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Have you heard the saying "tight up front, loose in the back?" When someone says this they are talking about pre-flop play and how you should be tighter in early positions and looser in later positions. The statement doesn't really give clarification as to how tight or how loose though? Do you play pocket fours in early position? Do you play 7-2 in late position? What if someone has raised? How loose are you in later positions then?

The question you should ask yourself prior to playing any hand in a no-limit hold'em tournament is "what am I looking to accomplish by playing this hand?" Are you looking to steal the blinds? Win the pot pre-flop? Win a big pot post-flop? Obviously the last question is probably the biggest goal in everyone's mind... but here's the catch. In addition to knowing what you want to accomplish, you need to also know if it is possible. If you raise, are the blinds likely to fold? If you re-raise, will the initial raiser fold? If you call a raise, will your opponent pay you off if you hit your hand? Understanding these two things will help you go a long way in making the proper pre-flop decisions but to help you get there, I'm going to provide a little base for you to work with.

Early Position (the three spots immediately after the blinds)

If you are first to act or there are callers in front of you: Raise with A-A/K-K/Q-Q/A-K, if re-raised you should generally be very aggressive with these hands but use your best discretion in proceeding. Limp with 2-2 through J-J and A-Q. If the bet is raised after you call, call any raise that is less than 5 times the big blind total bet with 2-2 through J-J, use your best determination in whether to call with A-Q or not.

If there is a raise and/or a raise with callers in front of you: Re-raise with A-A/K-K/Q-Q/A-K. Call a raise of less than 5 times the big blind total bet with 2-2 through J-J.

Middle Position (the three spots before the cutoff and button)

If you are first to act or there are callers in front of you: Raise with A-A through 9-9, A-K, A-Q, A-J suited, A-T suited, K-Q suited, if re-raised you should generally be aggressive with these hands but use your best discretion in proceeding. Limp with 2-2 through 8-8, any two cards ten or over that are suited (for example, Q-10 suited), and any suited connectors (for example 6-5 suited). If the hand is raised after you call, call any raise that is less than 5 times the big blind total bet with 2-2 through 8-8, fold all other hands.

If there is a raise and/or a raise with callers in front of you: If the original raise is NOT from UTG or UTG+1, re-raise with A-A through 9-9, A-K, A-Q, A-J suited, A-10 suited, and K-Q suited, if re-raised you should use your best discretion but generally should fold most hands. If the original raise is from UTG or UTG+1, re-raise only with A-A through 10-10, and A-K, if the hand is re-raised after you raise, use your best discretion on whether to proceed).

Call a raise of less than 5 times the big blind total bet with all other pairs and use your discretion in deciding whether to call a raise with A-Q. If the hand is re-raised after you call, you should generally fold.

Late Position (cutoff and button)

If you are first to act: Raise with any pair, any suited ace, king, or queen, any ace, any two cards ten or above, and any suited connectors.

If there are callers in front: All of the instructions for middle position apply. In addition, limp with unsuited connectors one gap or better (one gap meaning there is a gap of one in the cards, for example 6-4) and any suited ace or king. If the hand is raised after you call, use your best discretion on proceeding.

If there is a raise and/or a raise with callers in front of you: All the instructions for middle position apply. In addition, call a standard raise under 5 times the big blind total bet with any connectors (suited or unsuited, one gap or better) from 5-4 to J-10 (thus all the possible hands would be 5-4, 6-4, 6-5, 7-5, 7-6, 8-6, 8-7, 9-7, 9-8, T-8, T-9, J-9 , and J-10). If the hand is re-raised after you call, use your best discretion in proceeding.

Blinds

If you are first to act from the small blind: Raise with any pair, any ace, any king, any two cards ten or better, and any suited connectors. Fold all other hands.

If there are callers in front of you: Raise with A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and A-K. Check/complete with 2-2 thru J-J, A-Q, any suited ace, any two suited cards ten or higher (for example Q-J suited), plus any connectors one gap or better.

If there is a raise and/or a raise with callers in front of you: Re-raise with A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and A-K. Call a raise of less than 5 times the big blind total bet with 2-2 thru J-J.

In the next part, I will go over all of these and explain the reasoning behind each as well as bet sizing for initial raises and re-raises.

Part I - Part III - Part IV

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