Pre-flop Strategy
October 12th, 2009What you do before the poker flop sets the tone for the rest of your hand. Even though the flop can change a lot during the hand, playing your cards right before it comes out can go a long way in getting you ready for whatever those first three cards happen to be.
When you get your pocket cards, you are getting your first impression of how the hand will turn out. You’ve got a few choices-you can bet, you can call, or you can fold. Now, unless you’ve got a high pocket pair (and sometimes even then), how the hand ends up depends on the poker online cards that come out or how well you play them, so this decision is your first major one of the hand.
Most times, you’ll get cards that you want to fold, but if you’ve got a hand worth playing you have a new decision to make-should you call or just bet? Unless you don’t want to scare your online poker opponents out of the hand, betting into a hand is usually the right decision. By betting into a hand, you force the players around you to play defensively, which puts you at a big advantage. Even if you don’t hit the flop, your opponents will be more susceptible to a bluff post-flop.
