Texas Holdem Starting Hands
Starting Hands, Tips and Strategy
Early position in Texas Holdem, is the 3 players to the left of the big blind, late position are the 2 players to the right of the blinds. By deduction, that makes everyone in between in middle position. Why, you ask, do you have to play your starting hands differently from different positions?
IMPORTANT TIP: The answer is logical and probably won't surprise you. Texas Holdem is all about information. The more information you have about how everyone else is going to play the hand, the easier it is for you to make a more informed decision about how you are going to play your starting hands.
Logically, in Texas Holdem poker, in early position, since you are one of the first to act, you have to be much more selective about your starting hands since you don't know what the players behind you are going to do.
The last thing you want to do is call the big blind, someone behind you puts in a nice raise, and you are forced to fold that hand, wasting your money. In late position, since you are one of the last players to act you have had the luxury of watching what most of the other players are going to do, making your decision an easier one.
In Texas Holdem poker, you might decide to call a bet from this position because there is less likelihood you are going to be raised with only 2 or 3 players to act behind you. For this reason, the cards you play in early position are usually of much higher rank and quality than those you might play from around back.
The biggest mistake most Texas Holdem players make is bleeding their money away by playing too many hands. IMPORTANT TIP: A good Texas Holdem poker player really won't be involved in too many hands, unless he is running hot.
Always be aware of what position you are in and take it into consideration when deciding, whether or not, to put you're hard earned chips into the pot. The following is a good idea of starting hands that can be played depending on where you are seated at the poker table.
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In early position- you really only want to play AQ or better, which is AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 10's. You can raise with some of these hands, but might limp with pairs JJ's or lower. You can call with AK or AQ. It's hard to stand a raise from anything less.
In middle position- your strategy changes a bit. As discussed, you can lower your standards here since you have a little more information. You can play all hands from A-10 and above (this includes suited connectors from 67s on up) if you are the first to act. You can call with 99's, 88's, 77's and even lower. But these pairs should be folded if the pot is raised from behind, unless there are a lot of callers for one extra bet.
In late position- you tweak your strategy yet again. You can call with most suited connectors and small pairs all the way down to 22's. If the pot has not been raised in front of you, you may be tempted to raise, regardless of your hand. This is called a position raise. It can be an important part of your success over the course of a Texas Holdem poker tournament, but it's something that should be used selectively, unless you really
have a hand. Remember if everyone in front of you has folded there is a far greater chance that someone behind you has woken up with a hand... keep this in mind before trying to bully the blinds.
To complete your knowledge of the math behind Texas Holdem Poker, read these sections: Pre Flop Odds, Outs and Odds, Starting Hands and Drawing Hand Odds.
If you already have a working knowledge of this stuff and want to get more serious about becoming a winning Texas Holdem player then check out our full review of the best online poker rooms.
Good luck and we'll see you at the tables!
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