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Beyond Starting Hand Charts

Starting hand charts are an important tool for beginning poker players.  They are kind of like training wheels for new players.  The biggest mistake new poker players make is playing too many hands and going too far with those hands.  This is a great way to lose money fast, an often times discouraging introduction to poker. 

But what happens after you’ve got a good 20k, 30k, or more hands under your belt?  You’re not yet an expert, but you can hold your own at a small stakes table.  Do you continue rigidly playing the same starting hands from the same positions in the same way forever?  Well you could, but you wouldn’t be maximizing your profits. 

What you should do is have a basic set of hands you start out playing.  Then adjust those starting hands you play based on the table conditions.  Let me be very clear.  Never ever, and I mean EVER play a hand because you have a “feeling” that it’s a winner.  Don’t follow intuition, your gut instinct, or your invisible friend’s advice when it comes to which hands you play.  That’s not what we’re talking about here.  We’re talking about varying your starting hands based on specific reasons having to do with the environment at the table.  You need a tangible, specific reason in order to loosen your starting hand requirements.  If you can’t explain exactly why you’re entering the pot out of position with a hand that you wouldn’t normally consider, then don’t do it!

Our starting hand chart is a simple generic guideline meant to be easily understood and implemented.  If you never moved beyond that chart you would show a profit in the long run.  Understand that if you choose to increase the amount of hands you play, you will also increase your variance.  That is, your wins and loses will fluctuate more greatly than that of a tighter player.  And also remember that there’s a big difference between a tight aggressive player and playing tight weak.  If you want to see a great example of tight weak play, go check out the low limit tables at Absolute Poker.  If you play tight weak, all you’re doing is slowing down the bleeding.  Play tight until you find a hand you like, then let that aggression out!  Poker isn't a game for the timid.

So when do you play more hands?  In loose, passive games like those at Pacific Poker.  Ideally you want many loose passive calling stations seeing the flop.  If you don’t have to worry too much about being raised, then you can play any pair from any position.  Even if you are raised, in loose games with many callers (6+) you’ll get tremendous action on your sets.  You should also consider playing any suited ace, K9s and up, Q9s and up, 98s and up, and KJ up.  In mid to late position play kings as low as K8s, Q8s and up, J7s and up, and 4,3s up, including any two off suited cards ten and up.

In loose passive games suited connectors gain value and big pairs lose value.  That’s because with many people in a hand, you’re far less likely to win if your AJ offsuit hits the flop.  Whereas when you hit the flop with a suited connector, it will often develop into a monster hand.  That’s one of the reasons people complain so much about being drawn out on at places like Pacific and Party Poker.  They're not adjusting how they value their hands for the table conditions.  They whine that their aces and kings always get cracked.  With many calling stations in the hand you need to be more willing to lay down a big pair while placing more value on big suited connectors.  It can be painful laying down a big pair (especially AA and KK!), but often when you’re playing at a table with huge flop percentages, you’ve got to do it.  Don’t get married to your big pairs! 

When raised after entering a hand, call when it is just one bet to continue.  If it’s two or more bets back to you, then tighten up the same as if you’re cold calling a raise.  Don’t be reluctant to fold it if you need to.

In tight games turn the aggression up a bit.  Raise often when first in from middle position with a hand you’d normally just call with.  Always raise when first in from last position.  When playing weak tight players like those at Absolute and Full Tilt Poker, this is crucial to showing a respectable profit.  If you’re in the blinds, often re-raise a lone raiser if your hand is decent as often times the raiser will be anticipating an easy fold from a weak tight player.  A little aggression on your part will often cause the raiser to lay down his hand.

When you’ve been at a table long enough to learn your opponents habits, you can vary your play accordingly.  Isolate a maniac who plays any two cards if your hand is even remotely decent by raising.  For instance, a middle position maniac is first in and you’re sitting directly to his left.  Raise if your hand is decent.  This will likely fold out the rest of the table.  As long as your hand is decent, there’s a good possibility you’re ahead of the maniac who plays any two cards, and you should have no problem out playing him after the flop.  Again you must consider the caliber of your opponents.  At Pacific you’ll probably have several cold callers so attempting to isolate the maniac is pointless.  At Absolute Poker you’ll be more likely to pull it off.   

The basic idea to keep in the back of your head when deciding whether to play a hand is that you always want to play a bit tighter than the majority of the players at your table.  At a tight table, tighten up.  At a loose table, loosen up.  You’ll show a profit over the long run if on average, you always play more profitable hands and less questionable hands than most of your opponents do.  Of course you still need to out play your opponents after the flop, but if your hands on average are of a higher quality than those of your opponents, then you should do well.  Again, the more hands you decide to play the more your bankroll will fluctuate.

To learn more on varying your starting hands I very highly recommend Small Stakes Hold’em by Ed Miller as well as Hold'em For Advanced Players which you can find in our poker book reviews section.  I’ve probably read both books around 12-15 times each.  The practical exercises in SSHE should be studied until you’ve commited them to memory.

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