opening hand selection

[Cincy Peach]

As I continue to struggle for positive cash flow, I have returned to opening hand selection as a potential problem. I am currently opening with the following hands; the percentages indicate how often the conditions seem right for opening with that particular type of hand.

these parameters result in playing 15.8% of hands - outside of the blinds. Adding in that I play about half the hands in the blinds, that results in total hands played about 25%. I don't seem to be able to get under about 25% total. When I see players who are at 14-20% total hands played I wonder what they are cutting out . . . any advice would be appreciated!

AA, KK, QQ,AK (any)
AQ, KQ, JJ, TT (90%)
AJ, AT, KJ, QJ, KT (75%)
QTs, Qjs, T9s, J9s (62%)
QT, JT off (50%)
Ax suited (A9-A2) (75%)
98s – 54s (30%)
99, 88, 77 (75%)
66, 55, 44, 33, 22 (40%)

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AA, KK, QQ,AK (any)
AQ, KQ, JJ, TT (90%)
AJ, AT, KJ, QJ, KT (75%)
QTs, Qjs, T9s, J9s (62%)
QT, JT off (50%)
Ax suited (A9-A2) (75%)
98s – 54s (30%)
99, 88, 77 (75%)
66, 55, 44, 33, 22 (40%)

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QJ and KT are both ugly hands to get involved with. Unless you are in LP, I'd fold them without a second thought, especially unsuited. Ditto J9s. Gapped connectors are tough hands to make money off of in the long run. If you can limp them, do so occasionally, but by and large, that hand will break your heart. QTo is worthless. Paint is pretty, but this one will stick a knife in your heart. JTo is even worse.

I know some will disagree, but I dont like suited connectors below 87. 54s has about one way of making a decent hand... and the chances are slip. With hands that have such little power on their own, you are basically gambling your BB for a 1 in a thousand flop to improve. I mean, even if the flop hits your 5, you still dont have a hand worth playing. EVEN if your flush flops, you might still be beat flat out or be sucked out by any hand with a heart if the turn or river hits the suit.

Finally, you might want to ditch 22, 33, 44 in early position just because there is a good shot of getting a raise in back of you that forces out everyone and heads up, those hands lose value fast.

[TexArcher]

Are we talking full-ring or SH? Limit or NL?

It also depends on how people are betting. If there are a lot of pre-flop raisers you can definitely start folding some small pairs and many other hands from early position.

I don't play Q 10 off, K 10 off, or J 10 off from anywhere but the blinds or as a blind-steal if I'm almost positive they'll give it to me.

And be careful with Ax suited, 75% seems way too high to me.

This should help, plug some of these hands in from various positions and you'll see a lot of them are -EV:

http://www.pokerroom.com/main/page/g...stats/expValue

He said opening hands, so, I think that means he opens with these hands.
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Paint is pretty, but this one will stick a knife in your heart. JTo is even worse.


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JT is one of my favorite hands. Any straight it makes is the nuts.
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Finally, you might want to ditch 22, 33, 44 in early position just because there is a good shot of getting a raise in back of you that forces out everyone and heads up, those hands lose value fast.

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I agree.
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I know some will disagree, but I dont like suited connectors below 87. 54s has about one way of making a decent hand... and the chances are slip.

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I think there's one important point you're missing. Personally, I don't like suited connectors under 6-7, however, the trouble hands can be played in the right situations, as can the small pairs. What the poster needs, however, is the discipline to be able to release these hands, especially when he has a piece of the flop.

Your post is not complete for anyone to be able to help you.
What are you playing, limit or no limit? Stakes?
What positions are you playing these hands? Are you playing J9s under the gun? How are you entering the pots, are you limping or raising?
We need more information to evaluate your play.

dont worry about opening hand selection as much as you are. You seem to have a grasp on what cards to play for the most part (depending on the situations you play them in). Where money is won and lost is post flop play. Concentrate on this more than anything.

Read SSHE if you haven't already.

THINK more about the hands and why you should or shouldn't be playing them.

Hands like low pairs, suited connectors and Axs are winners at loose passive tables, but losers when you'll have to put 2 or 3 in to see the flop to play only 2 or 3 players.

AT can get you into trouble if there are going to be 4-5+ to the flop and everybody is going to go to the river.

Context is important.

It's been said before, but the better you are in your post-flop decision making, the less harmful are your preflop mistakes. I think it actually says in SSHE that the starting hand recommendations assume decent post-flop play. You don't want to be playing marginal hands out of position if you don't know what to do when you don't connect well with the board - even if those starting hands are theoretically +EV.

[vexvelour]

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Ax suited (A9-A2) (75%)


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yowza. this screams trouble to me.