Hands in Poker It's a ... 

Any poker strategy is built around the cards the player receives at the start and the combinations into which they are dealt. It's useful to read about what hands in poker mean, how to classify them, how to choose to enter a hand and what to do with them in the post-flop.

In the preflop, a hand is defined as two cards received by a player. 

On the postflop, a combination formed with them.

A pocket pair is a completed hand. Any unpaired cards are not a hand.

A player must learn to correctly evaluate his potential in the preflop, so he'll face fewer challenges in the postflop. Evaluating your starting hands correctly is a step towards maximizing your profits.

Starter Deals

There are 1, 326 starting hands in Texas Holdem. In Omaha there are 16,432. There is no way to remember what to do with every possible hand. There's no need to. All options are easily categorized. For clarity and ease of understanding, a card matrix is used. Ranges/spectrums are marked on it.

Situations are described for Texas Hold'em. It is simpler, so you should start your strategy with it.

Hand ranges

A poker player is constantly working with hand range options. These can be made up for yourself, or you can guess what kind of hand range your opponent is using.

A range can be marked in letter form: 34.8%, 22+, Ax+, K3s+, K9o+, Q8s+, QTo+, J7s+, JTo, T7s+, T9o, 97s+, 86s+, 76s, 65s. What is written means that 34.8% should be used for the spectrum. Anything over 2 2s contains an ace, over K3s and so on.

Perceiving the information in letter form is difficult. All poker calculators use visual versions of the ranges for convenience.

The possible ranges are 'divided' into halves by the diagonal of the pocket pairs. At the bottom of the card matrix there are the mixed-suit hands, at the top there are the masters. Most often it's already written on the squares which hand it is.

The strongest hands, the top of the spectrum, are in the top left corner. It would be logical to assume that the weakest hands are in the bottom right. That is not the case. Potential is influenced not only by the absolute strength of the hand, but also by its ability to hit the flop. 

Combinations

The entire range can be divided into seven types of starting combinations: pocket, Broadway, Connectors, Gap Connectors, Masters, All-Suit and Trash.

It is impossible to give a simple recipe for drawing up hand opening ranges. The influences are:

  • Position;

  • Number of opponents;

  • Stack depth;

  • Tournament situation.

Being able to classify hands and understand the strengths and weaknesses of each group is a big step towards optimal preflop play.

There are no bad hands, just wrongly played hands.

Pocket Pairs

The easiest hands to play. A ready-made hand in the preflop. Pocket Pairs are dealt most of the time. Exceptions to this are pairs under 55 from early stack positions under 40 bb and calls of blushes.

There is an important "Call on a Set" rule. It says it is a good idea to Call any pocket pair on a set if the effective stack is at least 20 times your bet.

If a 6 bb call is required, the effective stack must be at least 120 bb. If you can't catch a set on the flop, you must pass on any action from your opponents. The exception to this is microscopic bets that give good pot odds for a call.

Broadway

Cards that have the potential to make the top straight, from 10 to A. Broadway hands hit the flop well. The masters stand out in particular.

Players should be careful with low Broadway hands in a late position call, KJ, KQ, A10, AJ. There's a good chance of being dominant with them, like getting into a top pair against a better combination. The opening range of opponents from the early positions includes the high Broadway.

 

Connectors

This is the name given to poker hands consisting of adjacent cards in a pecking order. J10, QJ 78, 23. High connectors have a lot of potential; they often hit a draw or top pair. The middle ones are dangerous, as is the low ford. There is a chance of getting dominated, especially when countering from late positions. Low connectors to 56 are rarely played.

 

A distinction is also made between gap connectors. These are made up of cards separated by one in order of seniority: 57, 9J, QA. They have a lower chance of making the straight draw. Backdrops, straight draws without one card will occur more often. So don't overestimate low and midrange gaps by playing them wide and often.

Starting by Mast

This is the simplest classification of hands. The bottom half of the matrix is off suit, the top half is suit. The latter are preferred by poker players because they have more potential to hit the flush.

Trash

These are the most unfortunate hands to enter. They have little equity and rarely win on showdown. However, there are situations where a player must open 100% of the spectrum or close to it. This occurs at turning points in tournaments, on the bubble or at the table, when ICM is distorting the poker players' spectra.

In a standard situation these cards are not played. There are quite a few such combinations, a poker player can easily miss a dozen or more hands, constantly getting trash. This is one of the reasons why many people like Short Deck, as there are hardly any useless hands in it.

Postflop

A player plays out his hands in order to take chips from the table. There is always a chance that the hand will reach the post-flop. To win the pot in this case, the poker player will have to make a winning hand or make his opponent believe that he has made it.

There are a lot of variations in the post-flop. All of them can be roughly divided into three:

  • Hitting a prepared combination;

  • Hitting a draw;

  • No hit.

The last case more often implies a pass. You shouldn't bluff too much. Opponents will notice it and start to call. Bluffs without equity quickly make the game negative.

Ready combinations

This is the most enjoyable option. The player has already assembled a hand. His task now is to protect it, while picking from his opponent's weaker combinations or draws. It's important to evaluate the board to see how well it fits your opponent and you in his eyes. This helps determine your betting odds on the board.

Draw

When hitting a draw without position, you should remember the rule of pot odds and hand odds. The danger is that poker players often call undrawn draws, making their play negative. Half-bluff bets are acceptable with draws to exploit fold equity.

 

How to Choose Between Online and Offline Casino?

Online casinos have only been around for a short time, but in that amount of time, they've managed to make a name for themselves at the top of the entertainment world. 

This is a single platform that combines many games on different subjects such as different types of poker, slots, video poker, table games, electronic games, and more. 

An online casino is basically the same as the land-based casino you're used to. But the main difference is that you don't need to leave home, go through a strict face control to enjoy the game. 

Online casinos have some advantages over land-based ones: 

  • Promotions. In online casinos there is always a bonus system that is beneficial and convenient for players. She gives a chance to play for free for electronic bonuses, which are specific to each casino. This can be found only on the Internet;

  • Accessibility. Play possible with any device that you have;

  • Convenience. No need to leave home. Playing is possible lying on a bed in a comfortable position and at any time;

  • Silence. You can concentrate and choose a place that suits you. You do not have to listen to the loud shouts of who won at the slots, etc;

  • Convenient Payment and Withdrawal Methods. You can easily transfer all the money from your account to your card. You can also keep the deposit, which will be multiplied every day;

  • A wide range of games. What land-based casino can you find 1000+ games? However, if you play at an online casino, you can do so on one platform, Rich Palms being one of them.


 

Which Online Casino to Choose in Australia?

Rich Palms Casino has managed to build a very good reputation for itself in the 2 years it has been operating under the management of Alistar Solutions NV and working only with software leaders such as Real Time Gaming and Visionary iGaming. 

It was licensed by Curacao before opening the site to a large audience. This is to say that the gaming activity is provided completely legally. 

In addition, all the data you enter only stays on the website. Since Rich Palms only uses state-of-the-art technology, which is 128-bit ssl encryption. 

You can choose from a wide variety of games that are divided into different categories such as:

  • Slots;

  • Video poker;

  • Progressives;

  • Live casino;

  • Table Games and others. 

In addition to that, you'll be surprised by the large number of bonuses that you can use right from the moment you sign up. Welcome bonuses, bitcoin bonuses, promos for new games, daily promotions and weekend promotions are available to all registered players. Come in and enjoy the game!


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Last Updated: Jan 23, 2023

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