Poker Hands To Raise

Today I teach you why exploring your pre-flop calling ranges will improve your frequencies and give you better insight into your opp’s pre-flop hand ranges.

In episode 68 I talked all about Flopzilla (a software program included in the ‘Hand Reading Lab’) and half-way though the episode the video portion kicks in and I showed you how to use Flopzilla to range your opponent through the streets.

Podcast Mission (2:20)

If it’s profitable to limp with a hand pre-flop, it’s generally more profitable to raise in order to put pressure on the blinds. Think of pre-flop poker as a pie chart. If you limp on the button with JsTs and the big blind gets to see the flop for free with A♥2♣, he will win the pot roughly 51% of the time. Get free heads up no limit holdem preflop charts for 100bb stacks. Learn a fundamentally sound strategy for which hands to raise, 3bet and more.

Preflop Raising Hands - Online Poker Preflop Hand Raising When I talk about poker preflop raising hands, I will primarily be talking about the hands you should raise when everyone else folds before. Poker Starting Hand Chart (6-max Cash, 100bb): Hand Chart Notation Getting to know which hands to play and in which positions is even more important than the actual hand. This 6-max Cash Hand Chart details the hands you should play and the position.

My mission for today is to show you how important it is to explore your own pre-flop ranges, and how you can go about doing so by yourself away from the tables. Take the time right now to answer these questions for yourself before we get to the meat of the today’s podcast:

1. Why would exploring my own pre-flop calling ranges improve my poker skills?
2. How can I explore my pre-flop calling ranges on my own?

Why would exploring my own pre-flop calling ranges improve my poker skills? (3:00)

A very important aspect to hand reading is understanding our own pre-flop calling ranges. We’re going to work on that today through a very important part of SplitSuit’s ‘Hand Reading Lab’; the pre-flop exercises.

8 videos into the course, SplitSuit introduces these pre-flop exercises as an exploration in your own pre-flop ranges. The exercises are 6 pages long with 4 questions per page (took me 2.5 hours to complete), and they give you specific scenarios, like “A TAG UTG opens, it folds to you in the CO, what range do you call with?” Your job is to consider the scenario and enter in the exact range of cards you’re calling with as well as the %-form the range equates to.

The questions in this powerful exercise opened my eyes to many things that I never really thought about before, and I believe this has made me a better hand reader and player. When someone just tells you that your ranges are too wide or too tight, it’s really easy to just nod your head and say “okay” without internalizing it or using that info to improve your game. But it’s another thing entirely when, through self-directed study, you find these areas of weakness on your own because you’ll be more likely to make any necessary changes to your game. It’s like anything in life: the things you earn or do for yourself are more valuable than things given to you.

When you go through these exercises for the first time, they make you think critically about what hands you’d play given specific opponents, positions, and the number of opponents yet to act. This critical thought will inform your pre-flop hand choices and will make you a stronger player.

Let’s go through two exercise questions with my real answers, and we’ll see what I learned from them.

The scenario for these two spots is we’re at a cash $1/$2 NLHE table, with 100bb stacks for everyone.

Scenario 1: CO open when folded to me: 22+ A2s+ A8o+ K9s+ KTo+ Q9s+ QTo+ 65s+ 75s+ JTo

Scenario 2: CO raise after 2 limpers:

Initial range: 77+,A9s+ ATo+ KTs+ KJo+ QTs+ QJo T9s+ (13.6%)

Looking at the ranges side-by-side, I realized this is a big frequency issue. I’m opening in the CO 26%, but raising over 2 limpers a small 13.6%. I’m limping behind with lots of the weaker stuff in my range so I’m prolly playing almost the same 26% range from the CO, but why am I letting two limpers cause me to tighten up my raising range? I often preach that you should treat limpers like the weak hands and weak players that they are.

