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Dynamic Hand Value
Most advanced players realize that the Sklansky hand rankings (by poker
expert and author David Sklansky) aren't strict rules without exception, but
that instead they're general guidelines for ranking hands. This needs to be
stressed because hand values fluctuate greatly depending on the number of
people in the pot. Many individuals aren't quite sure how to treat their
starting hands as the game's dynamic changes between loose and tight
affecting the amount of people in the pot. The answer to this dilemma lies
with what type of hand you’ve got and how many players such a hand is
appropriate against.
We've divided the types of hands into 3 categories: Large pairs (J-J or
higher), big cards (two cards of J-Q-K or ace), and small pairs and suited
connectors (we know they're totally different but there's a reason we’ve
grouped them together - trust us). Please note that the following
information has been developed with longhand, limit context in mind.
Large pairs
These are "premium" hands that people hope to get. They have a lot of value
in and of themselves and aren’t board-dependent to win. People generally
raise pre-flop with these hands for value, but often a major reason to raise
pre-flop is simply to knock people out.
Take K-K as an example. Barring an ace hitting the board, K-K will most
likely be the best hand at the flop. However, if the board is Q-10-2 and
someone has Q-J and someone else has A-K, they'll be tempted to draw to
check out another card. If you make this more complicated and make the Q-2
suited, someone with two cards of that same suit will be drawing as well.
Now, all of a sudden, you’re confronted with a situation where there are
about 16 outs (depending on what the suited cards are) against you. While
you still have the highest chance of anyone to win the pot, it's now more
probable that someone else will take it instead of you!
This is a frequent situation with large pairs: they're the best thing to
come by at the flop, but there are enough runners out there that one of them
is destined to beat you at the river. So, the way to improve this situation
is to knock these people out of the flop by making raises aimed at limiting
the pot size. Re-raise others after they've raised you in order to make it
expensive to see the pot, and raise at the flop to knock people out. To
illustrate, in the above situation, if you're in early position and there
are 5 people at the flop, you should consider checking in the hopes of
check-raising to eliminate the people between you and the original bettor.
Consequently, people with five outs or less won't be in the pot against you
and you don’t have to worry as much about long-shot draws beating you.
Another idea that applies to a loose game is to think about not raising too
much pre-flop. For example, if you're in late position now and a player has
raised and four people cold-called the raise, do not re-raise because
essentially all you're doing is increasing the pot and giving people more of
a reason to chase. Design your raises to limit the size of the pot and
increase your chances of winning.
Big cards
Big cards like A-K, A-Q and K-Q are fantastic for shorthand games, but
they're often problematic in longhand games. While big cards at least can be
an overpair and win money from a player whose hand isn't likely to improve
(like top pair or top kicker), these hands are the ones that make top pair
or top kicker. When you hit the board with these hands, unless you are
out-kicking your opponent or your opponent is a moron, he or she will
generally be on a draw against you. Therefore, you usually want to go ahead
and take the pot down at the flop, or at least make it very expensive for
your opponent to witness the turn.
Small pairs and suited connectors
Depending on the situation, these hands can change dramatically in terms of
value. Assuming a non-heads up situation (where small pairs do ok simply on
the likelihood of your opponent not hitting anything), these are hands you
want to play in a multi-way pot. Generally speaking, you either won't hit
much with these hands or, you will hit a very nice hand like three of a
kind, a flush or a straight. The main goal with these hands is to have pot
odds stacked in your favor. (Note: A-xs plays a lot like a suited
connector.)
If you’ve got a suited connector, you are hoping that there is enough
callers and dead money in the pot to warrant drawing to the straight or
flush. Pot odds are why these hands will display a profit with 4+ people in
the pot, but will generally be weak against two or three opponents. In a
multi-way pot with a suited connector, you may have a flush or a straight
draw (that will win if you hit), but you’ve only got to throw in 1/10 of the
pot to see the next card. These are very good odds indeed.
If you’ve got a small pair, you're hoping for the 13% chance of hitting a
set on the flop. So, if 7 people are in the pot, you have the perfect pot
odds for a set. However, for small pairs, not only are the pot odds good for
a set, the implied odds once you hit your set are excellent. If you hit your
set, chances are good that someone will have a second-best hand with either
a slim chance of beating you or none at all (for example, if you’ve got 3-3,
and the flop is K-J-3, there's a good possibility that someone will pay you
off with a king or perhaps even a jack). In other words, small pairs really
begin showing their profit potential when there are five or more people in
the pot.
A common response or follow-up question to the small pair strategy is, "How
should I evaluate the set potential of large pairs?" After all, we've
discussed how the implied odds are overall pretty good once you hit a set.
Unfortunately, the same doesn't apply to large pairs. If you hit a set with
a large pair, there's a solid chance it will be top set (meaning there are
no cards on the board higher than that), so you won't get much action from
anything other than draws. Think about it: if you have A-A and the flop’s
A-J-5, there's only so much action you can get from a hand such as K-J.
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