One of the biggest problems beginner.s have is getting married to their good hands.
After all, you might only get a hand like A A once or twice a night. Be that as it may,
you must be willing to get away from the hand when you get a dangerous flop with
any kind of action. When you get a dangerous flop with action, you need to muck
those aces, at first it will be hard, after a little experience you will eventually realize
its often a no-brainer. This is a problem I see on a daily basis even at the high buy in
NL tournaments where I spend most of my days. Never get married to a hand, after all
you will get another one in less than a minute.

Hand 2 Pocket Kings K K . (Pre-Flop)
This is the second best hand you can start with. You will play them pretty much the
same way you play aces, jam the pot as hard as you can before the flop for the same
reasons I have listed above.

(Pocket Kings Post Flop) Once again you will play the flop very aggressively like you
did with pocket aces. You have to worry about the same kind of dangerous flops we
just went over that make pocket aces vulnerable. Kings have one addition liability that
aces don.t have. If an ace hits the flop you must shut down. Players play hands such
as AK, AQ, AJ, and A10 under a raise. In low limit holdem many players play ace
any for any amount of bets (of course you won.t be one of these weak players, but
there are lots of the online). This is why if an ace hits the flop you must shut down. If
there is any action at all on the flop you pocket kings have to go in the muck, THEY
HAVE TO!

It doesn.t matter how pretty those pocket kings look in your hand. It doesn.t matter
that you only get them once or twice a night. It doesn.t matter if they are your favorite
hand. The hand is beat, you know it (now you do right?), so do the right thing, throw
them in the muck. Save your self a bunch of bets. At the end of a session if you can
make three or four correct lay downs that might amount to your profits for that
session. After all, a bet saved is a bet earned. This is another huge weakness many
players have. They know what they should do. They know player X has an ace, they

know they should fold. But rather than doing the right thing they make crying calls
and lament about how the world isn.t fair, how the poker gods are out to get them.
They completely ignore the fact that they voluntarily choose to donate a large number
of chips to the pot when they knew they were beat. They didn.t have to loose those
chips and they knew it, but those darn pocket kings sure did look pretty. Don.t be one
of those players. Don.t get married to your hands. Enough said.

Hand 3 Pocket Queens Q Q . (Pre-Flop)
In my opinion this is the 3rd best starting hand you can have. If someone wants to tell
me they like AK better I wouldn.t put up too much of a fuss. These two hands run
pretty close. In low limit holdem AK might even do better at a full table, but we will
talk about that hand next. Right now you have QQ, so how do you play them? Well
very much like your pocket aces and your pocket kings, especially at the low limit
games. You bring them in for a raise from any position for two reasons. Firstly, to get
as much money in the pot with what is likely the best hand before the flop, and
secondly to limit the field. At the low limit games I want you to re-raise with your QQ
from any position (a tactic I would not endorse at the higher limit games).

Here is why you must play you pocket queens so aggressively before the flop in the
low limit games. For the following reasons, firstly, the low limit games tend to have a
lot of maniacs who play any two cards for a single bet, any two connected, any two
suited etc. The higher limits still have these types of players however they tend to be a
lot less of them. You need to drive these players out before the flop because like the
other big pairs they do well against one or two customers, and tend to go way down in
value against lager fields. QQ loses even more value than the other two bigger pairs
because it is more vulnerable (it has more over cards).

Against four or more callers if an over card hits somebody is pretty much guaranteed
to have one of the over cards and your hand turns to a two out drawing hand if at best.
Or in other words, it turns into trash and should be treated as such. In a scenario such
as the one I just described if there is a bettor and a caller, with players yet to act
behind you QQ should be mucked every time. This is why QQ is a very difficult hand
to play at low limits, you have to put in two or three bets before the flop to try and
limit the field. Hopefully you achieve your objective, but sometimes you won.t be
able to do it. The other players my have legitimate hands, or they just might feel like
playing their Ax and Kx suited hands against you. Don.t try to figure it out, you can.t.
You can.t put many of these players on a thought or a hand, because very often they
don.t have either. Always remember what your primary edge over these players is.
That you are almost always starting with a better hand than do, and you will have the
discipline to get away from them when they are beat.

(Pocket Queens Post Flop)
So you are lucky enough to limit the field to one or two players and you get a flop
with no over cards. Go ahead and bet, if you are bet into raise, if you get re-raised, its
time to slow down. Take a good look at the board. Think about the kind of cards your
opponents might be playing. Have they been showing down reasonable hands? Have
they been raising with nothing, or only when they have a premium hand? Is there a J
or a 10 on the flop? If so do you think they might have a hand like AJ or A10? Did
they 4 bet you before the flop? If so they may have a bigger pair than yours. Does the
flop have suited connectors, or is it completely ragged? You must always be asking

yourself these types of questions as you play if you hope to be a winner, no matter
what the limit.