I decided to address this frequency issue and keep my CO raising-over-limpers range exactly the same as my CO opening range. I’m just going to make it 3bb+1 for each limper, so my raise will be to 5bb’s here. Here are the reasons why:

1. If it was good enough to open in the CO either for value or to steal the blinds, it’s still good enough to raise over these limpers
2. Opening here likely takes position away from the BTN who will be less likely to call the bigger bet sizing
3. The bigger bet sizing will likely get the blinds to fold
4. My most likely callers are the limpers, and I’ve got position on them
5. If one of the limpers decides to limp/3bet I can easily ditch many of my dominated hands like the weaker A’s and broadways. The reason for this is we all know that a limp/3bet from EP often means AA or KK.
6. Being the pre-flop aggressor makes it more likely my bluff flop cbets will work to get them off their hands

How can I explore my pre-flop calling ranges on my own? (12:05)

I learned a lot from these pre-flop exercises, and one of those things was that I don’t consider my pre-flop calling ranges enough. With how aggressive today’s games are, we often face a raise when we’re in the MP’s and the LP’s. And when you’re facing a raise you now have the option of calling, 3betting or folding. These spots are so common that we’ve got to dedicate some time off the tables to study these.

Here’s a question from the pre-flop exercises, and I’ll go through this so you can see how I figure out my calling ranges:

We’ve got 100bb’s, a spewy player opens from the HJ and we are in the CO, what range do we call with?

As already discussed, I have a 26% opening range in the CO (once again): 22+ A2s+ A8o+ K9s+ KTo+ Q9s+ QTo+ 65s+ 75s+ JTo

I won’t be playing this entire range vs a raise, but it’s a perfect place to start my analysis of this situation.

Big Raise Poker

I work through things like this in Flopzilla in 3 steps:

3betting: (want value and some bluffs) TT+ AJs+ and AQo+ for value. I’d also throw in some non-premium hands as semi-bluffs, and those could be A7s, A6s, T8s, 75s and 65s. The suited A’s are thrown in as bluffs b/c my ace makes it less likely he has an ace so he’ll fold, and the sc’s are in there b/c if they get called they can flop pretty well. So, my 3betting here is a range of 6.5% or 86 combos of hands.

Folding: (I don’t want to face too many squeezes and also don’t want to be dominated) I’m ditching the off-suit broadways and anything less than AJo, ditching A8s+ATs, losing most of the suited weaker broadways that could be dominated even though he’s spewy, and losing most of the suited gappers.

Calling: (we remove 3betting hands and folding hands) This leaves us with a 7.25% range, 96 combos, and it is 22-99, A2s-A5s due to the straight and flush possibilities, 76-KQs for some floppable sc action and KJs as a good suited gapper.

In total, I’m playing 13.75% (182 combos) in the CO vs a HJ open, so I’m folding about ½ of my total CO opening range. That sounds pretty good to me as you definitely want to tighten up when facing a raise, even if it’s from a spewy player.

Now that you’ve seen how I figure out my own calling and 3betting ranges when facing action, you can follow these same steps to determine your own. I’d like to see you do this by position, so the MP’s (you can group this into one range), CO, BTN, SB and BB. Also, do this considering a LAG opener as I just discussed, a standard winning TAG opener and a LP fishy opener. With these three player types and 5 positions to consider, you’ve got 15 different calling and 3betting ranges to think about here.

It’ll take a lot of work on your part to do this, but I know that these exercises will benefit your game as you consider different hand strengths vs ranges and the player types you’re up against.

Podcast Challenge (19:35)

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode: Get started figuring out your own pre-flop calling ranges with this very common situation: You’ve got 100bb’s, on the BTN vs a tight EP opener. We face this all the time, so what would you call with? Figure this out for yourself and let me know your answer via email. I’ll respond with my own calling range here. Maybe we can learn a little something from each other.

Purchase the Hand Reading Lab with my affiliate offer code

I got the ‘Hand Reading Lab’ and it’s the best poker course I’ve ever experienced and I truly feel it’s worth every penny.

