In this article, we'll talk about raising from early position. After all, it is known that in late position the decision regarding a pre-flop raise depends entirely on the chances, in case of failure on the flop, to buy a free card (if someone has already bet), as well as on the chances of stealing the blinds (if there were no bets before). As your position improves, the importance of these two points only increases. In fact, this is the only thing to consider when in the button position. In early position, however, things are not so simple.
To understand the topic of our article, we must accept some conditions. The first is that no one has placed a bet yet. Second, you have any combination in your hands, except AA, KK, QQ or AK (because with such combinations, only if the game is not very intense, you should always raise the bet). And third, you are already pretty good at poker. And in order to make the right decision, you need the following:
1. Understand that it is most difficult to play with exactly two or three opponents.
This does not mean that a hand that will help you win a heads-up game or a game with seven opponents suddenly turns out to be useless in a game with four players. Give me AJ suited, for example, and I end up snatching a win no matter how many opponents I have. Although, of course, all things being equal, I would prefer to play heads-up, because then I have a better chance of winning, even if I don't improve my hand. Or, I would play with a whole bunch of players to get the chance with a candy flush or two pair (or even one pair) to snatch a big pot. As a last resort, even if I flop something like a gut shot to a candy or a middle pair with an overcard, I still get good odds by continuing to play. With that in mind, I’m more likely to just call, especially if there’s not much hope of stealing the blinds (or playing heads up with one of the blinds, which is also not bad at all) or if I’m not very sure that many will support my bet cold calls. Of course, in this case, it's not so scary to make a raise that would only be supported by two players, because I am almost sure that my combination is the strongest and therefore I can beat anyone who guesses to make two cold calls before the flop. But if my raise doesn't leave me alone with someone, then I prefer to see the flop with a crowd of other players. In this case, I've used suited AJs as an example, but the same applies to hands like suited king and queen, hole jacks, tens and nines, suited ten and ace, etc. etc. These are all good hands and need to be played. But with these hands, it is much better to come to the flop heads-up or with four or more opponents than with just two or three other players.
2. Determine the degree of "looseness" of the game.
To do this, you first need to understand that the game can be loose in different ways. In some games, players can limp with almost any hand, but at the same time, do not be afraid to tighten their belts if someone raised in front of them. In other games, players may not care at all whether there was a raise or not. And then there are games that give the impression that players are even enjoying the raise from early position, since they are obviously justifying their ridiculous fight for the pot with minimal hands.
It is quite clear that all these arguments are closely related to what was said in the first part of our article. In a game where loose players suddenly turn into rocks, I will most likely call. And I will do it for several reasons. First, as I said before, I would not want to come to the flop with two or three opponents, which is most likely to happen in a game like this. Secondly, and this is quite important, limping opens doors to players whose hands are weaker than mine.
Suppose I still have the same suited AJ. In the game just described, players will most likely play with hands like KJ suited or A-9. However, they won't call my bet. Although, I will probably not mind seeing the flop with them, since I have absolutely no intention of reaching the river with an ace high. And since I will not continue to play if the flop does not show the right cards, I will not be very upset if a player with an ace and a nine comes on a flop with a high nine, and a player with a jack and a king buys a flop with a high king. These flops won't bother me as they have little or no effect on my chances of winning the pot. But if the flop comes high
ace or jack, I immediately become addicted to who has three outs to my strongest hand.
If preflop raises are largely ignored by players, then that's what I will do. Why? Because I have a pretty strong hand and a big sweat won't hurt me. Likewise, I will raise in games that are very tight. And I have two reasons for this. First, I don't want to miss out on good chances to steal the blinds. And the second: if I don't raise, there is a high probability that someone after me will make it, and thus put me in an unenviable situation where I can see the flop by raising from out of position. The second reason may seem a bit esoteric (and in fact, it is not worth bothering a player at the low limits with this), but for those who play at the middle limits it will be useful to understand this phenomenon. And its essence is as follows: if you raise, and you have, for example, suited jack and ace in your hands, then there is a high probability that everyone will fold before the blinds. You can play your hand in different ways after that, but the ideal scenario is to pass the blinds. If one or both of the blinds support the bet, it is also not scary, because you know that you most likely have the strongest hand and the best position. And if one of them has, for example, ten and eight suited, then you won't be worse off.
Well, what happens if you just call? In a tight but aggressive game, there is a chance that someone will raise the bet behind you, while the chances that this raiser has a combination that you would not want to compete with (suited ten and nine or offsuit queen and king, for example) are quite large. And the fact that your raise could force this player to fold only makes the situation worse. And now, instead of stealing the blinds, or at least playing against the blinds with a stronger hand and in a better position, you are forced to play with someone who has a better position and who can have any hand after the flop. ... It's not hard to imagine that such a situation is very unpleasant, especially if you miss the flop. Suppose, in our case, the flop showed K
-9-6
... What to do? You have an ace in your hand, and your opponent might have won a nice flop, or maybe semi-bluff. He can have AA, KQ, 7-7, suited A-8, etc. And you can't figure it out. And you won't be able to narrow the circle of its possible combinations, unless you desperately continue the game. Indeed, in this situation, a raise, unlike a cold call, can be made by a good player with any of many possible combinations. It is very bad when such situations happen despite your attempts to avoid them. But when you can prevent them by simply raising before the flop, but you don't, it's just awful.
And learning to prevent this is very simple: every time you are sure that the bet will most likely be raised before the flop, do it yourself. It is much better to raise with jack and ace suited and then cold call the button with king and ten suited, than to be forced to call this player on the button. In the first case, you will be able to get a good idea of your position in the game, while in the second you will have to guess. But anyway, if you get lucky on the flop, you will take the pot. However, if the flop is successful, you will win much more if it was you who raised before the flop. And if no one is lucky on the flop, then you have a better chance of winning if, again, it was you who raised the preflop. In tight aggressive games you see a lot more raises than cold calls, precisely because it is very difficult to figure out the likely combination in your opponent's hands if you have to respond to a preflop raise. And since reading your opponent's hands is undoubtedly important in mid-stakes games, you should do your best to get your opponent to give his hand as early as possible.
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