Use your discretion and play the hand out as you see fit. If no one is playing back at
you continue to lead all the way, and don.t wimp out on the river. You will notice one
thing as you move up in limits. The good players rarely miss out on that last value bet
on the river when they have the best hand. Occasionally they get check raised because
of it, but the number of extra bets they pick up by value betting there top pair on the
river more than compensates for this negative outcome.

If the flop comes something like A K 2 and there is any action at all you likely are in
big trouble and will want to get away from the hand even for a single bet. You can
only continue to play if you opponent has shown you that he is a maniac, otherwise
you must muck your Pocket Queens. If only one over card hits the board and you are
heads up you are still in pretty good shape. If he checks to you, bet. If he bets into you
call him, or you may even raise him, but if you get 3 bet you will have to release your
hand. Then as long as the turn doesn.t hurt you too much continue with the hand. You
will have to use some discretion when playing this hand, but if you have played it
aggressively you probably will have a sufficiently large pot to justify calling even if
you are not sure where you are at.

Hand 4 Big Slick A K (Pre-Flop)
This is another one of the premium holdem hands. You will want to raise this hand
from any position other than the blinds. If you are a very aggressive player go ahead
and raise it from the blinds as well. Don.t re-raise this hand from the blinds as AK is a
positional hand and you will be first to act for the entire hand, its just not worth a re-
raise from the blinds. If you are in late position you can put in a re-raise, as you will
have position on your foes.

Hand 4 Big Slick A K (Post-Flop)
If you flop either an Ace or a King, you will have top pair, top kicker. This is the flop
you are hoping for, so bet it strong. In this situation if you are first to act bet the flop,
if someone else bets, raise or re-raise them. Much like the big pairs, this hand plays
better against a limited field, especially if you hit the flop. If there is a lot of action
again slow down and try and think about what your opponents have. Unless the board
is scary, or one of your opponents has shown considerable strength with his bets,
continue to lead at the pot.

If the flop is ragged say 3 6 J you will need to evaluate the situation. If you are in
early position against more than one caller you should just check the flop. You only
have over cards and there is a good chance you will get raised if you bet. If there is a
single bet, you will call and hope to hit an A or K on the turn. If you miss check and
fold if you opponent bets. You had a good starting hand, but you missed, you have no
pair. Don.t call the big turn bet here (remember the bets are twice as big as they were
on the flop now), it.s a losing propisition in the long run, so don.t do it.

If you are in late position against only one caller with the same flop and are checked
to you should bet. You may win the pot right there if you opponent folds. There is
also a good chance you are still holding the best hand even if you missed the flop.
Your opponent may have a hand like AQ, KQ, or AJ, all hands that he may have

called your pre-flop raise with. If the turn comes a blank, say 8 , and your opponent
checks again only bet if your have a read on your opponent and you think he might
fold. You need to observe the game to know this. If he if bluff proof (he never lays
down a hand) just check and hope to show down your hand against him. If you are
lucky enough to catch an ace or a king on the river, value bet your hand if he checks.
Don.t miss that extra bet, these value bets are tough, but they eventually will represent
most if not all of your profits in a session. If you miss the river you will likely have to
fold if your opponent bets.

Hand 5 A Q (Pre-Flop)
Ace Queen plays very similar to AK you will want to raise this hand whenever you
enter the pot regardless of your position. If you are in one of the blinds you should
just call. I would not recommend re-raising with the hand very often. You may re-
raise with it only when you have a good read on the raiser and you have observed that
he is a very aggressive player (or a maniac) who raises with several holdings and you
have good position, the button or next to it. Otherwise you should just call and have a
look at the flop.

A Q (Post-Flop)
If you hit either your ace you will have top pair second best kicker, if you hit you
queen, and there is no over cards you will have top pair top kicker. As such a flop like
q 7 2 is a very good flop for you and you should play it fast. If you are first to act bet,
if someone else has bet, raise. Continue to play the hand fast unless your opponents
continue to play back at indicating a lot of strength. If this happens slow down and
just call the hand down, they could have flopped a set, or perhaps have an over pair
(you should have an idea about this as they likely would have been a lot of pre-flop
action). If you flop an ace again play the hand fast. If there was pre-flop raising you
must be careful if your opponents are showing a lot of strength on the flop, you might
be up against AK, so pay attention and be careful if your opponents continue to play
back at you. Note that a flop of K 9 2 is a terrible flop for you. Any flop with a Kxx in
it is a bad flop for you hand and you should simply muck your hand if anyone bets the
flop. You should play the hand the same way you play AK if you miss the flop and no
king is on the board.

