Playing Small Pairs and Over Cards Early in a Tournament.
If you play enough Texas Holdem then you've been involved in many hands that look like AK vs. QQ's or AQ vs. JJ's. These race hands, where it's more or less a coin flip, are very common in hold'em. If you're playing single table tournaments or multiplayer events you're going to have to win these hands if you expect to go very far, but try not to get involved in them until you have to.
One of the most amazing things I read about Johnny Chan when he won the WSOP for the second time in 1988 were his race hand statistics. When it was down to 3 tables left he was involved in 14 race hand situations where he held an underpair vs. over cards or vice versa and he won every single hand. That's incredible! But remember he already made it deep into the tournament, I doubt he was involved in these type of hands early on.
So let's talk about how to play these hands, especially in early position, at the beginning of a multiplayer tournament (see our Starting Hands page for more) ?
I prefer to play very tight early on in a tourney. In early positions I really only want to play AK or better. When I say AK or better, I don't mean a small pair like 55's. I'll raise under the gun with AK but will throw away a pair of 55's. If I hold AQ (suited) in early position) I may call and hope for no raises from behind back.
If I'm raised, I'm out of the hand because if an Ace or Queen hits on the flop, I'm forced to use a lot of feel to win the hand, which can only get me in trouble early in a tournament. Save the feel plays for later on when you have more chips or a much better understanding for the way your opponents play. You can not stand a good raise, with AQ or lower, from early position in the opening rounds.
In fact, I'll limp (just call) in early position on anything from 77's up to JJ's if I'm at a tight table. If someone puts in a nice raise from around back, I'm out of the hand. But if I get to see a flop it's a lot easier to play these small pairs after the flop. Simply, if I flop a set of trips, then I can try and do some real damage, if I don't and there are over cards on the flop, my hand is easy to throw away.
In that respect playing an underpair, JJ's or lower, from early position is a lot easier to play then a hand like AQ or AJ because it's a lot easier to get away from. You don't want to have to make tricky decisions at the beginning of a big tournament.
Click Here to receive your 50% Bonus (Up to $250) Now!
Your play should be somewhat predictable early on, it's better to let the cards do the talking. As the tournament goes on and you have shown your opponents you're a solid player then you can begin to switch gears. Maybe try and catch someone leaning the wrong way by making plays that would be somewhat out of character based on your early play. But starting out you have to be very picky about the hands you play. Good solid play is the recipe for early success in a holdem event.
Too many times, in multiplayer tournaments, you will see someone call all their chips away with AK or go All In with a small pair like 88's. In either case you may win the hand but this type of play will not help you to go deep in tournaments.
If anything, it shows you have a tendency to gamble too much in the beginning of a tournament and you'll probably get caught gambling later on. It also doesn't do a lot for your table image. If I see a guy that's willing to put all his chips in with what I consider a weak hand, then I'll make the necessary adjustments, as will all the other real players, therefore decreasing his chances against the table.
If I see a player that raises in early position with small pairs I make note of it. If I see a player in early position that calls the big blind or stays in a raised pot with A10 or A blank, I make note of it. It's important to fashion the right type of image at the tables because your gonna need every edge you can get. If other players don't give you respect because you make loose plays then it's going to be that much harder for you to win.
So let's summarize a few of the concepts discussed...
It's best to limp with smaller pairs from early or middle position and then fold if you're raised from around back. If you've tried this a few times and the pot keeps getting raised then don't even limp with small pairs.
Just drop any hand weaker then AQ and even AQ in most circumstances. Remember you don't want to get involved in hands that involve feel early in a multiplayer tournament. Sometimes you may even have to drop AK, QQ's or even KK's depending on who you're playing with.
Dropping KK's pre flop for the first time is almost a cathartic experience. Although I rarely recommend doing this, sometimes early on in a multiplayer tournament against a player, you know only plays premium hands, in a pot that has been raised and re raised, this may be the right move. Don't worry you'll feel better about it later, especially if your opponent shows those pocket bullets (AA's).
When you're able to drop KK's before the flop and AA's after the flop then you can go on to accomplish pretty much anything playing Texas Holdem. Many players can never get away from a hand like AA's or KK's, even when they're instincts tell them they're beat. That's why their game stands still and they never reach the highest levels of play.
Much of what I have outlined here can be debated. Poker is a situational game and nothing is written in stone. I will break some of the very rules I've written about if I think the situation is right to do so. Though, for the most part this is how I'd play it. Just remember, treat the above guidelines as a template, not gospel.
I hope this section helps your early position decision-making when your pocket cards look anything like the ones I described here. Good Luck!
Click Here to receive your 50% Bonus (Up to $250) Now!
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.
- Click Here to see our full review of the best online poker rooms
Click Here for our favorite online poker bonuses
Get started at FullTiltPoker.com today!
****Important Update: (for 2008)************
1 - The 2 most popular online poker rooms - FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars.com - are STILL OPEN TO AMERICAN PLAYERS. In fact, (FT) FullTilt Poker has made it easier than ever to be playing real online poker in less than 5 minutes, no joke! Feel free to take advantage of our customized player bonuses by clicking on any FT links you see.
2 - Our site recently underwent a bit of a facelift, we added many new articles to blend in with our original content - much of which we decided to leave undisturbed. We felt it was important for our audience to have access to all the inside information on playing winning online Texas Holdem. Enjoy!
3 - DuplicatePoker.com is a strange but interesting version of Texas Holdem that I have been trying out. At first, I wasn't too crazy about it but the more I played, the more it started to grow on me.
It's Texas Holdem, with a splash of Chess strategy thrown in. As the banners on our site say, it's 100% legal to US players and they take credit cards! I tried it and it took me about 2 minutes to put money in from my AMEX card. DuplicatePoker.com gives you $FREE MONEY$ just to come and try it out, no strings attached. Be patient, it takes about an hour of play to get the feel for things. After that, I started to enjoy it more and more...
Get started today, click on any of the links you see throughout the site and take advantage of these very special offers! We have chosen our affiliated sites very carefully, and highly recommend them as places to play Texas Holdem Online. FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars.com are class organizations and you can feel very comfortable joining their player ranks. Good Luck.
