Group 3: AQ 99 88 77 ATs KJs
Sklansky’s Group 3 has been slightly re-arranged by the Carnegie Mellon group, which I've further
modified in the ranking above. I've moved AQ to the
top of the Group 3, and also moved
99 to the second
position, because in the game of
no limit
holdem I feel these hand plays much better (I will further explain this below).
For these Group 3 hands, I look to
raise pre-
flop with the first two hands (AQ, 99),
from any
position if there have not been any raises.
My
raise will tend to be smaller, $1-$2.50 depending on my
position and the table environment.
It will be less in early
position and a little more in later
position.
I look to
raise pre-
flop with the second four hands (88, 77, ATs, KJs),
in mid to late
position if there have not been any raises, again in the
range of $1-$2.
If I am faced with a
raise, I will probably call if it is small on AQ, 99, 88, 77 (less than $2), and
fold all
the other hands to any raises. I will rarely re-
raise – only if I know the opponent raising totally sucks
(weak, stupid,
loose/maniac style of player). Reraising could make sense here to isolate your loose/
maniac opponent,
especially if you believe your hand is stronger than his at this moment. Calling a
raise with these pocket pairs
also makes sense because of the possible
set value, but you need the right numbers to make this
call worthwhile.
Generally, only CONSIDER calling the
raise with a pocket pair if 1) the
raise
is less than 10% (automatic
call if less than 5%) of your stack and 2) your opponent has a large enough chip
stack to pay you off. We'll discuss this in detail on the Group 5 page, so we'll get back to this!
Even though these first four hands of Group 3 are strong, they are huge underdogs to typically
raised hands – AQ is
dominated by AK, and the pocket pairs are
dominated by pocket ten's and higher.
It's important to try to understand the players sitting opposite you, and what their
range of hands could be when raising
that amount, in that
position, etc... Always be careful playing these hands against a
raise.
With the bottom two hands (ATs, KJs), I vary between raising small or limping in. If I am faced with just the blinds,
I will
raise with these hands hoping to win it right then. Against larger raises, I will
fold these hands.
Against a small
raise (<$2), I will most likely fold. Much depends on position and reads on the other players.
I will play all Group 3 hands from all positions.
Group 4: AJ KQ QJs KTs JTs AT
Sklansky’s Group 4 has been significantly changed by the Carnegie Mellon group, and I agree
with those changes. However, I disagree with the order of the hands within the group.
I've moved AJ, KQ, and AT up within the group to reflect differences in playability
between
no limit and
limit holdem. Based on the calculations of the Carnegie Mellon group,
the
suited connector junk has dropped off Group 4, being replaced by more powerful hands.
Of the hands above, I tend to
raise small ($.50 – $2.00) with AJ and KQ,
but rarely if at all with the other hands. I will cold
call only the smallest raises with AJ, KQ. On the
button,
I may cold
call with all these hands if the
raise is small and I feel I can outplay my opposition.
If I have already limped in, and am raised, I will only
call a minimum
raise with these hands (depending on
the number of opponents!) Otherwise I will
fold.
Again, the problem with the above hands is that they make a good second place hand, and these are losing hands that can be costly.
To
call a
raise with AT is
asking for disaster, because the player raising could easily have AK, AQ, or AJ.
So if you
flop the ace, you still cannot be assured that you have the best hand.
I want to be the one who raises going into a pot. I do not want to be calling raises going into a pot.
This is a key point to my strategy.
I will not autoplay Group 4 hands from any
position. I will try to limp in all positions, and look to
raise only with AJ or KQ.
One other item to note at this point - In the game of
no limit, it is often too expensive to
call bets with drawing hands. For example, with hands like QTs, A9s, and JTs, you are really
looking to hit the
straight or the flush. However, if someone has top pair with a strong
kicker
they should be betting you out of the hand, so you often times will never see the
turn or
river
card. This is one major distinction between the hands played in
limit holdem vs
no limit holdem.
In the game of limit, it is often correct to
call bets with a straight draw or flush
draw hand
because the
pot odds justify the call. In
no limit, the reverse is normally true, that you are
not getting good
pot odds to make the call, and often have to
fold your drawing hands. Therefore, these
drawing hands are not as strong in
no limit as they may play in limit poker. That's why these have dropped down to the next
group...
Sound good so far? Seems to be working for me…
