random thought on preflop play

[umdpoker]

i just had a realization about preflop play that might help me think more clearly about poker at all times, and deal with bad beats better. i thought it might help others too, so i decided to post it. any 2 cards before the flop have potential. thats why AA doesn't win all of the time, but will make you very wealthy in the long run. this means any 2 cards lower than AA have potential to be an underdog. therefore, if it wasn't for the blinds, nobody would ever want to play hole cards that weren't AA. I have been having a lot of trouble lately getting beat by AA when i hold KK and getting beaten by KK when i hold QQ. as you can imagine, these hands were quite expensive. Now, I will NEVER EVER fold AA or KK or AKs to a preflop raise ( i will of course re-raise), but i am starting to think that QQ is foldable if i have no money in yet and i have to call 3 bets cold. there is at least AK out there, guaranteed. All of a sudden, my hand no longer looks great, as my opponent's chance of flopping better than me are pretty damn good. Suddenly, my hand went from celebration time to "crap, i hope i flop trips time". and even then, i really have trouble folding QQ when an ace comes with no queen. So, i think from now on, i am gonna think ahead and just fold queens if i have to call 3 cold. hell, i might even fold it to a 3-bet if i am in the blinds and there isn't enough money in the pot to play it like i would 22. sorry if i rambled on , but here is my point: always think ahead and formulate a plan for every hand you get. AA plays itself. but even a hand as great as QQ can be tough to play in certain situations. remember that every hand has potenetial, but that doesn't mean you have to play it. get to know your strengths and weaknesses. if you aren't good enough to know how to play a hand in a certain situation, nobody is forcing you too. it costs you nothing to fold. i know some would argue that you just cost yourself whatever the innate value of qq or whatever hand you decide to fold is. however, if played poorly, any hand can cost you money, even AA. just a thought. happy pokering!

[crockpot]

although i do think that the other players would be playing enough hands out of boredom to make KK or QQ profitable even with no ante, you make a good point.

against a raise and a reraise, it is certainly reasonable to fold QQ if you have any respect for the three-bettor. i would probably also muck AK and AKs if the reraiser was a good player. calling here is an especially egregious mistake at no-limit, where your preflop call can trap you for all your chips later in the hand.

[umdpoker]

exactly why i don't play no limit. lol.

[Tosh]

I think I'd normally muck QQ against a raise and reraise if I respected the 2 raisers or cap if I didn't. I'd never cold call 3. You make some good points though.

[CPA]

Isn't QQ still favored over AK, suited or unsuited? Therefore, I don't think I would fold to a three bet unless I was sure the raiser had KK and AA (happens 1 out of 110 times I think).

If you were talking JJ, I am with you !! With QQ, I still think I raise/cap. I think you are assuming that an A or K comes on the flop every time.

Still a good conceptual post.

[JTG51]

therefore, if it wasn't for the blinds, nobody would ever want to play hole cards that weren't AA.

While that should be true in theory, it's definitely not in practice. Foxwoods regularly has a 2-10 spread limit Stud 8 game with no ante, and people play all kinds of garbage hands that it would be correct to fold even if there were an ante.

As for folding QQ preflop, there are certainly times when it's correct, but there are also times when it's correct to cap it. The situation probably doesn't come up often enough to make much of a difference, but it's not a good idea to make a blanket decision now. Think about why you might make the decision, but make each decision as they come.

[prosh]

I Read a quote once that made me think .... How can you fold when you don't know what is going to come out?? Kind of makes sense....not very profitable.... but what ever is mathimatecally possible is not wholly improbable.....you can get dealt 27 every time and every time you can flop 772... and yes you still might even lose...just some random thoughts

[prosh]

In tournament play I beleive folding AA or KK is profitable in certain situations preflop