Reckless aggression is a frequent mistake when holding suited cards as your opponents have more clay chips to throw at you.
In a situation where you are holding either Ace King or Ace Queen, and you are in a early position, you are in a good position to limp in. If you are against more than a single player, you should always raise preflop, as this tells the other players you are strong and not afraid to put money into the pot.
From time to time you may want to call a bet on the flop, rather than raising, this is a form of checking to see if anyone has a decent hand and feeling out the competition.
If you are against several players, you should always call, as you build the pot, as well as build your chip stack in the early stages.
When you are in late position and no one has raised the pot, you can try a continuation bet on the flop. If you hit your flop and get paid off, you can continue betting the turn and river, again betting escalators a lot more and can often scare people off the pot.
You can also call a bet on the flop, even though you are in early position, this is a very safe play as reacting to aggression is the weakness of many players.
If you are holding suited cards, and suddenly you are on the button, you should raise people out of the pot, as this drives out any opponents that may be holding good hands.
Additional, you will often get people to fold that would have called you on the flop. You are no longer in control of the hand, and you are out of position.
No matter what cards you are holding, you should raise or re-raise people when you are in late position and control the hand for a longer period. You are looking to build a pot in late position.
Also, in middle and late position you should not call unless you have a premium hand, there is no adding on to the pot.
Using this strategy, you will rarely be dominated. People will chickens out of the pot, or call you with junk and lose. Being aggressive in the right spot and at the right time will win you the pot.
In early position you should limp in with suited cards. If you have a good hand, people will call you preflop instead of folding to you. This forces out players before you have to make a raise.
You want to be in late position and have enough money behind you to make a QQdewa. You don’t want to call someone’s bets preflop when you have a real hand.
Calling is the first strategy you should develop as a poker player. If you decide to raise people will know what you have and are more likely to fold because you have made a big raise. Calling is the essence of the bluff.
This is often the case when you play in a home game with your friends and you make a big raise, everyone gets excited. They know a bluffer is likely to raise and if someone behind you calls, they might think it’s the real thing.
There’s another situation I like to employ. You’re in middle position with KQo and there are no raises in front of you. You want to mix your game up and see how the table reacts. Here’s how.
If a player in early position raises, you should call. You don’t want to set a trap. If a player in middle position raises, call. Don’t raise. If a player in late position raises, call.
If no one has made a raise you can decide to call small bets, folds, or raises. You want to create a situation where you have the best hand regardless of the flop or turn.
This is also an effective strategy for the middle and late stages of a tournament. At these stages in the tournament the blinds are very low in comparison to the chip stack.
I know players are often battling with their distractions, policies at home, and family. You may be fighting a cold in the head and unable to make the money. However you should not allow yourself to be distracted.
You need to be focused on the game or you’re going to lose. Everything else is second place.