The course contains everything you need to master the skill and art of hand reading:

• 27 videos
• Powerful Guides and Exercises
• A 2-hour Hand Reading Webinar
• A Hand Reading LIVE Tags video from Red Chip Poker
• A Flopzilla License
• A set of custom Flopzilla Ranges to help you hand read opponents and use Flopzilla successfully

Click here and use my affiliate offer code “smart” at checkout to get the Hand Reading Lab course and these two additional bonuses:

1. Splitsuit’s popular ‘Playing 3bet Pots’ video series
2. Entry into my Hand Reading Webinar on July 9th at 10am Pacific (just send me your HRL purchase confirmation)

Contact Me

Please leave any CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS or REQUESTS in the comments section below.

Or… Tweet me @SmartPokerStudy.

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You can find the podcast in iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music and your favorite podcast app.

Up Next…

In episode 73, I’ll answer 3 insightful listener Q’s. And next week, in episode #74, I’ll continue the HRL series with part 5 where I’ll discuss the importance of making some assumptions and assigning your opponent a range pre-flop, and sticking with it.

Until next time, study smart, play much and make your next session the best one yet.

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Playing poker live for the first time can be a nerve racking experience, and also a bit intimidating. The last thing you want to do is upset another player by doing things you shouldn’t, right? The purpose of this column is to offer some hints and tips on good poker etiquette and to make the introduction to live poker as smooth and enjoyable as possible.

I’ll assume that you already know the basic rules of poker and are comfortable with the mechanics of the game. But there are many more rules, regulations, and etiquette issues you should know before embarking on your first foray into live poker.

Don’t let anything in this column put you off playing live poker. Everyone was a novice at one stage and poker players are generally a friendly bunch who are welcoming to new players. If you explain you’re new to the game then nobody will expect you to be perfect, but the following points should help you integrate into the game without any unexpected bumps:

#1 – Keeping Up with the Game

Poker players get frustrated when the game is moving slowly. Pay attention to the game so you know when it’s your turn to act. When it’s your turn to post blinds/antes, then do so without having to be continually prompted. Everyone can forget sometimes, so don’t beat yourself up about this too much – but players will appreciate it if you pay attention and keep up with the flow of the game. Also, only act when it’s your turn – don’t check, call, or fold out of turn. This annoys other players.

#2 – “I See You….And”

You’ve probably seen poker in the movies where they all say “I see you…and I’ll raise” – STOP! This is incorrect, and phrases like “I see you” are classed as a call, plain and simple. If you wish to make a raise then just say “raise”. Then make your bet. At some venues you might get away with this kind of sloppy table talk, but it’s a bad habit and one that should be eliminated early on.

#3 – Saying “Raise” When You Mean “Bet”

Another very common verbal error that beginners to poker make is saying “raise”, when they are just making a bet. Don’t say raise when you mean bet. For example, after the flop the first to open the betting should say “bet” rather than “raise”. Even though there is money in the pot, they aren’t raising a new bet – they’re opening the betting. Saying “raise” should only occur when you’re actually increasing the bet and thereby raising someone else’s previous bet. Other players probably won’t say anything because it’s such a common occurrence, but a good one to avoid nonetheless. It won’t get you into trouble but saying raise when it’s just a bet is like holding up a big neon sign saying “I’m a poker novice”.

#4- String Betting

A string bet is when a player entering his chips into the pot as a bet or raise proceeds to move chips in multiple chip movement, such as dropping chips one at a time or going back to their chip stack to pick up more chips. The ruling for string bets varies from region to region, with some places being far stricter than others. Avoiding a habit for string betting is a good idea as it can prove to be a costly mistake. Here’s some advice – when you want to make a bet, put the chips in one smooth movement. Better still; verbally declare your bet amount before even touching your chips.

If you’re wondering why this is even at all important, then let me be clear about why string betting is frowned upon. String betting is not allowed because it opens up the possibility for cheating, by trying to gain a visual tell or response from another player in the pot. Other players will probably pull you up on string betting – so just be extra careful when making bets.

