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No Limit Preflop Strategy

Before you start betting like a man in a hurry to lose all your money when you get two eights in the pocket, you must consider all factors involved in solid pre-flop strategy.

The factors to consider are the type of game you are in, the number of players, how aggressive/passive the players at the table are, your bankroll, your position, and how much risk you are willing to take.

The type of game you are in:

If this is one of your Tuesday night games with your buddies then it is likely that you are comfortable losing or winning and it doesn’t really matter, however if you are sitting at a table at the “World Series Of Poker” then that is a totally different story. Just bear in mind what game you are sitting in before you start on a pre-flop strategy that is appropriate or inappropriate for your game.

Number of players:

With 10 people in the game, it's much more likely that someone else has a strong hand in the pocket than in a short-handed game (a game with few players). Also, you'll need to be more cautious in larger games, as the chances of someone's pre-flop hand fitting the flop will be much better. More competition means stiffer competition. In other words get out of the hand if you are not there before and after the flop.

How aggressive the players are at your table:

Assuming you've been playing with a few people for several hands, and you noticed some jackass is raising every hand pre-flop, you'll want to play tighter. Let the guy win the blinds (big deal) and nail him to the wall when you have a solid hand in the pocket pre-flop.

Your bankroll:

If you have $2 left, you'll want to play extremely carefully and select one hand to bet on, hoping to get as many players involved as possible for a larger pot. You'll want to be all-in before the flop is dealt. On the flip-side, if you have $1000 at a $1/$2 table, you can take the high-risk, high-payout bets.

Your position:

People in late positions have the ability to influence the size of the pot much more than those in early position. This is especially true pre-flop.

Your tolerance for risk:

Depending on your playing style, you may want to play more or less aggressively pre-flop. Players who shoot for larger pots, but don't mind a greater chance for losing a few hands will want to raise pre-flop, especially if they are in a latter position. Some players prefer to be as selective as possible pre-flop, grinding out a winning hand here or there. It really depends on your own style of play, and how you perceive the players around you.

Without taking much of this into consideration, you want hands that have high card value, or the ability to be the best hand (the nut). You'll want to seriously consider playing high value cards (queens, kings and aces), suited (drawing for a flush) and connected (drawing for a straight) cards, and obviously, always play high pocket pairs (tens or better).