Hand 6 & 7 other Big Connectors AJ, KQ (Pre-Flop)
I am lumping these two hands together because you can play them pretty much the
same. If the game you are playing in isn.t very aggressive (there isn.t to much raising
before the flop) the hand can be played from all positions. If you are entering the pot
from an early position with one of these hands you might just want to limp in. There
could be a great deal of action behind you, and if the pot is capped by the time it gets
back to you, you can get away from the hand by mucking your cards. They just are
not worth four bets before the flop; if the hand is raised behind you, call. It the pot is
raised and re-raised you can call if the pot is multi way, 4 players or more but you will
need to hit the flop perfectly in order to continue playing the hand, so proceed with
caution.

If you are entering the pot with one of these hands from middle position or later and
you have no more than one caller already in the pot go ahead and bring it in for a
raise, under these circumstances there is a strong probability you have the best hand.

AJ, KQ (Post-Flop)
The flop is going to have to help your hand in order for you to continue playing a
hand like this. If you hold KQ and an ace hits the flop you are done playing the hand
(unless you flop two pair or better). If you hold AJ and an ace hits the flop, you will
lead at the pot, but you must proceed with caution. If there was any pre-flop action,
and there is a lot of action on the flop you are probably better off to simply get away
from your AJ. This is where knowing your opponents will help you. If you do decide
to continue with the hand again, do so with caution. Yeah you have a pair of aces but
you only have one pair and your kicker isn.t great so don.t bet this hand to the moon
like many of your opponents do. There is no need to loose additional bets due to
bravado. If you get a favorable flop to a hand like this you will want to continue
leading at the pot unless one of your opponents shows a great deal of strength, then
just check and call the hand down.

Hand 8&9 other Big Connectors KJ, JQ (Pre-Flop)
These two hands are definitely part of the big card family, but they are not raising
hands. They should be discarded from very early position. They can be played from
mid position or better. If the pot is raised you can protect your blinds with a hand like
this as you are already part way into the pot and likely will be getting correct pot odds
to continue. You want to try and get into the pot as cheaply as possible with a hand
like this because if the flop doesn.t improve your hand you will be mucking your
hand for any bet on the flop.

KJ, JQ (Post-Flop)
You will need to improve your hand on the flop or you will not continue playing the
hand. You will either need to flop a pair or an open ended straight draw or you will
have to muck your hand. If you flop a pair and there is no over cards on the flop you
will have top pair with a decent kicker. You will want to bet or raise with a hand like
this. If you get played back at, at all (raised or re-raised), you must slow down,
evaluate the hand and decide if the hand is worth continuing with. Often you will need
to muck it right then and there. If you decide to continue with the hand, check and call
as long as no over cards or scare cards hit the turn or river, if they do you likely will
have to muck your hand. You must play hands like these very carefully or they will
end up costing you a lot of money.

Medium to Small Pairs, Pocket Jacks Through Pocket Twos (Pre-Flop)
While a pocket pair of Jacks is vastly superior to a pocket pair of twos you will
actually play all of these pockets quite similarly. The higher the pair the more strength
it has. You will absolutely need to hit any hand between 22-88 to have at chance at
winning the pot. Occasionally you can win with jacks, tens, and nines without hitting
them, but you will need a very favorable flop for these hands to hold up (no over
cards, no suited connectors etc.). In early position these hands should be thrown in the
muck. With the exception of jacks and tens, with either of these two pockets limp in
from early position, they are just a little too good to muck, even from up front.

From mid position or better you may enter the pot provided that it is not yet been
raised and you have at least one or two other limpers in the pot in front of you. If you
don.t have these circumstance you should not even bother entering the pot, it is just
not profitable. You want to play these medium to small pairs the exact opposite way
you play big pairs. They play well against many players, and you would like to enter

the pot for one bet. You can call a raise only if you are in very late position and there
are at least three other players already in the pot. Most flops will be unfavorable to
these types of hands and most often you will have to muck your mid to small pocket
hand on the flop. As such, you are not willing to put in several bets before the flop.
You want to play against many players in case you are lucky enough to hit a set on the
flop. If this happens you will often win a large pot. So remember the only time you
want to play your little pockets is when you can limp in from late position against
numerous players, if you are unable to enter the pot under these circumstances simply
muck the hand. If you play little pockets under any other scenarios they will be big
time chip burners.

Medium to Small Pairs, Pocket Jacks Through Pocket Twos (Post-Flop)
These hands will be very, easy to play after the flop. You will only be able to continue
playing if one of two things happens. Firstly, if you hold one of the higher holdings,
like tens, or jacks, about 40%-50% of the time an over card will not hit the flop. If this
happens play your hand very strong on the flop, bet or raise the hand in hopes of
driving out player who hold over cards. If an over card hits on the turn or the river and
there is any action you will have a tough decision, either check and call, or muck your
hand if you figure you are beat. If there is a bet and a raise when an over card hits,
trust me, you are beat, muck your hand.

