Preflop Basics
Basic terms and considerations for No-Limit Hold'em preflop play.
The single most important thing for you to do as an aspiring poker player is learn how to play preflop. The choices you make preflop affect every single hand you play, and generally players can see massive improvements simply from following preflop charts.
Preflop Actions
Limping
Do not limp (call 1bb). You are not missing out on anything if you limit yourself to aggressive actions only preflop. If your hand is good enough to play, it’s good enough to raise.
Raise First In (RFI)
If action has folded around to you, your raise would be the first raise. Simply following RFI charts for your opening ranges is an easy way to increase your win-rate.
Punishing the Limpers
If action has limped around to you, open a tighter range and open larger. A good rule of thumb is to open to whatever size you would open to normally but add 1bb for every limper.
Cold Call
Do not cold call (call when players are yet to act). If you cold call, you are telling everyone your hand is not strong, and players after you can punish you by raising. You can explore cold calling strategies later, but for now it creates unnecessary complexity.
Calling from the Big Blind
You may call if you are closing the action as you are guaranteed not to get raised by a future player before seeing a flop.
3-Bet+
If someone has raised and your hand is still good enough to play considering their stronger range, you should 3-bet by raising. We recommend a 3-bet or fold strategy when starting out. If two players have raised, then you would be 4-betting – only do this with the absolute top of your range.
General Tips
- Play tigher from early positions. More players left to act mean there is more opportunity for someone to have a better hand.
- Always 3-bet/4-bet your best hands (AA, KK, AK). These hands desperately want to grow the pot preflop.
- Stick to a single size for each position at the table (e.g. 2.2x open for UTG/HJ/CO, 2.5x BTN, 3x SB). This way your opponents cannot gain any information from what size you open to.
- Follow your preflop ranges. Seriously.