 One reason people lose is simply because they play too many hands before the flop. Then before they know it they’re sucked in with second best pair and lose their money. Many hands shouldn’t be played.
In fact they say that you should be seeing roughly 10% of the flops. Obviously big pairs in any position ( aces down to jacks) should be played but you should be more cautious playing lower pairs in late position, especially if there is a raise before you. Even pocket jacks aren’t as great as you might think. Did you know that if you’re holding JJ, you will see at least one overcard 50% of the time – on the flop! And this over card could be the one that beats you. In a tournament even medium pairs should not always be played because you want to stay alive – yes, even in late position. And low pairs are not really playable either. I mean, what do you want to hit? If you have, say, pocket 3s, the only thing you really want to see on the flop is another 3 which you have roughly only a 1 in 7 chance of hitting. If you don’t hit your 3 then it is more than likely you are beaten by a higher pair, especially if there was a raise pre-flop. A - K you would want to play in any position but other high cards can be dangerous, for example, A- J or A - Q. If there has been a raise before you it is possible that the other player has AK and has you outkicked before you’ve even seen a pair. In late position you might want to ‘limp in’ ( just call) with two suited connectors, for example, 8 and 9 of hearts. There can be exceptions where you could also play two low cards or low pairs, for example when there are a lot of callers and you are getting very good odds for your hand to hit. Some people will play any ace as well. This is really bad news. If you hold A -2, the only flop you want to see is 2 -2 – x because if you hit your ace, your kicker (other card) is the lowest you can get and you are left in a position of not knowing where you are. Your aces with a 2 kicker might be good but do you really want to spend money finding out? No, best to pass a non-suited ace with a low card. Suited aces are good with a high card and with a low or medium card they can be played in late position or sometimes middle position. But don’t forget that if your cards are suited it only increases their potential by roughly 2%. So why do people say, “Any two will do”? and is it true? Well, yes, sometimes it is and I will go into that later but for now, as a beginner, it is best to stick to high pairs and high cards in all positions and suited connectors and medium pairs in late position only or if you can get into the pot cheaply. |
