How to Play Hold’em Before the Flop: Beginners Guide

In full-ring No-Limit Hold’em, deciding which hands to play and which hands to fold is the single most important factor when you first learn to play winning poker. You may only be making flop, turn and river decisions once or twice an orbit but you will be making pre-flop decisions every single hand. This is where you make – or should I say “save”? – valuable bets. Money saved in the long run is as good as money earned in poker. So start saving those bets and stop playing those marginal hands.
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Arved Klöhn Pokerlistings Author
  • Fact Checked by: PokerListings
  • Last updated on: January 3, 2025

How to Play Holdem Poker Pre-Flop

Coming up with a pre-flop hand guide is very difficult. There are so many determining factors when choosing which hands to play that many will argue it’s impossible to come up with a true “guide” to pre-flop play.

So we’ll stay away from telling you to play x hand and fold y hand. But what you can do is evaluate the strength of your hand using a sliding scale that involves position.

Simply put: Position is almost as important as hand quality.

What may be an average to weak hand from early position can become a good to great hand in late position. That is because playing in position is the biggest advantage one can have in Hold’em.

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How to Play from Early Position

Early position consists of the first three spots to the left of the blinds. In general you should be playing very tight from early position, only playing your best hands.

Ideally, you want to limit the amount of time you play out of position. When you play out of position you will find it difficult to know where you stand in the hand. You’ll be playing a guessing game and this will only be magnified if you are playing marginal hands.

So we can’t emphasize enough: you should be playing your very tightest from early position. Hands like A-K – A-Q, A-Js, K-Qs, good pocket pairs, etc., are obviously good.

However, hands like A-Jo, A-To, small suited connectors and random suited garbage should be avoided by new players.

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How to Play from Middle Position

In middle position (the spaces three to the left of early position) you face many of the same challenges you face in early position. You’ll often be playing hands out of position.

You will, however, have position on players in early position. So it is not as completely hopeless.

In middle position you can start to add more hands to your playing range. You can’t do anything crazy like limp K J  or raise 10 9 , but you can start limping hands like A 10 .

How to Play from Late Position

Late position is where you make your money in No-Limit Hold’em. It is a veritable gold mine. Most players make the majority of their money playing from late position.

Here’s where you want to seize control of the hand. You want to raise your good hands and punish the out-of-position limpers.

You will be acting after them and will gain a truckload of information from how they play their hands, information you wouldn’t get out of position. In late position average hands become good hands and good hands become great hands.

What are Good Hold’em Hands to Play?

For a hand to be worth playing, it should fall into at least one of the following categories:

Big pocket pairs: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT

These are quality already made hands. These hands expect to win at showdown a good percentage of the time without improving! You should always come in raising with these hands as they are premium holdings.

They make good pots with overpairs and make monsters when they flop a set. You should be elated every time you are dealt one.

Top-pair hands: A-K, A-Q, A-J, K-Q

These hands are good hands and should be brought in for a raise. They are excellent top pair hands. When they hit the flop they usually make top pair and they do so with a good kicker.

These are bread-and-butter type hands. Top pair is usually good enough to win the pot at showdown.

Quality speculative hands: A-xs, Q-Js, T-9s, 8-9s, 99-22

These types of hands make huge hands. They make straights and sets and flushes. These are the types of hands that make large pots when they hit. They are good to see a cheap flop with.

You can begin to limp these from middle position and onward. In general these hands play well against multiple opponents. They should typically be avoided from up front.

Weak speculative hands: 5-6s, 6-7s, T-9o, K-xs, Q-Jo, etc.

These hands are speculative but they are generally too weak to play. They are difficult to play after the flop and will sometimes make a big but still second-best hand.

You can limp this type of hand from the cut-off and from the button after a few limpers. Do not try and limp these hands from early or mid position.

If your hand doesn’t fit into one of these categories, it’s probably too weak to be played. In a full-ring No-Limit game you should really only be playing 19% of your hands or less. That means 80% of the time you will be out of action.

No-Limit Hold’em is already a difficult game, so don’t make it any more difficult by playing too many hands.

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How to Raise and Play Against a Raise

Which hands to raise before the flop is a question many beginners struggle with. You should obviously be raising your premium hands.

When starting out do not slow-play your big pocket pairs. It will put you in tricky spots post-flop, so just raise before the flop and build up the pot.

You should also raise your good top pair hands – A-K, A-Q, A-J, K-Q, etc. That’s because these hands are better than the average hands others will be playing. You want to build the pot when you have an edge.

Since you’re going to be playing better hands than your competition (that’s where your money comes from), you should be inclined to raise when you believe yourself to be a favorite before the flop.

This means you can raise more hands from late position and the button – you’re a favorite not only based on your hand, but also because you’re in position (remember the advantage that accrues to you from being in position).

When a player has already raised in front of you, you should tighten up substantially. When a player raises he is telling you he has a good hand… which means you need an even better hand to call him.

If, for example, you’re in middle position and you would normally raise AA-99, A-K to A-J and K-Q and fold everything else, you should really only be calling your opponent’s raise with the top of that range.

You don’t want to play dominated hands against a raise. That will get you into trouble. If you are calling raises with A-J and the board comes ace-high, you’re going to lose a lot of money trying to see if your pair of aces is good.

