does not belong to any of the above categories, it is probably too weak. In a full ring No Limit game you should play on average more than 19% of your hands. Good 80% of the time you are so not in the game.
Raise or play against a raise
What hands you should raise before the flop, is a question of despair of many beginners. Premium hands should of course always be raised.
Try at your first attempts do not play high pair slowly. They will come after the flop in tricky situations, so they raise before, and thus enlarge the pot.
The good top pair of hands you should raise pre-flop: AK, AQ, AJ, KQ, etc. These hands are better than average hand of your opponent. They have an advantage, so you want a big pot as possible.
You're playing better hands than your opponent (whose money you want), they should raise when you are faced with the flop forward.
This means you can raise from late position and more hands from the button - you are not only thanks to your favorite cards, but also because of your position (think of the above-mentioned advantages).
If a player raises before you, you should play more cautious. With a raise announces the player to have a good hand. You need to have a better hand to make the call.
They sit, for example, in intermediate position, from where you normally only AA - raise AJ and KQ and all others would fold - 9-9, AK. You should call a raise in no case worse than these hands.
Against a raise you want to play any hand that is dominant. Otherwise they get into serious trouble. If you call a raise with AJ and the flop comes ace high, you can lose a lot of money because you do not know if your hand is good.
Avoid hands so that could be dominated, but try it from time to time with speculative hands when you have position and it has been several callers.
Hands like J-Ts to 7-8s, and Pocket pairs are great hands to when they hit the flop correctly. You can also fold easily when you miss the flop. Such hands are therefore more profitable to play than a raise, for example, A-To or KJ.
Principle: Better too tight than too loose
Let us face it: Ultimately, you are out there alone. A list of possible starting hands can be helpful, but never exactly. Poker is not a schematic play. The gambling behavior is always situational.
You can not always play poker the same way. There is always a lot of different influences on whether your hand is profitable or not playable.
This means that you need to isolate any situation. How to play your opponent? What is your position? How many players are in the pot? What image do you have? How strong is your hand? Do you have top pair or a speculative hand? If you raise or just call?
Imagine always asking questions. Ask yourself whether you can make profits with this hand.
As a beginner, you should play very tight, this will be your turn and river decisions easier. If you play all possible hands without thinking, you will get into dangerous situations. Try to avoid this. If you only play premium hands, you come on the flop even in difficulties.
If they have improved your game after the flop enough, you can expand your range of hands. With experience, they also know how to behave in dangerous situations.
Until then: play the best hands and you make simple decisions.
