Hold ’em has strict guidelines on the first two cards, because the number of possible combinations is not large. There are some exceptions to those guidelines.

So why on occasion you should play a hand differently ?

1. To keep your game from becoming too predictable (Good poker players must be fooled more often vs bad ones)
2. Type of the game
3. Quality of you play (As your game improves, you can add more hands to your play)

Be mindful not to go on tilt and start playing more hands than you should.

Example:

A hand like J8s can be very tempting to play, even from an early position – stay disciplined random holdings don’t win often enough to be profitable in the long run.

Hand Rankings.

Group 1: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AKs

Group 2: 1010, AQs, AJs, KQs, AK

Group 3: 99, J10s, QJs, KJs, A10s, AQ

Group 4: 109s, KQ, 88, Q10s, 98s, J9s, AJ, K10s

Group 5: 77, 87s, Q9s, 108s, KJ, QJ, J10, 76s, 97s, Axs, 65s

Group 6: 66, A10, 55, 86s, K10, Q10, 54s, K9s, J8s, 75s

Group 7: 44, J9, 64s, 109, 53s, 33, 98,43s, 22, Kxs, 107s, Q8s

Group 8: 87, A9, Q9, 76, 42s, 32s, 96s, 85s, 58, J7s, 65, 54, 74s, K9, 108

Hand Groupings For Pairs.

1. Group 1: AA, KK, QQ, JJ
2. Group 2: 1010
3. Group 3: 99
4. Group 4: 88
5. Group 5: 77
6. Group 6: 66, 55
7. Group 7: 44, 33, 22

Hand Groupings For Pairs.

Aces:

• AKs – 1
• AK – 2
• AQs – 2
• AQ – 3
• AJs – 2
• AJ – 4
• A10s – 3
• A10 – 6
• A9s – 5
• A9 – 8
• Axs – 5

Kings:

• KQs – 2
• KQ – 4
• KJs – 3
• KJ – 5
• K10s – 4
• K10 – 6
• K9s – 6
• K9 – 8
• Kxs – 7

Queens:

• QJs – 3
• QJ – 5
• Q10s – 4
• Q10 – 6
• Q9s – 5
• Q9 – 8
• Q8s – 7

Jacks:

• J10s – 3
• J10 – 5
• J9s – 4
• J9 – 7
• J8s – 6
• J8 – 8
• J7s – 8

Tens:

• 109s – 4
• 109 – 7
• 108s – 5
• 108 – 8
• 107s – 7

Nines:

• 98s – 4
• 98 – 7
• 97s – 5
• 97 –
• 96s – 8

Eights:

• 87s – 5
• 87 – 8
• 86s – 6
• 86 –
• 85s – 8

Sevens:

• 76s – 5
• 76 – 8
• 75s – 6
• 75 –
• 74s – 8

Sixes:

• 65s – 5
• 65 – 8
• 64s – 7
• 64 –

Fives:

• 54s – 6
• 54 – 8
• 53s – 7
• 53 –

Fours:

• 43s – 7
• 43 –
• 42s – 8
• 42 –

Threes:

• 32s – 8
• 32 –

Types Of Games:

1. Loose – Passive – not much before-the-flop raising with many players in most pots. You could play hands, such as 87s. Dont overplay them. Again, if you are not sure, it is usually best to pass. You play those hands mainly for deception purposes. Keep in mind how strong your competition is. If you are in a game full of extremely weak opponents, it is generally best to simply call.
2. Loose – Aggressive – you should not be in many pots.
3. Tight – Passive
4. Tight – Aggressive or Tough – has a fair amount of raising, but not many large multiway pots. If you are not sure which of these types you are playing, it is best to assume that the game is typical until you can determine otherwise.

• Passive/aggressive – should have a major impact on the number of hands that you play.
• Loose/tight – should impact the mix of hands that you play.

Example:

You occasionally should play a hand like 76s in an early position, even if the game is tough, to stop your more observant opponents from stealing against you when “rags” flop. Also, this is a good hand to occasionally raise with if you feel that your early position raises not getting any action.

REMEMBER!

1. These guidelines are very important.
2. Tight-aggressive play will get the money in the long run.
3. Don’t call many raises if no one else has voluntarily entered the pot. Better fold or occasionally reraise.

Specifically, as just mentioned, small pairs play well in loose-aggressive games providing that they are not too aggressive. This is because if you flop a set you can anticipate many bets going into the pot. If the game is too aggressive and you hold a small pair you will frequently be forced to play for several bets, and now your hand will not achieve the implied odds that it needs to be profitable. If the game is passive, you prefer the suited connector to the small pair. This is because a “set” will have trouble collecting a lot of bets. On the other hand, if the suited connector flops something like a gutshot draw it won’t necessarily be bet out of the pot.

Example:

You hold:

Flop:

• If the game is passive you may still be around on the fourth or fifth street to catch a seven if it slides off.
• If the game is aggressive you may find yourself out of the hand.

Sometimes the game will be moderately aggressive but will feature two or three players who will play virtually any ace. In games like this, you should play A9s, A8s, 77, and 66 as long as the pot is not yet raised. Now if you hit your ace someone may have aces with you, but with a worse kicker, or if you flop your set someone may call a bet trying to catch that elusive ace. One hand that we have not yet addressed is JJ. If no one has opened and you are in an early position, it is usually best to raise with JJ in a tight game and to just call with it in a loose game. With JJ you would prefer either to have no more than one or two opponents in the hope that your hand holds up without improvement, or to have as many opponents as possible when the majority of your profits come from flopping a set. The worst scenario is when exactly three or four opponents see the flop with you. This most likely would occur if you called in a tight game or raised in a loose game. If you hold JJ and the pot has been raised and reraised before the action gets to you, you should fold. This is correct even when you are in a middle or late position. However, if you have already opened with JJ and the pot has been raised and reraised behind you, then it is correct to go ahead and call because of the pot odds. What you are hoping to do in this situation is to flop trips. If you do not make a set, be prepared to fold (although folding is not necessarily automatic).

Read:

1. How To Use Your Position In Poker?
2. How To Raise In Hold ’em Correctly?
3. How To Play Heads-Up Versus Multiway?
4. Types Of Poker Players And How To Play Against Them?
5. What Are Pot Odds And How To Count It?
6. How To Count Odds And Implied Odds?
7. How To Play Blinds (With Starting Hands Charts)
8. How To Avoid Tilting In Poker?