#5 – The One Chip Rule

Here’s another betting situation that beginners to live poker often fail to understand – until it’s too late. If you don’t announce raise or call and throw one chip into the pot then it can be classed as a call. For example if it’s 100 to call and you place one 500 value chip across the line without declaring raise or call it’s usually only classed as a call. This is why it’s good to declare your action verbally before moving your chips. Just like with string betting, verbal declarations help cut out any potential mistakes.

#6 – Verbal Goes

In a few of the points mentioned so far, I’ve recommended making verbal declarations. I even said “verbal declarations help cut out any potential mistakes” – but they can also be costly, if made in error. You’ll often here poker players say “verbal goes”, and what they mean by this is – what you said first and foremost stands. If you say “call” and proceed to muck your cards, then your call stands and you have to put the chips in (you cards will be dead though in this example).

What You Raise In Poker

Make sure you’re up with the game (see #1) before making any verbal declarations. For example, if someone had made a raise before you and you thought there hadn’t been a raise, yet you announced call, then your call will stand. Sometimes this ruling is relaxed, especially for beginners, but it could cost you a lot of chips/money. So use verbal utterances with great care and concentrate on what’s occurred before it’s your turn, so you know exactly what you’re calling or raising.

#7 – Cards on the Table

The cards should remain on the table at all times. Sometimes new players like to hold the cards up towards their chest when sneaking a look – and most people won’t be too strict about this. It’s something beginners tend to do. However, your cards should be visible at all times. Do not hold your cards under the table or away from view. It’s quite obvious why this would be unacceptable, but I’ve seen many new players do this.

When your cards are on the table, avoid covering them with your hands. Other players should be able to see who is involved in the hand, and shouldn’t have to ask “do you still have cards?” If you want to protect your hand then just place a chip onto of them or buy a card protector.

#8 – Mucking Your Cards

When the time comes to fold (muck) your cards, then place them into the muck pile. A lot of new players will barely push their mucked cards forward. This can cause confusion, with other players unsure whether they’ve actually been folded. Avoid any potential confusion and properly muck your cards face down along with the other mucked cards.

Be careful and muck your cards properly. Don’t wildly throw your cards into the muck, because if you cards should miss their intended target and end up on an opponent’s hole cards, then their cards could be declared dead. They won’t be best pleased with you either! This is one reason why it’s a good idea to protect your cards (see previous point), should someone do the same to you.

Poker Hands To Raise Blood Pressure

#9 – Talking / Gesturing During a Hand

When a hand is in progress you should refrain from talking about the hand. General table talk is usually acceptable, but if things get serious then pipe down. If by chance you would have made a great hand, then don’t let the whole table know about it either. For example, you fold 7/2 pre-flop and the flop comes 772. Don’t thump the table, yell “Oh my god!” or shake your head profusely. Do this after the hand if needs be, but never during it. It indicates what you had to the other active players involved in the hand and is considered very poor etiquette.

#10 – Slow Rolling

If a hand enters a showdown (where cards are revealed) then you should show your hole cards as soon as possible, if you’ve been called. If your opponent has shown their cards first and you have a better hand, then reveal it immediately. Don’t let your opponent think they might have won the pot, then slowly turn over the nuts (best possible hand). This is known as “slow rolling” and is one of the main ways to upset people at the poker table. You want to win their chips, not upset them!

Playing poker live is great fun. I hope you’ve found this article useful, particularly if you’re interesting in playing live poker for the first time. If you’re playing in a casino or cardroom and are unsure or confused about any aspect of the game (such as the structure, blinds/antes) then just ask the dealer when you’re not involved in a hand, preferably upon sitting down.

By Tim Ryerson

Tim is from London, England and has been playing poker since the late 1990’s. He is the ‘Editor-in-Chief’ at Pokerology.com and is responsible for all the content on the website.

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