Pre-Flop Play in Texas Hold ‘em

The first and arguably most important decision you can make in a game of NL Texas Hold’em is whether to play a hand or fold before investing any money into the pot. This fundamental part of poker demands thought and study and this article outlines some of the key considerations to make before folding or playing the hand.

My Positional Range

When players first begin to play cash games and poker tournaments they focus mainly on their hole cards but the process should go a little deeper than simply what you see. If you are in early position your range should be tighter. Your playable hands are AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK, AQ and KQ suited according to most poker strategy articles and books. The reason for this is that because you are out of position (you will be acting first or thereabouts after the flop) you will not know your opponent’s intentions in the hand until you have acted. This could cost you chips if you bet a marginal hand and face a large raise where you have to fold. Playing the same hand in late position would see the raise being made first by your opponent allowing you to save the chips you lost by playing from early position.

As you progress around the table in terms of position you can widen the amount of hands you play because you have less opponents to beat (more will have folded) and you have more value out of the hands from later position as you have more information to work with.

Who is in the Hand?

After you have assessed position and your own abilities in terms of playing marginal hands you should assess the range of any opponents who are in the hand and their position in relation to you. Playing one behind the button and seeing the player on the button call your raise is not a good sign for the rest of the hand because this is the only player who has a better position than you at the table.

For players in earlier positions than you whilst you have advantage in positional terms you should consider their likely range. If they are ultra tight and you are playing a 7-8 suited hand you might be behind on the flop if overcards come on the board. If they have limped in you might be better calling and seeing if you improve, or are checked to on the flop. If you re-raise at this point and they are tight if they shove all-in you cannot call.

Your considerations here are how strong your opponent is likely to be, what you know about them and what your own hand dictates you should do based on these assumptions.

The Action to Take; Raise, Call, or Fold?

Pre-flop players cannot check as there are blinds that force them to invest chips or fold their hand. After you have decided on the opponent’s likely hand strength you then decide on the move you should make. As described above you should be thinking carefully about who the opponent is and what they could hold.

If you play the hand, I recommend that you raise. If you limp in you run the risk of giving the big blind a free look at the cards. You are thus removing the opportunity of getting a mistake out of this player. I am a big fan of the saying “if it is not good enough to raise, it’s not good enough to call either” in relation to your hole card strength.

By Malcolm Clarke