Pre flop charts for low limit cash games
Hi everyone,
I was just wondering if anyone had any tips for learning preflop charts for low limit cash games please ? It all seems so overwhelming.
Thanks
Kris
6 Replies
Thanks everyone for the replies. I am starting to play poker again.
To start off with, forget all the tables except the one where you are in early position and no one has raised. Raise everything the chart tells you to raise in all positions. Don't limp anything. If someone raises, 3 bet AA, KK, QQ, JJ and AK. Fold everything else. When you get comfortable, you can start adding in additional hands based on position.
And before someone whines, "but what about set mining," anyone struggling with the starting hands is most likely going to be losing money set m
Maybe good for some beginners, but not good generally. You are folding AQs and TT in some multiway pot because someone raised? Those are clear calls, sometimes 3!s. I am generally calling or 3-betting suited broadway too. Also, not always 3-betting JJ: some openers are very tight. Better advise is always flat call with pps and open or limp/call with them first to act. There are a few situations to fold small pps.
There are different approaches. I play somewhat tighter in ep and looser in lp if there is no raise in front. I definitely play tighter with a raise in front.` However, I don't think you can go by standard hand charts as in a tight game and I do not adjust my range to position as much as in the hand charts. I generally play AJ+, KQ, 22+, suited broadway, sometimes good suited connectors and Axs. Usually I flat call with small to mid pps. Will fold them in a few situations. I KK+, usually JJ+/AK and sometimes good suited cards and other hands when the situation seems good. In CO or BTN, I raise pretty wide against limpers, but also limp behind a lot. If it is passed to me in late position, I will raise a much wider range than above. I will sometimes open limp. I think it is fine if you don't do it in a donk way, limp/calling junk hands etc.
You will never memorize all combos for every action in every configuration. Add in stack sizes and raise sizes and individual exploitabilities, and you can forget about it. Even in the abstract, it's a fool's errand; as a practical application for live games, it's missing the point entirely.
I would instead do things like look at the frequencies for RFIs from each seat; see what proportion of that range 3bs and flats from each seat; see what percentage of the raiser's range continues to a 3b; see how different range compositions (from purely linear to heavily polarized, and a few gradations in between) are derived, what percentage of those are value in proportion to the original raiser, where are the bluffs selected from; I would look at what hands tend to get bucketed together and at what proportions. Obviously from there you will want to see how raise sizes and stack sizes and such affect each of those factors.
You do enough of that work, then you can construct YOUR OWN ranges given any number of inputs--first away from the table, then being able to make adjustments at the table between hands, and finally during hands themselves.
There are different approaches. I play somewhat tighter in ep and looser in lp if there is no raise in front. I definitely play tighter with a raise in front.` However, I don't think you can go by standard hand charts as in a tight game and I do not adjust my range to position as much as in the hand charts. I generally play AJ+, KQ, 22+, suited broadway, sometimes good suited connectors and Axs. Usually I flat call with small to mid pps. Will fold them in a few situations. I KK+, usually JJ+/AK
Do you open 22's UTG? How about any suited Ace?