Jonathan Little, one of the popular poker players, and the founder of PokerCoaching has shared some of his best strategies that players can use to improve their pre-flop strategy and crush at both cash games and live tournaments. Here are the 5 pre-flop strategies Jonathan Little shared!
1 – Don’t 3-bet With Only Premium Hands
Players should stop 3-bet in the preflop with Premium hands like AK, QK, AA, AQ, QQ, and KK. The three-bet should be your go-to approach for premium hands, but raising and three-betting with only premium hands can sometimes backfire as tight players quickly fold and you are not able to extract the desired value.
In case you are playing at a very tight table, you won’t get the value for your premium hand. Rather, they will just fold to see your aggression. So what should you do? Instead of raising or 3-betting with premium hands, go for a wider hand range.
It doesn’t mean you should 3-bet with 7-2 but rather focus on hands like A-10, K-10, K-J, J-10, and others. If you expect your opponent to call your three-bet with marginal hands like 2-2, A-10, and K-9, then you should three-bet . This strategy will make you unreadable at the table especially against the loose players who are not capable of folding against three-bet before the flop.
2 – 3-bet a Polarized Range from IP
Polarized Range is a range of hands mix of best hands like A-A, K-K and weak hands like A-5, K-9. Players should 3-bet with a Polarized hand from In position aka the last one to Bet in the table.
As the last player, you get a lot of time to learn about other players’ hand strength. If other players are not raising or just limping, then 3-bet with your Polarized hand.
Also, remember that it is not recommended to 3-bet out of position, so just call as other players can 4-bet you, putting you in a tough situation.
3 – Play Tighter in Multiway Pots
Multi-way pots have always been one of the hardest parts of poker. Many players play too loose in Multi-Way Pots as they are getting good odds, but in situations like this, your hand will lose its strength on later streets, making your hand second best.
This is why you should avoid getting into Multi-Way action or try to clean up the table before seeing the flop through raising and three-betting. Play tight and play hands that can make the nuts.
4 – Think of Your Opponent’s Range
Daniel Negreanu once shared a story about how players in the early 2000s used to 3-bet with only Premium Hands. But as the game evolved, players now 3-bet with a wide range of hands, making it hard to read hands.
Focus on the range of hands your opponent could have. See if the player is changing bet size for every hand, like 5-betting with A-A or 3-betting with A-10.
5 – Beat Limpers
Limpers are players who call the big blind. There are two types of Limpers in poker.
- Straightforward Limpers: Limpers who just Straightforward call the big blind with not-so-good hands or unplayable hands. Most Limpers call with 8-7, 2-2, A-2, and more.
- Tricky Limpers: Tricky Limpers are players who will Limp with premium hands and weak hands.
To beat them raise with a wide range of value, and limp behind when you are the last one to bet against weak players with marginal hands.
Be sure to check out the Preflop strategy video of Jonathan Little, as he shared various guides on ranges and many other strategies.
For a deep dive into pre-flop strategies, check out the video below from Jonathan Little
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