If you are lucky enough to flop a set then your objective is usually to get as many
chips into the pot as possible, as you will be a big favorite to win the pot. This is one
of the only times you may want to slow play a hand. Especially if a pre-flop raiser or
just a very aggressive player is sitting to your immediate left. You can check with the
intention of raising or re-raising. You may even elect to wait until the turn to make
your check raise, but only do this if the flop is ragged (its not suited, or connected).
When you are lucky enough to catch a flop like this you stand to make a lot of money.

Suited connectors and Ax Suited hands Pre-Flop (i.e. 10 J , 5 6 , A 4 )
There are certain times that you may play these types of hands. They require the same
criteria as small pairs. Again, they play well against many opponents, and you would
like to enter the pot for one bet from late position. You can call a raise only if you are
in very late position and there are at least three other players already in the pot. If you
can.t enter the pot under these circumstances than you must pass on the hand. It is
these types of hands that cost beginners and intermediate players tons of money. They
continually enter pots out of position, under a raise when they shouldn.t, in non-multi
way pots, these are all horrible plays and you will NEVER again make them yourself.

Suited connectors and Ax Suited hands (Post-Flop)
Again, they play very similar to your little pairs. You need to flop to these hands
perfectly. You need either an open ended straight draw, or a flush draw or better to
continue playing one of these hands. If you have a big draw like either of the ones I
just mentioned you usually should just check and call. In limit holdem, if you have at
least two other players in the pot, you will always be correct in calling the hand all the
way to the river. You will be getting sufficient odds to continue with your drawing
hand.

If the board has three of a suit, you must never continue with a straight draw.
Someone may already have a made flush, so how can you continue on a straight

draw? You can.t and you won.t. If you flopped a made straight, that.s a horse of a
different colour. In this case you would continue to play unless you experienced a lot
of action indicating that you are beat, in which case you will have to get away from
this hand. If the flop comes paired, you will never draw to either a flush or a straight,
as someone may already have a made full house. The key rule is that if you are
drawing, you don.t want to make your hand and still lose, you don.t want to be
drawing dead. This is precisely what happens time and time again when people draw
to straights with paired or suited flops.

If you have good position and a lot of players you may want to raise on the flop. Lets
say it.s a large multi way pot with say five or six players and you have a nut flush
draw. You are on the button and five players are in for a single bet. You might as well
go ahead and raise in a situation like this. You will hit your hand one out of three
times, and you are getting six to one on your raise (likely all the players will call for a
single raise). If you hit the flush on the turn great bet your hand, or raise it, hey are
lucky enough to have caught the nuts so bet your hand. If you miss, your raise on the
flop may just give you the opportunity to check the turn and give yourself a free card.
Never bet the turn in this situation if you can check and get a free card, the odds are
no longer with you with only one card to go.

CONCLUSION

To be a winner at the higher limits patience and discipline are still probably your most
important weapons in your arsenal, however they alone will not get the job done at the
higher limits. You will need to hone your poker skills because doing just these two
things won.t get the job done at the higher limits, but I assure you it will get it done at
the low limits. You should be watching the game carefully, getting a feel for the
game, your opponents betting patterns, making notes etc. Notes are an invaluable tool
that will improve your online Holdem win rate. They have enabled me to make many,
many thousands of dollars that I would otherwise not have made. With a note on a
player I am able to make a call that I otherwise would not have been able to make if I
had no information on this player. Every session I play I always make notes on my
opponents.
I believe that making notes is so important to your online win rate that I have included
a few here as an example of how you might do it. Please note that many of my notes
will be referring to 100 and 200 No limit sit and go tournaments but I believe you will
get the idea.
Example 1 Player A 100 NL called my raise at level 5 in SB with K8, flop came 225,
he bet 500, He goes allin with any ace at end of tourney, clueless at end of a tourney,
Example 2. Player B 100 NL called an allin level 2 with AQ pre-flop, only bets the
goods
Example 3 Player C 50 limit, 4 bet me on flop with nothing, made foolish bluff
Example 4 Player D 50 NL chasing fool, chased 2nd pair to river board came a7878,
HE WILL PAY ME OFF, PLAY FAST AGAINST HIM
Example 5 Player E100 NL, over better, chase top pair no kicker at any cost, easy to
trap, easy to check raise
Example 6 Player F Strong player, plays well, try to avoid

Notes will help you stay involved in the game when you are not playing a hand. They
will help you from getting bored and entering the pot when you know you should. I
strongly encourage you to take notes on your opponents, the dividends they will pay
quite substantial. Party poker, and most of the other big online sites have a feature
built into the program to make this easier for you, utilize it.
.
You have now been equipped with enough information to be a solid winning player a
low limit holdem, so what are you waiting for, go get em tiger!