Poker (or IDN poker) may seem like a typical card game to most, but it involves a lot of technique and strategy. One of the many strategies is called pre-flop. The pre-flop strategy has multiple facets to it. Today we break down the various ways to pre-flop successfully.
Your Position
Your position in a hand is the most crucial aspect of poker. Having a bad hand can make or break the game. In poker there are typically 3 positions: early, middle, and late position. The early position refers to the player acts before the other opponents in the betting rounds. The middle position is in between the early and the late players and can have a slight advantage over the early position. The third position is called the late position. This one is the most advantageous as they are typically one of the last players to bet over the other opponents, the number of hands you can play increases, knowledge of your opponents’ actions, and more time to calculate your pot odds.
Betting
Before flopping you will be able to call, fold, or raise. If there was a raise before your turn and you have a poor hand, then it’s recommended you fold but if you have a good starting hand then you can call instead. If you plan to raise you should make a sizeable amount of up to 4 times the amount of the big blind. A pre-flop raise ideally is meant to reduce the players so your decision making becomes easier.
Limping in is another strategy that comes with both pros and cons. Limping refers to betting the minimum to stay in a hand. If you are the first player to enter the pot, it’s considered a very bad idea because you won’t win the pot and is considered weak and helps your opponents make decisions easier. If other players happen to limp in before you then it’s acceptable to limp in as well but take note that you should have a relatively strong hand.
In order to pre-flop successfully you must make the right choices before the flop as it sets the tone for how you will play the rest of the hand. You must consider all the possible variables, the type of opponents you are facing, the position you are in, and the starting hand requirements.
Some mistakes that players make before the pre-flop are playing too passively in the small blind, raising too narrow or wide in the button, and not calling enough in the big blind. While it has improved pot odds, playing passively in the small blind forces you to play out of position meaning you don’t have an edge on the opponents. The small blind can also be exploited by the big blind as you won’t have a strong hand. Not raising enough hands can void you of winning the pot and raising too much can cause exploitation by the players in blinds. If you are in last position this gives you better pot odds and you can play more freely.
There are some additional youtube video that might be interesting to you for pre-flop strats:
