Welcome to the fifth in my Texas Holdem poker strategy series, which focuses on No Limit Texas Holdem poker tournaments and associated strategies. In this article, we will examine starting hand decisions.
It may seem obvious, but deciding which starting hands to play and which to stop playing is one of the most important Texas Holdem poker decisions you’ll ever make. Deciding which starting hands to play starts with several factors in mind:
* “Pockets” of starting hands (Sklansky made some good suggestions in his classic book “Poker Theory” by David Sklansky)
* Your position at the table
* Number of players at the table
* Tab position
Sklansky originally proposed some sets of Texas Holdem poker starting hands, which turned out to be very useful as general guidelines. Below is a “modified” (improved) version of Sklansky’s starting hand chart. I adapted Sklansky’s original tables, which were “too narrow” and stiff for my liking, into a more playable approach used in Poker Sidekick’s poker odds calculator. Here is the key to these starting hands:
Groups 1 to 8: These are essentially the same scale as Sklansky originally proposed, although some hands have been changed to improve playability and there is no group 9.
Group 30: These are now “questionable” hands, hands that should be played rarely, but can be reasonably played from time to time to mix things up and keep your opponents off balance. Loose players will play them a bit more often, tight players will rarely play them, experienced players will open them only occasionally and randomly.
The table below is the exact set of starting hands that Poker Sidekick uses when calculating poker starting hands. If you use Poker Sidekick, it will tell you which bracket each starting hand is in (if you can’t remember them), as well as estimating the “relative strength” of each starting hand. You can print this article and use it as an initial manual reference.
Group 1: AA, KK, AK
Group 2: QQ, JJ, AK, AQ, AJ, KQ
Group 3: TT, AQ, AT, KJ, QJ, JT
Group 4: 99, 88, AJ, AT, KQ, KTs, QTs, J9s, T9s, 98s
Group 5: 77, 66, A9s, A5s-A2s, K9s, KJ, KT, QJ, QT, Q9s, JT, QJ, T8s, 97s, 87s, 76s, 65s
Group 6: 55, 44, 33, 22, K9, J9, 86s
Group 7: T9, 98, 85s
Group 8: Q9, J8, T8, 87, 76, 65
Group 30: A9s-A6s, A8-A2, K8-K2, K8-K2s, J8s, J7s, T7, 96s, 75s, 74s, 64s, 54s, 53s, 43s, 42s, 32s, 32
All other hands are not shown (virtually unplayable).
That’s the improved Sklasky Texas Holdem poker starting hand tables.
The later your position at the table (dealer is late position, small blind is earliest), the more starting hands you should play. If you’re on the dealer button, with a full table, play groups 1-6. If you’re in the middle position, narrow play to groups 1-3 (tight) and 4 (loose). In early positions, reduce play to groups 1 (tight) or 1 to 2 (loose). Of course, in the big blind, you get what you get.
As the number of players falls into the 5-7 range, I recommend adjusting overall and playing a lot less premium hands from top position (groups 1-2). This is a good time to forget about chasing flush and straight draws, which puts you at risk and wastes chips.
As the number of players gets down to 4, it’s time to open up and play a lot more hands (groups 1 to 5), but carefully. At this stage, you are close to making money in a Texas Holdem poker tournament, so be very careful. I often just protect my blinds, occasionally stealing and trying to let smaller stacks go blind or bust (putting me in the money). If I’m one of the short stacks, well, I’m forced to pick the best hand I can get and go all-in and hope to double down.
When the game comes down to 3, it’s time to avoid facing big stacks and wait to see if we can finish second, heads up. I tend to be a bit more strict here, playing much the same way as when there are only 3 players (avoiding confrontation unless I have a pair, ace or king, if possible).
Once you’re heads up, well, that’s a topic for a whole other article, but in general, it’s time to get extra aggressive, raise a lot, and get “aggressive.”
In tournaments, it is always important to keep track of the size of your chip stack in relation to the blinds and stacks of others. If you’re short stacked, then play a lot fewer (tighter) hands, and when you get a good hand, extract as many chips as you can with it. If you are the big player, you should avoid unnecessary confrontations, but use your big player position to push everyone and steal blinds occasionally too, without risking too many chips in the process (the other players will try to use you to double up, so be careful). ).
Well, that’s a quick overview of an improved set of starting hands and some general rules for adjusting starting hand play based on game conditions throughout the tournament.
Until next time, good luck at the Texas Holdem poker tables!
Haystack