by Matches Malone

No, this isn't Fizzbin, a mythical game Captain Kirk used to distract a few thugs on the mobster planet. It is of course, Texas Hold 'Em. I'm sure you've seen on the various poker shows an explanation of how the game is played. And all of them start with, "Each player is dealt two cards, face down...."

What should you do with them, once you get them? Well, look at them, of course, but not until it's your turn to act. That way your opponents won't know what you're going to do, because you don't know either. I also take a quick glance around the table to see what I think the others will do. It's surprising how quickly my game improved when I made these two small adjustments. Of course, I had a guy next to me once, that would look at his cards right away, no matter what position he was in, that complained because I took too long to look at my hand. He even acted out of turn at one point. But I've drifted, so, maybe we'll talk about player types next time.

Disallowing for the four suits, there are 169 possible starting hands, of which really only a fifth are consistently playable. And of course, position has a lot to do with what cards you should play, and when. As for me, I usually play all pairs, AK, AQ, and any suited connectors. I'll also sometimes play Ax suited, as well as KQ or QJ, either suited or not, depending on position, and I'll discuss that later.

If I'm first into the pot, my standard raise is three times the amount of the big blind, rounded off for dramatic effect. I play in a tournament where at one point, the big blind is 15, so, if I'm opening the betting, I'll usually bet 50, as 45 just seems too mechanical. Playing like a robot, or even the most sophisticated computer is a recipe for disaster, especially in no limit hold 'em tournaments, which is what I play exclusively. I once moved all in with a 64 suited under the gun on a blind steal. If I was on one of those TV shows, at that point I might've turned to the camera and stated to the audience, "Don't try this at home."

You might be asking yourself, "Self, why did he do that?" Well, I'm here to tell you that, I was chip leader at my particular table at this point in the tournament, and facing several short stacks behind me. The shortest stack made the unfortunate decision to call me with his AJ offsuit, and when the flop brought me one pair, and the turn brought me a second pair, he was found making his way to the rail moments later. Now, with that same exact hand, facing a raise in front of me, I probably would've folded. I also would've mucked it immediately if I was short stacked, figuring there's a 90% chance that I'd get a better hand in the big blind.

In The Position

No, not the play I directed fifteen years ago, this refers to where you are, relative to the Dealer Button. After you get dealt your hand, you're in one of four places, Early Position, Middle Position, Late Position, or, The Blinds. This will necessarily dictate the strength of the hands you play, as well as how you should play them. No Limit Hold 'Em is best played heads up in position. This is especially true when you're entire stack is on the line in a tournament situation. Instead of rigidly adhering to the list I provided above, you should pay close attention to your position, and adjust your game accordingly. You'll need stronger hands to open the betting, the earlier you have to act. At the same time, If you're on the button, and everyone folds to you, the range of hands you should play increases to almost all of them. The blinds have the unique distinction of acting last before the flop, and first after the flop. Something I like doing in the Big Blind when everyone limps in to me, meaning they've called my original bet, is to play blind. I'm already committed to the pot, and it doesn't cost me any more to look at the flop. Again, this may be something that you don't want to try at home, or at a casino for that matter. It works for me most of the time because of my table image. I follow up with a check after the flop if I can.

Of course, I can't do that all the time, realizing that I need a really strong hand in the blinds, as I'm first or sometimes second to act after the flop. I could devote an entire article to defending your blind, but for right now, it's enough to know that if you can get in for the right price, which is usually 3:1 or better, you should probably call. After the flop, if you don't connect, you may have to fold, no matter what two cards you start with.

Early position plays relatively the same, as if you're first or second to act after the deal, you'll want a strong hand to call the big blind with. However, I don't recommend calling, as if a hand is worth a call at this point, it's worth a raise, as I stated above. In middle position, either the 6th, 7th, or 8th seat after the button, you can loosen up a little, if the situation merits. I always attempt to get a read from the players behind me, as they usually look at their cards before I do, as they haven't taken the sage advice of waiting until it is their turn to act, as I previously recommended. In this way, I can sometimes loosen up even further, as I check to see whether or not they're about to muck their hand. I've already explained what to play in late position above, but let's review: if you're opening the betting, and your table image can withstand the pressure, almost everything is playable, however, it's been my experience that this almost never happens, and you'll be in the position of calling a bet in front of you. If everyone has limped or folded to you, it's best to play as if you're thinking about opening the betting in early position. Hopefully, a raise at this point will push most of the speculators out of the hand.

When faced with a raise in front of me, I usually stick to the stronger hands, which are really only three or four: Aces, Kings, Ace King suited, and Queens. Although, yesterday, I witnessed the following: I had folded my hand to a limper in front of me, as I was getting hands like 82 and 94 up to that point, and a guy in late position raised 500, as the blinds at that point were 50/100. Both the blinds folded to the early position limper, who then moved all in. The original raiser called, and they both showed pocket queens. Normally this is a chop pot situation, however, they still have to deal the board, which came down with not three, not four, but five spades. The original raiser was fortunate enough to be holding the appropriate queen, and had the other guy covered. The moral to the story? Limping is for the weak. That's why they limp.

The same hand could've played out the following way: Instead of merely calling the big blind, the first pair of queens could've bet 300, at which point, the second pair of queens would've most likely called. After the flop of three spades, which included the Ace, the first pair of queens could check. Now, if the guy with the queen of spades makes a move on the pot, the other guy should fold, as he didn't connect with the flop in any way. The conclusion? Sometimes, it doesn't really matter what hand you start with, it's the one that you finish with that counts.

72 and sunny in Redondo Beach.

Next time, I'll write about poker. Be there. Aloha.

Disclaimer: The above tournament tactics will probably not work in a cash game. Let me know if they do.

Matches Malone has been writing for us for a few years now, and if you'd like to contact him with your opposing views, he can be reached at Batman@azteca.net