Betting Checklist

Before acting on your hand there is a list of questions you should ask yourself. But there is no one right way to play a given hand.

- The size of your stack is one of the most important issues to consider. Its size (relative to the blinds) determine the options you have.
With a very small stack your options are limited to folding and all-in.
A bigger stack (at least 30-times the big blind) gives you the posibility to raise and re-raise before the flop.

- The second issue to consider before you bet is your position on the table. There are some blogposts about that.

- The third item to consider is the size of the blinds and the amount of money in the pot. Remember: when you bet you tell a story. If that story does not make sense no one will follow it.
For pre-flop bets a good rule of thumb is a raise about 3 to 4 times the big blind.

- The action that happend in front of you. By paying attention to it you can determine the strength of your opponents hands. It helps to decide what type of players your opponents are. Are they loose, tight, aggressive or passive?

This is the checklist which you should go through with every bet. And finally: your bet has to serve a purpose. Do you want your opponents to fold or do you want them to put as much money in the pot as possible?

Playing from the Blinds

The question in the blind positions is always: Should you play your hand, or let it go?
Many players don't want to loose their invested blinds and tend to play more hands than they should.
Don't hesitate to throw your cards away!

Remember: Pre-flop your position is the best. Use the gathered information to your advantage!

Late Position Hand Selection

In late position your hand range widens when you're the first into a pot.
Of course it is still not recommended to raise with junk hands. But you should increase your aggression in the late position.

When you're not holding premium cards, folding to a pre-flop re-raise is OK.

In general: When action folds to you on the button, it's acceptable to raise up to 80% of your starting hands.

In case you want to bluff you have to consider the following:
-Stack size of your opponents especially the blind positions
-Your style of playing and how your opponents notice it. If you raise very often it might not be a good idea to bluff.

The Importance of Position

Position at the table is critical and dictates how and when you play your starting hands.
It is so important because when you have an early position you have less information on other players, because they have not yet acted. If someone raises in preflop for example you do not wanna play a speculative hand. But you dont have this information if you sit on an earlier position on the table.
More information => better judgement => higher chances to win!