Pre-Flop Texas Holdem Strategies
Today we'll be discussing pre-flop Texas holdem strategies, related to position, the cards your holding, and the types of opponents you currently have in the game. Depending on where you have an opponent type situated at the table will determine whether or not a play is worth the risk or if you're just throwing away needless chips. So let's start with your opponent types.
There are only really two types of Texas Holdem players - aggressive and passive. These two categories are broken down further based on hand range - tight and loose. Now both tight and loose passive players feel less inclined to bet at pots and instead tend to call away their chips in an effort to win the pot. A tight passive remaining in the pot indicates that they have a strong hand. A loose passive remaining in the pot indicates that they're drawing to a stronger hand. Tight passives you slow down for if they stick around, loose passives you bet according to how many chips you're willing to lose in the unlikely event they actually make their hand.
Then we have the tight aggressive and loose aggressive players. Both opponent types love to bet when they're holding something, even if its only a draw they're betting at. They don't like to let their opponents control the hand and prefer to do the betting themselves. If you have either aggressive type betting at you, you need to use previous hands as a base line to what they are potentially holding. Once you can put them on a range you'll know when to raise, fold, or call.
Now let's establish based on the cards you're currently holding. Hand group one would consist of strong hands such as high pocket pairs, Ace King, Ace Queen, and other face card suited connectors. When you're holding these cards you want to raise the pot regardless of position and who is directly to the left of you. Opponent types don't come into play as much with these types of hands. You want to raise big to eliminate as much of the competition as possible. Don't worry about whether or not they're loose or tight, passive or aggressive, if you don't raise with these hands you're setting yourself up for a world of disaster.
In terms of position play you want to look at what types of opponents have already entered into the pot, those who are on your right, and those who have yet to act, those on your left. If everyone to the right of you has folded and you're in middle to late position, you may be able to get away with stealing the blinds from your opponents, if they're passive opponents or tight aggressive. If you have a loose aggressive player directly to your left a blind steal is not going to work. If you have loose passive opponents to your left, they'll call you pre-flop but are much more likely to fold on the flop. In either case of the tight player they'll more than likely fold to your raise unless they're holding excellent cards.
Paying attention to your opponent types at the table and their current position in relation to yours can help you identify pots that you can steal. If you have a lot of loose passives to your right and tight passives or tight aggressives to your left, this can also be the perfect opportunity to go for the steal. The tight players will fold the majority of the time to a raise. If they don't you know they're holding something strong, which will be an indication to slow down your betting. Some loose passives may call your pre-flop raise, but are much more inclined to surrender if they don't catch anything. In certain cases they may call you all the way to the river, but unless you see a made straight or flush on the board its typically safe to bet again for them to fold, giving you a nice sized pot.
However, these Texas Holdem strategies won't work up against new loose passive opponents, simply because they have no idea of what you're trying to do. With new opponents you have to play your cards and only play your cards. If you don't have anything, you simply can't bet.
Today we'll be discussing pre-flop Texas holdem strategies, related to position, the cards your holding, and the types of opponents you currently have in the game. Depending on where you have an opponent type situated at the table will determine whether or not a play is worth the risk or if you're just throwing away needless chips. So let's start with your opponent types.
There are only really two types of Texas Holdem players - aggressive and passive. These two categories are broken down further based on hand range - tight and loose. Now both tight and loose passive players feel less inclined to bet at pots and instead tend to call away their chips in an effort to win the pot. A tight passive remaining in the pot indicates that they have a strong hand. A loose passive remaining in the pot indicates that they're drawing to a stronger hand. Tight passives you slow down for if they stick around, loose passives you bet according to how many chips you're willing to lose in the unlikely event they actually make their hand.
Then we have the tight aggressive and loose aggressive players. Both opponent types love to bet when they're holding something, even if its only a draw they're betting at. They don't like to let their opponents control the hand and prefer to do the betting themselves. If you have either aggressive type betting at you, you need to use previous hands as a base line to what they are potentially holding. Once you can put them on a range you'll know when to raise, fold, or call.
Now let's establish based on the cards you're currently holding. Hand group one would consist of strong hands such as high pocket pairs, Ace King, Ace Queen, and other face card suited connectors. When you're holding these cards you want to raise the pot regardless of position and who is directly to the left of you. Opponent types don't come into play as much with these types of hands. You want to raise big to eliminate as much of the competition as possible. Don't worry about whether or not they're loose or tight, passive or aggressive, if you don't raise with these hands you're setting yourself up for a world of disaster.
In terms of position play you want to look at what types of opponents have already entered into the pot, those who are on your right, and those who have yet to act, those on your left. If everyone to the right of you has folded and you're in middle to late position, you may be able to get away with stealing the blinds from your opponents, if they're passive opponents or tight aggressive. If you have a loose aggressive player directly to your left a blind steal is not going to work. If you have loose passive opponents to your left, they'll call you pre-flop but are much more likely to fold on the flop. In either case of the tight player they'll more than likely fold to your raise unless they're holding excellent cards.
Paying attention to your opponent types at the table and their current position in relation to yours can help you identify pots that you can steal. If you have a lot of loose passives to your right and tight passives or tight aggressives to your left, this can also be the perfect opportunity to go for the steal. The tight players will fold the majority of the time to a raise. If they don't you know they're holding something strong, which will be an indication to slow down your betting. Some loose passives may call your pre-flop raise, but are much more inclined to surrender if they don't catch anything. In certain cases they may call you all the way to the river, but unless you see a made straight or flush on the board its typically safe to bet again for them to fold, giving you a nice sized pot.
However, these Texas Holdem strategies won't work up against new loose passive opponents, simply because they have no idea of what you're trying to do. With new opponents you have to play your cards and only play your cards. If you don't have anything, you simply can't bet.
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