Toward
A Basic Strategy For
Low Limit No Limit Hold Em:
Pre-Flop Middle Position
BY:
Ashley Adams
Contact at: (Asha34@aol.com)
Author of Winning 7-Card Stud
This
is the beginning pre-flop strategy for
middle position, the six, seven and eight
seat at the typical $100 maximum buy in
$1/2 blind no limit hold em table. Let
me reiterate that this is not suppose
to be the optimal strategy, but rather
a beginning one to serve as a base from
which to learn a more finely tuned strategy
that is dependent on the types of players
at the table with you.
MIDDLE
POSITION - FOLDED TO YOU
If it's folded to you - meaning that the
Big Blind has not been called, raise three
or four times the big blind with any pair.
You want to knock out as many players
with higher cards as possible - though
you may not succeed in winning the pot
right then. The Big Blind is likely to
call - since he already put in a bet and
often, at this level, thinks incorrectly
that he has to defend his blind. Ideally,
your raise will buy you the ideal last
betting position on the turn.
I'd
suggest varying this basic strategy if
your image is other than tight/aggressive.
If that's the case - if you're seen as
somewhat aggressive and wild - then don't
do this unless you have at least a pair
of 10s. But if you think your image is
tight, and the good players seem to respect
you, then go ahead and raise even with
pairs as low as 2s. . I raise with Ace
King, suited or unsuited, hoping to clear
the rest of the field except for weaker
Aces and to buy myself position if possible.
Call
with the same hands you'd call with from
early position - and add a few of the
higher connectors. As in early position,
I'll generally call with Ace suited and
with anything at least as good as Q-10
suited or Q-J unsuited. I also add the
non-suited hands like J-10 and Q-10. I
fold Ace-medium or Ace-small unsuited.
Anything worse I pitch. My theory is that
I want to limit the "trap hands" on the
flop that often end up making the second
best hand, but because of the large implied
odds (the amount of money I can potentially
make on the end versus the small $2.00
for a call) I want to give myself an ample
number of hands to play against bad players
who'll misplay their hands after the flop.
These starting standards strike that balance
for me.
MIDDLE
POSITION -ONE OR MORE CALLER
When
there's already a caller, there's an even
greater chance that players in front of
me will call my raise but less of a chance
that my raise will be called by players
after me, fearing that my raise really
means strength (since I raised after the
pot was already called). This makes it
slightly easier for me to "buy the button"
with a raise. But the raise has to be
a little larger than if there had been
no call in front of me. If I've been raising
three times the Big Blind to $8, I should
make it $10.00 if the pot has already
been called. It's also unlikely that the
caller in front of me has my Ace-King
beaten - since if he had a premium pair
it's likely that he would raise (although
some players don't play straightforwardly,
nearly all do at this level). Accordingly,
I will not raise my middle and lower pairs
if there has already been a caller of
the big blind, tending to believe that
the caller will be likely to call my raise.
I'll just call and hope that other players
call the hand as well. I want to give
myself a chance to flop trips cheaply.
But I need to raise for value with my
Premium Pairs to lower the chances that
and Ax Ks Qx etc. will call and make a
higher hand than mine after the flop.
I will raise four times the big blind
or so with A-K, suited or unsuited, looking
to make it expensive for random hands
to play and hoping to get them to fold.
I want to knock out the hands that are
after me so that I'll have the positional
advantage after the flop. I don't do this
in early position because of the relative
unlikelihood of knocking out all of the
other players with a raise. But from middle
position, with a call in front of me,
I find that this raise with A-K makes
sense.
If
the pot is raised a significant amount
after either my raise or my call I will
fold all of my hands except for Aces and
Kings. I will re-raise any raise with
Aces. If my raise was itself raised I
will fold my Kings and reraise all in
with my Aces.
MIDDLE
POSITION - RAISER IN FRONT OF ME
Since most players at this level tend
to be passive and relatively timid, or
wild and unpredictable, I tend to limit
my exposure and respect early position
raises - not trying to figure out if they're
bluffing. If they are, they can win the
$3.00 pot unless I have a truly strong
hand. So I fold to any serious raise (three
times the big blind or more) unless I
have Aces or Kings (or until I've perfected
my game enough to recognize the players
who do this habitually with very little).
With Aces or Kings I will re-raise to
nine times the big blind. I do not try
to trap them with a call, finding that
players who raise usually call my reraise.
Again, as I develop my skills and my ability
to read my opponents I deviate from this
strategy substantially, depending on the
quality of my opponent. For for a beginner,
stick to the safer strategy of folding
unless you have Aces or Kings, and then
reraising. If I am raised back, I will
fold my Kings and reraise all in with
my Aces.
You
need to change this strategy somewhat
if the raiser only raises by a small amount
- doubling the big blind for example.
This is often the case because at this
level of play, many players don't understand
how this game is fundamentally different
from limit hold em. When the raise is
relatively small I treat it much as I
would treat a call. I don't fold my Premium
Pairs; I raise with them. I call with
my middle and lower pairs, just as if
the raiser had caller. I do respect even
the small raise in one respect. I only
call with Ace-King, tending to believe
that the raiser may well have a pair and
wanting to see the flop cheaply to see
if I make top pair top kicker.
MIDDLE
POSITION - RAISER AND RE-RAISER
If the pot has been raised and re-raised
in front of me I will fold every hand
except Aces in which case I will go all-in.
(Again, the attentive, good player will
eventually modify this strategy to take
into account his reads on the other players.
But for starters, play it safe this way).
I find that many players with lesser hands
will call my all-in raise, which is what
I want. But I'm also happy to win the
pot right there, rather than see the flop
with a few other callers.
NEXT:
LATE-POSITION - PRE-FLOP
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