Pre-Flop Decisions: What the Action in Front of you Means

When an opponent limps into a pot he is saying, “I like my hand”. When an opponent comes in for a raise he is saying, “I really like my hand.” The more players in the pot, along with how aggressively they entered the pot -limping vs. raising and re-raising-is a clear indicator of how much a player likes their hand. And the more an opponent likes their hand; the more difficult your decisions become.

Now bear in mind that a player liking their hand doesn’t necessarily equate to the actual strength of their hand: Some players think A4 is a powerhouse that needs to be raised and re-raised, while other players are content to flat-call with QQ. This is where your hand-reading comes into play.

You see, when you have the luxury of opening the pot you are able to focus primarily on the strength of your hand, and do not have to factor in the action in front of you (since there was none)-conversely, as you get closer to the button a new factor comes into play: the tendencies of the remaining players; a discussion I’ll save for later on.

However, when players have committed to the pot, no matter how passively or aggressively they entered, your decisions become increasingly complex. Not only do you have to start considering the player’s tendencies and style of play, but pot odds start to come into play, as well as positional factors. The more players, the more complex these factors become.

Here’s a typical example of what I mean:

• You are third to act with AQs, and the two players in front of you fold. Here your decision is quite simple, you have a strong hand and would raise.
• Same situation, only this time the under-the-gun player raised. In this case you have to consider your opponent’s tendencies just as much as your own hand strength. What is his opening range? If he’s loose, can you isolate him with a re-raise? If I call can I expect more players behind me? What type of odds will I be receiving?
• Now think about what has to go into your thought process if the under-the-gun limped in and the second player raised. Is the UTG player possibly slow-playing AA or KK? Is the 2^nd player trying to isolate the UTG player because he plays a lot of hands? There are countless scenarios that could be taking place in this situation, and these are not even factoring pot odds and position!

As the decision becomes increasingly difficult this is when you need to slow down and think. Far too many players will peak at their cards, judge their hand’s strength, and by the time the action gets to them have already decided what they are going to do, regardless of what the action in front of them has been. This is a major reason why you should never look at your cards until it is your turn to act: It’s more beneficial to follow the action, and put players on a range of hands, before you look at your own cards. By doing this you eliminate the possibility of deciding what to do before all the facts are in, and for whatever reason, once a person gets something in their head they have a hard time changing their mind.