Should you ever raise before the flop in Texas Hold 'em?

Question

It annoys me when people raise before the flop - even with pocket aces, it seems as though you're limiting the potential gains.
Is it ever a good idea to raise before the flop?

Answer 1

Honestly, if you think like this you have a lot to learn about poker.

Let's take your example of pocket aces for a moment. Of the 169 hands that you could possibly start with, this is the best one. You have the best chance of winning with this hand than any other you could be dealt.

With pocket aces the odds of winning against a single opponent with a random hand is about 85%. Against two opponents your odds slip to 73%. Against five opponents 49%. Against eight other opponents 31%. So by simply limping and seeing a flop you have less than a one in three chance of winning. But worse than that, it is highly unlikely that everyone on the table is going to simply limp with random hands. At least some of the players are going to have a decent hand that is more of a threat to your aces.

Let's take a look at pocket queens. Against one player 80% to win. Against six players 33%, so again a one in three chance of winning. Still against random hands.

By letting more players stay in the pot by not raising you are certainly reducing your potential gains, in terms of fewer people to put money in the pot, but you are also increasing your odds of being beaten. So you may simply allow a bigger pot, only to find you are not the one who wins it.

In the pocket queens example, let's say you limp and so do a handful of other players. Someone might have A3, another might have K6. Not great hands, and someone might easily fold them if facing a raise. But because you didn't raise there are now two more people left in the pot with a chance to beat you. If one of the board cards is an ace or a king, your hand is dead to catching another queen or four cards to a straight or flush.

So the point of raising before the flop is to eliminate players with marginal hands that have the potential to beat you. The more players you see a flop against the greater the odds of you losing your hand. If you let the big blind check because you didn't raise and the flop comes 227, his junk hand of 92 just made trips. He would have folded to a small raise with that hand, but now you just let him in for free and he has almost any hand you are holding crushed.

So you need to put your annoyance aside and realize that you are thinking about the game incorrectly. Your concept of everyone cheaply seeing a flop would cost you a fortune in a real money game.

Answer 2

There are a few hands that I can think of. One of the best was I had 9 10 suited. The flop came out 9 9 9. My opponent had Q A (which I did not know at the time. So he goes for half of his chips. I call. The turn was a Q. So he checks. I put in half my chips. He raised double, then I go all in. He calls and sees the other 9. I double up. The second was I called a 1000 chip bet (blinds were 200 400) with a 5 and 3 off suit. The flop came 4, 6, 7. I go all in and he called. I was facing bullets and all he could say was why did I call with a 5 3.

Answer 3

The truth is if you're going to play a hand before the flop it is almost always correct to be raising it up. Aggressive poker is winning poker. By not raising before the flop you reduce the amount of money you can win along with allowing people with weaker hands to draw out on you for cheap. As the aggressor you have the advantage over your opponent no matter what you hold. If you want to learn how to play an aggressive style you can check out the videos at this site:

Answer 4

The point of the game is to win as many chips as possible. If you never raise pre-flop you are seriously increasing your odds of losing the hand...and limiting the amount of chips you can win.

Raising pre-flop is a strategy...people do it when they have good cards to limit those idiot players that call with 7-3 and then catch good cards....or to try and bluff to convince people they have a good hand.

It all depends on the situation, the cards, and how well you have read the other players. You need to be careful because if you are someone who doesn't raise pre-flop or gets annoyed by it, your opponents will read that and then you'll be screwed because they'll just steal your chips when you fold.

It's all about strategy!!!

Answer 5

YES ! You must raise before the flop with pocket aces, kings, queens, and a-k. You want to limit the field to three or hopefully two people. With 8 players in, your Aces will not hold up.

Answer 6

If your in early position, definitely raise. Late position depending on the number of folks that are in the hand.

Like others have said, a raise pre flop will usually get rid of players with a weak hand thereby maximizing your potential profit from the hand. Late position can be a different story if a lot of players have folded. It conceals the strength of your hand from the other players and gives you a cheap flop.

Answer 7

This is standard practice with good starting hands, or even to disguise the strength of your hand with somthing like J9, 78 suited, etc. If you never rasie with strong hands you are allowing more opponents to see a cheap flop - the more players in the hand, the less likey your strong hand will hold up. By raising you can build the pot to pretty much the same level you would if you let everyone limp in - the difference is you are thinning the field and giving yourself much better odds that your hand will hold up.

Answer 8

Its always a good idea to raise preflop with good cards. Think about this; if you are heads-up going to the flop with aces, you will be at least a 80% favorite to win the hand. If you have aces against 8 other people going to the flop, odds are you are 50% or worse to win the hand (one pair rarely wins a pot with that many players). Make preflop bets to maximize your odds (get in cheap with drawing hands, raise with good cards to avoid getting outdrawn by a latge field).

Answer 9

even when you have a strong starting hand, there is always the possibility of some fool with lousy cards caling and out drawing you. When you have good starting cards, yes, indeed raise pre flop...you want as few opponants as possible.

Answer 10

If you do it right, it's the best way to win a good pot.
If you wait, a lot of players will start folding when they see what they have got after the flop.