Tournament Strategies
After receiving pocket cards, you are immediately faced with a choice: play your cards and either raise or call the blinds, or fold.
Practice Matters
VALUE OF HANDS TO OPEN WITH
VALUE OF HANDS TO OPEN WITH Number of Players to Speak Hands to Open With6 or,A pair of aces or better. A pair of kings or better A pair of queens or better A pair of jacks or better
Our mathematics tells us
Our mathematics tells us that if you hold a pair of kings in an eight-handed game, the odds are slightly better than even that an opponent has a pair of aces or better. In a six- or seven-handed game, the odds are even that your pair of kings are high. In a five-handed game, the odds are 1.1 to 1 that your pair of kings will be high, since the odds of one of your opponents' holding a pair of queens is even. Remember that these hands are not expected to win the pot, they are high hands only before the draw. At this point I must add that the three odd cards that accompany your pair affect your chance of being high.