So now you have found that perfect table where a few fish are playing and you have chosen to take a seat weather it be online or in person. You are an average player and are now asking yourself what hands am I going to play in this session... WHAT?!!?! Shouldn't I play only the premium hands AA, KK, QQ and A-K suited? Well in my opinion only if you want to lose the tournament or money in a cash game. I have found that waiting for these hands and then capitalizing on them often does not bring you riches, heck it rarely helps you to break even. So what hands should you play?
Well K-5 suited of course....Just Kidding.
First I will discuss playing non premium hands:
It is in my opinion that almost any two cards can be played successfully if you are given the opportunity to limp in or call a small raise. However these two cards must have what I will call "commonality", this means they must have a few things in common, cohesion, harmony, unity etc. Basically are they a pocket pair? And if not are they suited? Have a straight draw chance? Do you have a chance at busting someone that is married to their high pocket pair? And have they allowed you a chance at sneaking in the see the flop cheaply? If you answered yes to some of the above questions then you likely have one of these hands. While most people will claim that all your money is made with AA and KK blah blah... I say all your money is lost with those hands and your real money is made when played smartly the odd hands like 4-5,6-7,7-8,8-9,9-10 and 10-J (all suited). Along with these hands I will include any pocket pair and A-x suited along with several suited 3 gapped cards (cards that have three or less than three cards between them for a straight). Now I am not saying go all in or call a substantial raise with these hands but I definitely think that seeing the flop with these hands is acceptable as long as the risk/raise is minimal. But more importantly you think there is a high chance that someone limped in or did a small raise with a large pocket pair. Keep in mind an important aspect of playing these hands is to be able to fold them when the flop totally misses you or the betting from other players becomes too expensive to try and draw out.
Now you maybe saying "Tommy Tommy Tommy , you are talking nonsense and flying in the face of conventional wisdom and math..."
Am I really? No.
Take the example of Joe sitting UTG and Bob on the button. Joe has Pocket Aces and Bob Has 78 suited. UTG Joe Raise from 15 in tournament chips to 30, trying to limp in with a mild raise. A few other players call and it comes to Bob who calls also and the blinds fold. So who has the greater draw potential? I would have to say Bob, he may not have the better hand at the moment but he has a great chance to take a lot of chips from Joe. 78 suited only needs 3 cards for a straight 3 cards to a flush, or the possibility of hitting 2 pair. With AA you really don't have a lot of probable draws. You are looking for another ace and there are only 2 left in the deck. If the flop comes out rags like 5-6-9 Joe holding the pocket aces will be hard press not to be betting heavy or calling Bob's re-raises. What happens if an ace lands on the turn? There is no chance that Joe won't go the distance with his top set, thus bob will have a huge payday. Sure the odds of flopping a nut straight is low but the investment of a few chips is worth it if you hit and drag a huge pot. And making money is what you are always after in poker. Don't play these hand all the time as you will lose in the long run but the playing of these hands in moderation will improve your game on a number of levels.
Discussion of only playing premium hands:
So you just read the above and now think I am insane, and while I probably am, the above is not the only thing that makes me insane. Playing just the premium hands can benefit and train the inexperienced user to watch the cards and learn the game. It is also the best thing a pro can do at certain times and against certain opponents. I won't go into what those premium hands are because you know them already and if not here is a link of pre-flop odds. The benefits that you have in playing the premium hands come with mathematics and odds that you will win. Simply put a hand that is ahead tends to stay ahead. But like I pointed out earlier this can land you in danger, and you need to be aware of the possibilities. You need to know that your hand while it was the best before the flop may not be the best now. You need to learn to recognize the hand possibilities and through betting varying amounts narrow the field of those possible hands your opponent has.
As you improve your game you will learn to mix it up and play the marginal hands when you know you are behind and slow play the monster hands when you are way ahead the important thing to remember in the world of playing poker for money is that its not always about what cards you have its about what cards they think you have. Keep your opponent guessing about what cards you are playing by opening up once you have established a pattern of being unpredictable tighten up for a while and play the premium hands. But always be ready to do something different when the opportunity presents itself. Playing hands is often not just as simple as what two cards you have been dealt but what stack levels your opponents have, when you have become the big stack in a single table tournament or in any aspect of the game be ready to throw your weight around most people are thinking about making the money and hanging on for dear life. So playing those marginal hands or even raising with them is a smart move to make. Also a persons chip stack should be looked at in the realm of what kind of impact can they really have on me. If someone with pocket aces only has $20 cash sitting in front of them because they have lost everything else it becomes more and more acceptable for you to risk such a small amount. Not only that you know what your risk is and it is limited. There is not a fear of losing it all or getting knocked out of the tournament. By the same token if you are the person with the small stack and pocket aces try and find a way to maximize your callers sure it is risky to want more callers but hey you also want your stack to gain as much as possible with that hand.
One of the most beneficial skills a poker player can develop is hand selection not only before the flop but at every stage of not just the hand but of the game/tournament. Hand selection based on your opponents stack and your own stack in both cash and tournament play, and selection based on what you and your opponents skill levels are.
I thank you for taking the time to read the article if you have any comments or questions please feel free to speak about this in the forums. The next article in this series covers "Reading your opponents hands".