You want to avoid playing your dominated hands, but you can add some speculative hands in there if you are in position and there are a few callers between you.

Hands like J-Ts – 7-8s and pocket pairs all make huge hands when they hit the flop and are easy to fold when you miss. Thus you can more reliably play these hands profitably to a raise than hands like A-To and K-J.

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Fitting Your Hand into a “Plan A” or “Plan B”

Many beginners ask how to evaluate tricky starting hands like 7 8 or K Q when they’re uncertain about position and opponents’ likely ranges. One helpful way to think about pre-flop play is to give yourself a clear Plan A and Plan B.

Plan A refers to how you’d prefer to win the pot—usually by hitting top pair with a strong kicker or by flopping a set or flush draw with speculative hands. Plan B is what you’ll do if the flop misses you or if you face heavy resistance from an opponent. For instance, a hand like A K has a natural Plan A: it tends to make top pair and can still stand on its own with just ace-high in some spots. A hand like 7 8 might limp or call a raise in late position because the potential to hit a hidden straight or flush is high, but Plan B usually means folding right away when you whiff the flop or meet major aggression.

Position itself can be seen as its own Plan A in many cases. If you’re on the button with a wide range such as 9 10 , your advantage in acting last on each street compensates for the occasional disadvantage in card strength. Conversely, if you’re stuck in early position, you should be far more selective. It’s not just a question of whether 9 10 can flop well; it’s also about how many players remain to act behind you who might raise and squeeze you out.

An example scenario might help clarify the difference. Suppose blinds are at 25/50 and you have 5 5 under the gun with a full table of nine players remaining. If you limp, there’s a fair chance someone with a better pair or stronger broadway cards will raise, forcing you to call a larger amount out of position. You still have the potential to flop a set, but you might bleed chips when you miss and face big bets from late-position players. If instead you find yourself on the button with 5 5 after three or four players have limped, calling behind is often reasonable. You have position on everyone else after the flop, and your implied odds for a set increase because of the multi-way pot.

Some new players get fixated on “safe” hands like A K and refuse to fold pre-flop, even when they’re obviously dominated by a large three-bet from a tight opponent. Meanwhile, they get overly attached to connecting cards in early position, hoping to stack someone if they flop a big hand. Successful no-limit hold’em pre-flop strategy often comes down to balance: play strong hands aggressively in position, mix in a few speculative calls when conditions are favorable, and avoid overextending yourself with unremarkable holdings when multiple players remain to act behind you.

The best way to refine this balancing act is through practice and occasional review of your hand histories. If you notice you’re constantly getting stuck in bad spots post-flop with weak top pairs or dominated draws, it might be a clue that you’re playing too many marginal hands outside of late position. Conversely, if you’re folding hands like K Q on the button every time it’s folded around to you, you may be missing out on profitable steals against opponents who fold too often to raises.

Example

Imagine you’re at a nine-handed table with blinds at 50/100. You have 9 10 in the cutoff and a fairly tight player in middle position raises to 300. Action is on you, with the button and blinds yet to act. Your first instinct might be to call because 9 10 can flop strong draws. However, the raiser’s tight reputation suggests you might be dominated by a better high-card combination or a bigger pair. If you call, the button or blinds might re-raise, putting you in an even tougher spot. In this scenario, your Plan A of “seeing a cheap flop to outdraw a premium hand” conflicts with the real possibility that you’ll face aggression from behind. If you lack a strong read that the raiser has a wide range, folding might be the wiser option. On the other hand, if you see that the opener has been raising often from mid-position and the button and blinds rarely 3-bet, then calling becomes more justifiable. If the flop comes low and connects with your draw, Plan A can lead you to a big payoff. If you whiff, Plan B is usually to fold unless your opponent gives you a reason to steal the pot post-flop.

FAQ

Why is position so important pre-flop?

Position lets you see what everyone else does before you must act. When you raise from late position, you can often steal the blinds if others fold. You also gain an informational advantage on each subsequent street. The more information you have about your opponents’ actions, the easier it is to make profitable decisions.

Should beginners ever slow-play big pairs like AA or KK pre-flop?

It’s best not to. Limping to “trap” might allow multiple players to see the flop cheaply, increasing the chance someone hits a weird two pair or draw. By raising, you typically narrow the field and keep control.

Is it worth calling a raise with small suited connectors in early position?

Not usually. Being out of position with a speculative hand complicates your decisions post-flop. If you miss, you might face big bets that you can’t comfortably call. It’s generally better to wait for later positions or multi-way pots where your implied odds are higher.

Why do strong players often raise more hands on the button?

When you act last, you have the final say on each street and can pick up many small pots uncontested. Ranges widen on the button because your positional advantage amplifies the strength of even moderate hands.

How do I adjust if the table is playing very loose and rarely folds to pre-flop raises?

You may need to tighten up and focus on premium holdings or strong speculative hands. If people call every raise, build a pot with a narrower range that’s more likely to flop top pair or better. You then exploit their looseness by betting strong post-flop when you do connect.

Should I fold hands like AQ if someone re-raises me pre-flop?

It depends on the opponent’s range and stack sizes. Against a tight early-position 3-bet, AQ can be dominated by AK or pairs like QQ. Against a loose late-position 3-bettor, calling or even 4-betting might be profitable. Consider your opponent’s tendencies, your position, and your comfort playing post-flop.

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