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For Example; A Holdem No Limit 10 Seat ring game:

A middle position player calls the BB. 4 others call. Its going to cost you 1/2 a bet to see the flop. You are basically getting 9/1 to call the bet, which means you can call with any two cards; see if you hit the flop and take it from there.

Things get a little trickier though when only a couple of players call and you are only getting about 5/1 for your half bet. What sort of cards should be played under these circumstances? Things like any Ax, KXs, Any 2 suited above a 9, any 2 above a T etc. etc.

Similarly, if the BB makes a limit raise to 2 X BB and everyone calls to you, you can be getting 5 or 6/1 for your money, should the raise be called and if so what hands would you call with?

I know that Never and Always are not to be used when describing situations in poker, but your considered opinion in this matter would help me greatly.

Thanks again and best regards,

John B.

Answer:

Thanks for the question John.

Here are some thoughts:

- The fewer players at the table, the more you'll be playing from the blinds. At a 10 person table, the average starting hand that a person raises with is much higher than a 5 person table, so you'll play less from the small or big blind in the 10 person game. An extreme would be the heads up game, where just about every hand you play. So when looking at starting hands from various positions, always consider the amount of players at the table.

- It is true that you are getting good odds to call out of the small blind if there is no raise yet, but those odds are a little deceiving. The odds you get to see the flop aren't really correlated to your win percentage. The problem is that there are implied odds and reverse implied odds. Implied odds are the numbers for how much you might win if your hand takes the pot. Reverse implied odds are the numbers for how much you might lose if you don't win the pot. This is an important concept to understand because it shapes the way you look at starting hands. Let me give you an example. Say you have Kx in the small blind. One person raises and a few players call. Looking at the preflop odds only, it would seem like calling with Kx is the right play. The problem is what happens postflop if you flop a King? Will you be able to play it well from there and fold if you aren't good, or will you pay of the better hand? Weak hands often create the dreaded big pot/small pot scenario. If you win the pot, it will be small -- no one calling you if you hit the king, or you lose a big pot -- when the guy with AK stomps you. You have to be very careful about this in no limit holdem, where if you are caught with one trapping hand -- AK vs A9, it can be your whole stack. So the point is the preflop odds don't always tell the whole story.

- In the event that the pot was raised, who raised it? Are there other callers, if so who? Number one, if a player is better than you, avoid trying to play catch up and calling off too much of your money with weaker hands -- this includes the blinds. Good players are hard to get money out of when they don't have the best hand. So if he is a solid player, even if you think he might be stealing, avoid calling with a hand that you think you'll have to get lucky with to win. You can get frustrated easily when you know a player is raising too much, but you keep calling with weak hands and missing the flop. Likewise, there is no reason to call with a really bad hand against a loose player when he'll pay you off when you have a strong one yourself. Next, what are your chances of winning a big pot from this player? Some players, regardless of if they are tight or loose, pay off a lot postflop. Tight players still get married to hands and can't make lay downs. If you think you can bust him if you hit, then I would call more often in no limit, but then play tighter postflop.

- Multi-way pots versus heads up or threeway pots... Multi-way pots give you more room for calling with garbage. In these types of hands I would prefer to have something that isn't competing with the hands that other players are most likely playing. I would prefer to have a hand like 76off or 98off instead of A7 or K9. The reason is that I am out of everyone's way and I'll either have a strong flop or be gone; I'm not going to get trapped in with K9 when the flop is nine high or king high. In heads up or three way pots, I'm looking for purely hand strength. In no limit holdem, you can bust another player with any two cards, but the same goes for you too. Implied odds are better in no limit than limit, but I don't like calling other player's raises too much in no limit with trapping hands. Trapping hands like two cards at T or above are better in limit holdem because if you lose a pot it doesn't have the same impact.

- My fundamental rule for winning in poker: play hands that are strong relative to the number of players in preflop. You have three players in preflop, the suited connectors look good. You have one player in preflop, your pairs are gaining strength.

Examples for small blinds:

Limit Holdem (10 person table):

- No raise. I'd call with anything reasonable. The bottom of the barrel would be hands like 67off or 79off. I'd call with any cards above those that can make a straight like J8 or Q9. In addition, I'd call with hands like Qxs, Kxs, Axs. Now, before you get in trouble, think about what other players might have potentially limped with. Hands that players usually limp in with are ones like AT, QT, QJ, KJ, JT, etc. That means if the flop comes back Queen high and you have Q4s, you may have to exercise some discretion if you get raised. Queen high, Jack high and ten high flops are all ones that will connect well with players who just limp in.

- There is a raise. Now what I'll call with depends on how many players there are in already. If there aren't any callers, I won't call unless I have a strong hand that most likely will be as good or better than my opponents because I'm riding strictly on hand strength, as opposed to implied odds. The more players, the more junk I can play. When you can see four or five callers, you can get away with a lot of crap. 84off isn't looking good, but K4s might be playable. Suited connectors are definitely playable, as are any two cards above 9, pocket pairs, and Axs/Kxs. I would probably throw in a 98off, 76off, or 65off even with five callers. With that many callers the chances are pretty good that most of the big cards are out there, so the flop might come back low and connected.

No Limit Holdem (10 person table):

- No raise. I'd call with just about anything. Why is this different than limit? Odds. With an 84, I can bust someone in no limit if the flop comes back right -- say 448 when he limped in with AA. In limit holdem, you can only make so much per pot, so it doesn't work as well playing weak hands. This cuts both ways so you need to be more careful postflop when you don't have a good starting hand. What you are looking for is a decent flop to make a jab bet at (to see if you are good), or a monster flop, which you would try to milk.

- Raise. In limit you can get away with calling more hands here than in no limit. In limit holdem, a hand like AT or JT might be playable, but in no limit those can get you in trouble. Like I mentioned above, if I know that I'm not ahead, I'd prefer to have a hand that would be really deceptive and out-of-the-way of the opposition. I'd much prefer the 79 or 78 to the A7 or A8. It is unlikely that we will both connect with a flop when I have 78, while with the A7, that could spell disaster. With this said, unless there are a lot of players in -- a multi-way pot, I'm not looking to go uphill with bad hands. If there are a number of players in, I would call with the hands that I would in limit holdem, but I would be more careful postflop.

* An important thing to understand in no limit cash games is just because you have top pair, it doesn't mean you play it to the river. There are plenty of times when I limp in with a hand like JT or J9 and the flop comes back Jack high. I check and one player bets and another calls. That's an indication to me that my hand isn't good.

So that's about it. I don't have any strict rules for what I call or fold with in different spots, it depends more on underlying concepts and the specific situation.

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