Preflop play
Pre-Flop and Post Flop Play In No Limit Texas Holdem.
Play both before and after the flop in no limit Texas Holdem depends on a number of factors. These include the size of your chip stack, the tendencies of opponents and your table image from previous hands. What is more the key concept behind no limit Holdem play is the potential reward for hitting a big hand – known as your ‘implied odds'. Here we look at these factors and how they influence the selection and play of hands both before and after the flop.
An important factor in deciding whether to play any hand before the flop is your position at the table. Here we look at how this influences your hand selection before the flop.
Early Position
If you are one of the first players to act then there are more opponents who could raise or re-raise you, meaning that you should be more selective in your starting hand requirements. What is more you are more likely to have to act first after the flop. This means you have no information on the strength of your opponent's possible holdings before you commit chips to the pot.
Middle Position
Playing from the 4 th to 6 th positions at the table in no-limit Holdem depends on the actions of the players who have acted ahead of you, and the known tendencies of those players who have yet to act. From middle position you can loosen your starting hands to include pairs and many high card combinations. If someone has already raised ahead of you then you will need a stronger hand than those which you use to open raise with.
Late Position
From later position you need to account for the actions of all of the players who have acted so far. You will be able to play a wider selection of hands when last to act after the flop including small pairs and suited connectors. If several players have limped into the pot then a raise may win immediately, your opponents have shown weakness and will be out of position after the flop.
The dealer button position is a valuable asset in no-limit Holdem. With only the blinds to act (who will act first after the flop) you will have seen most of your opponents decide whether to fold, call or raise already. After the flop you will again get to see the reactions of opponents before you make your decision. For this reason you can loosen up your starting hand requirements considerably from the button. While speculative holdings such as Q-10 off-suit or A-4 suited should usually be folded from early position they become playable from the button.
Other Pre-Flop Considerations
You need to think about whether your hand is better played in a multi-way pot or in a raised pot against a single opponent. For example hands such as A-A and K-K go down in value when there are several opponents in the pot. While they are monster hands before the flop a small pot with 4 opponents and a flop of 9-10-J suited could mean you are in big trouble.
On the other side hands such as small pairs and suited connectors are better played when cheap to enter the pot against multiple opponents. An example here is holding 4-4 on the button and seeing 3 limpers ahead. Limping with this hand gives you the chance to hit a well-hidden set. If the flop comes something like 4-9-A you have the potential to win a very big pot from an opponent who limped with an ace.
Now that you have learned about No Limit preflop play you can read the No Limit Postflop play article. |
