Preflop

Question 1

How many possible card combinations are there for any pair?

Answer 1

6

Question 2

How many possible card combinations are there for any two unpaired cards?

Answer 2

16

Question 3

How many possible card combinations are there for a specific suited hand?

Answer 3

4

Question 4

What are the six reasons to raise before the flop?

Answer 4

1. For value
2. For isolation
3. To steal the blinds
4. As a semi-bluff
5. For deception
6. To manipulate the pot size

Question 5

How should you play differently when a preflop raise represents a small percentage of your stack compared to a large percentage?

Answer 5

If a raise is only two percent (small percentage) of your stack, you need not raise with all your strong hands, and you need not necessarily have a strong hand to raise. If a raise is twenty percent (large percentage) of your stack or more, you should typically raise with all your strong hands and rarely otherwise.

Question 6

What are the two reasons preflop raising for isolation doesn’t work as well in no limit holdem as it does in limit holdem?

Answer 6

1. The blind money often represents a much smaller percentage of your expectation for the hand.
2. The punishment for accidentally isolating someone who has a better hand is far greater.

Question 7

What is the one major exception where raising for isolation preflop can work very well in no limit holdem?

Answer 7

If there is a particularly bad player who enters the pot in front of you, with deep stacks you should frequently try to isolate him for an exclusive shot at winning his entire stack.

Question 8

What are the two reasons why raising to steal the blinds preflop has less value in no limit than it does in limit?

Answer 8

1. The immediate odds aren’t as compelling so the blinds would have to fold significantly more often to show the same profit.
2. If you are a better player than those in the blinds, you may make more by allowing them to see the flop and make expensive post flop mistakes.

Question 9

Which hands should you semi-bluff raise with preflop?

Answer 9

The best hands that you would not ordinarily have played.

Question 10

What are the characteristics of a preflop sem-bluff raise?

Answer 10

You only risk the amount of your raise. You hope to win the money that is presently in the pot. Your hand also has some value when your opponents call (rather than reraise) and allow you a chance to catch a great flop.

Question 11

Preflop against multiple limpers in the big blind, what should consider doing with your very worst hands (93o, J2o, etc.)?

Answer 11

Raise big to encourage folds and pick up the pot because you aren’t losing any value in not seeing a flop with such a ragged hand.

Question 12

What is the fundamental idea for deep stack preflop raise sizing?

Answer 12

Big raises make big pots. Small raises (and no raises) make small pots

Question 13

When raising preflop with a speculative “big pot” hand like a small pocket pair, how much should you raise?

Answer 13

Raise enough to brew a big pot but no more.

Question 14

When value raising preflop against a straightforward player, should you raise bigger or smaller?

Answer 14

Bigger. You’ll know where you’re at post flop and be able to proceed optimally.

Question 15

Against players who fold too much post flop, should you make bigger or smaller preflop raises?

Answer 15

Bigger. You’ll be taking down most pots on the flop with c-bets so they might as well be bigger pots.

Question 16

Against players who call too much post flop, should you make bigger or smaller preflop raises?

Answer 16

Smaller. You can still get their stack with the bad post flop calls while risking less preflop.

Question 17

What are the two main reasons for raising preflop with a short stack?

Answer 17

1. To steal the blinds and antes.

2. To find someone willing to gamble with you for all of your chips.

Question 18

With a short stack, how much should you raise preflop if you want action?

Answer 18

Raise as much as you can get away with and still get called. The bigger, the better.

Question 19

With a short stack, what is the most important preflop raise sizing rule?

Answer 19

Don’t raise an amount that will leave you unsure of how to respond to a reraise.

Question 20

What are some of the factors that determine whether a hand is playable or not preflop and how you should play it?

Answer 20

• The precise relationship between the size of your stack, the size of your opponents stacks, and the size of the blinds.
• The starting standards of the players who have entered the pot, as well as those who haven’t yet acted.
• The post flop tendencies of your opponents, particularly their willingness to make bad folds in large pots and bad calls (or raises) in small ones.
• The predictability of your opponents’ play, both preflop and after the flop.
• Your image.
• The psychological impact previous hands may have had on you or any of the other players.

Question 21

In deep stack no limit, where do preflop hands derive most of their value?

Answer 21

How well they extra money after the flop from your opponents. Comparing hands on how often they win a showdown or on their hand rank is worse than worthless.

Question 22

What types of preflop hands fall under the “bread and butter” hands category?

Answer 22

All pocket pairs, ace-king, suited aces, and no-gap suited connectors from KQs down to 54s.

Question 23

What types of hands fall under the “often playable” hands category?

Answer 23

AQ, KQ, any two suited cards jack or higher, and one-gap suited connectors from QTs-53s (also 43s).

Question 24

What types of hands fall under the “sometimes playable” hands category (particularly in late position or against bad players)?

Answer 24

Any two offsuit cards ten or higher, suited kings, two-gap suited connectors from Q9s-52s (42s and 32s as well), and no-gap offsuit connectors T9o-54o.

Question 25

How should you play in a tight-passive game vs a loose-passive game vs a loose-aggressive game vs a tight-passive game?

Answer 25

Tight Passive: you can play a very wide range of hands since you have many other factors to your advantage such as position, aggression, table image, so on.

Loose Passive: you can see quite a few flops. Drawing hands go up in value with the implied odds.

Loose Aggressive: Tighten up and take advantage of the loose play.

Tight Aggressive: if you must play in this game, the only way is to be tight and very aggressive yourself.