Pre-Flop Strategy

The flop is the determining point – the point of no return – in Texas Hold’em.  When you wait to see the flop, you commit part of your stack.  If you do, you risk losing your bet.  If you don’t, you risk losing a potential win.

Your pre-flop strategy is therefore crucial in poker.  You should know how to properly and wisely play your cards before the flop and the hit or miss that follows it.  The following are some basic tips that you can use as a guide in determining your own pre-flop poker strategy.  Just note that actual circumstances will probably require you to act differently; however, this will give you a basis on which to make your pre-flop playing decisions.

Fold Pre-Flop

Folding pre-flop is the easiest and the least costly way of playing poker.  When you fold your hand pre-flop, you don’t lose anything – unless you are the small or the big blind, that is, because your forced initial bet is already a loss if you fold.  Even if you are the small or the big blind, however, folding may still be the rights strategy if it keeps your loss for that hand at a minimum.

When should you fold pre-flop?  Clearly, if you have bad starting hands or if you are dealt pocket cards that will give you a very slim chance of winning, you should fold; as a general rule, you should still do this even if you are already invested in the pot (i.e. you’re the small or big blind) and naturally don’t want to lose the blinds.

Call Pre-Flop

In the round of betting pre-flop, when should you call?  Typically, poker players limp in when they are trying to slow play great pocket cards or are waiting to draw a good hand.  In the first case, you simply match other players’ bets because you want them to remain in the game and contribute more money into the pot.  In the latter case, you are trying to keep your costs to a minimum until you draw the hand you want.

Bet, Raise and Re-Raise Pre-Flop

Generally, you bet, raise and re-raise pre-flop if you have a good or great starting hand.  If you have great pocket cards, instead of playing it slowly, you can try to steal the blinds pre-flop if the blinds are big enough.  You may also want to raise the cost of seeing the flop to reduce the number of players and ensure your dominance after the flop.