Abraham de Moivre
Well-Known Member
A good book would be "Winning Low Limit Hold Em" by Lee Jones.
It goes thru all the situations before and after the flop.
Top pair with no kicker, Top pair good kicker, middle pair. flop trips or full house?
Two cards higher than any other on the board? 4 to a flush?
But are you really playing correctly? Let's take an example hand like King/Ten.
Most players would call this a good hand. They would throw in a bet to see a flop with it.
How I play KT: If I am 1 or 2 spots away from posting the big blind (early position) KT gets mucked before the flop just like it was 72o. If there are about as many people betting before me as after me (mid-position), I will play KT if it is suited. If they aren't the same suit, it gets mucked just like it was an Eight and a Three. If I am on the button, or 1 or 2 off (late position), I will play KT UNLESS a good player in early position has bet or it has come raised to me.
So there is a good hand that most players play all the time, any position. I probably fold it 80% of the time without a bet.
If you check your game for little 'leaks' like this (ante up before the flop on hands that really should be folded, making that one more bet after the flop instead of the folding to see the turn card) You will find yourself in a more profitable situation more often.
Then you can start working on knowing when and how to raise pre-flop, raising or check/raising the turn, when to raise and re-raise the river, etc. to really start extracting those extra bets and make a profit.
It goes thru all the situations before and after the flop.
Top pair with no kicker, Top pair good kicker, middle pair. flop trips or full house?
Two cards higher than any other on the board? 4 to a flush?
But are you really playing correctly? Let's take an example hand like King/Ten.
Most players would call this a good hand. They would throw in a bet to see a flop with it.
How I play KT: If I am 1 or 2 spots away from posting the big blind (early position) KT gets mucked before the flop just like it was 72o. If there are about as many people betting before me as after me (mid-position), I will play KT if it is suited. If they aren't the same suit, it gets mucked just like it was an Eight and a Three. If I am on the button, or 1 or 2 off (late position), I will play KT UNLESS a good player in early position has bet or it has come raised to me.
So there is a good hand that most players play all the time, any position. I probably fold it 80% of the time without a bet.
If you check your game for little 'leaks' like this (ante up before the flop on hands that really should be folded, making that one more bet after the flop instead of the folding to see the turn card) You will find yourself in a more profitable situation more often.
Then you can start working on knowing when and how to raise pre-flop, raising or check/raising the turn, when to raise and re-raise the river, etc. to really start extracting those extra bets and make a profit.