Since I have been playing pokerrepublik online for quite some time now, I realize that I have been placing premium hands from the small blind and button, rather than under the gun. This is because, under normal circumstances, these are the hands that I will play with, whether in a ring game, a PLO game, a Stud game, etc.
As you know, all hands are printed cards, and the difference between a good hand and a bad hand is how strong or weak the next card can be. What follows is an analysis of why I play these hands and how to play them better if you are in the blinds or on the button.
Under the Gun
For the under the gun player, this is very boring hand. You usually just play all 3 streets. I see players all the time push with hands like 8-5 or 66-55 in the small blind. All you are doing is risking a small fortune in premise that an A will appear on the flop. If you hit the A, you will probably be ahead, perhaps 2 or 3. What you should do instead is raise using LAG (Loose Aggressive) principles to eliminate some players and possibly some big pots. Once you have done this, you still have the option of a big raise to steal the blinds.
Up Guys
For the button player, premium hands can be a fun hand to play. Raise with hands like Q-T suited or K-9 suited. For the rest of the players, you avoid these hands. Personally, I don’t like either suits, as it gives too much value to the hands already mentioned.
For the Under The Gun player, I generally ignore premium hands. I will call the blind and try to hit a set (three of a kind) on the flop. If I don’t hit that set, I usually end up throwing away the hand, since you are simply playing a hand of 8-5 or 3-2 suited. Not to mention that sets that are less than premium hands are, statistically speaking, quite bad hand.
By playing these hands, you avoid difficult decisions preflop. If you hit nothing, simply get out of the hand and try again in a few minutes. The odds are that you will hit the next set faster if you have to chase a set.
Conclusion
Just remember that my strategies above are simply suggestions. They are not the end all be all manual for winning at poker. However, they will help you eliminate some of the guesswork that comes with playing. How much you win with one set of rules variance won’t guarantee future wins if you deviate from the book. I have won many times the big blind with 3-2 suited, and other times by pure luck.
After reading the book, you will likely want to start tweaking it a little, and start investigating new plays. The book is a very easy read, and the hand analyses are very logical. Unlike many other books that I have read, this one dividend the information directly into your hand. The author of the book provides many other charts and tables that I have use for years and still use today.