Dividing Lines

I think it is profitable to look at dividing lines for hold'em. I am referring to preflop hands for a certain action in a certain position. If we know where the dividing lines are, the rest of the hands are grouped for us. If we look at what can cause us to play a hand on one side of a dividing line or the other, we see what factors influence our choice of starting hands.

One important area where we can look at dividing lines is what to play under the gun in a limit hold'em game. Let's look at pocket pairs first. I have seen computer studies that suggest that 8-8 is a clear player. In my opinion, the hand right on the cusp is 7-7. I know only one top player who usually enters the pot on pocket sixes. Frankly, I don't play that hand unless the game is extremely passive. Since he is a better limit hold'em player than I – or you – it would not be appropriate for me to tell him what he can make money with and what he can't. I'm sure he knows his own business very well. However, I am not afraid to express the opinion to readers that you are not going to be successful with a pair this low. Don't try to hit the same compression ball as Tiger Woods.

For unpaired cards that are suited, the ones with an ace that I play go down to A-10. The A-10 gives you decent high-card strength, and, of course, a potential nut-flush draw. I think A-9 is considerably weaker, because there is no linkage for hooking up to make a straight. It is a good candidate as the dividing-line hand for suited aces. When can you play the A-9 suited up front? Again, not in the typical $20-$40 limit hold'em game found in Nevada or California. You need a passive game to get away with playing this hand. My advice as to where you can play this hand is, "Go East, young man, go East." Of course, you can get away with playing A-9 – and other suited-ace hands – in many low-limit hold'em games, where you might find such rare animals as a fivehanded unraised pot.

What about suited facecards that do not contain an ace? I always play a suited K-Q and almost never a suited 10-9. This leaves us with a suited K-J, K-10, Q-J, Q-10, and J-10 to discuss. As far as I am concerned, these hands are virtually equivalent, and I will leave it up to the computer geeks to explain the microscopic differences between them. I admit it is hard to fold one of these hands when you have been looking at a parade of ugliness. But in an aggressive game with good players, I think they are unprofitable. Again, there is no reason to fold them in a typical low-limit game. But my friends who indulge in stuff like $200-$400 routinely muck them if the game is full. For the middle limits, they are a question mark, and the tempo of the game is the biggest determinant of whether they should be played or folded.

Our last category is unsuited cards. This is the easiest one to know where the dividing line is. In my opinion, anyone who folds an A-Q or plays an A-10 under the gun in a full limit hold'em game has rocks in his head. The hand to debate is A-J. We may as well include the K-Q alongside it, since the hands are virtually equivalent. "Can you play these hands under the gun?" I asked my two favorite poker gurus. One said, "I usually don't play those hands, but in certain games, I do." The other said, "Bob, it's not close; they are a clear fold." My own experience with these hands, based mostly on propping in a ninehanded game in a California casino for a couple of years at limits like $20-$40, is that they are playable. Maybe we should conclude that they are playable in the middle limits, but not in high-stakes games. Maybe Bob Ciaffone's memory is not as good as he thinks. Perhaps they can be played in ninehanded games, but are shakier at 10-handed, and should be folded in that abomination called 11-handed. One thing appears safe to conclude: These are the two hands that are on the cusp as to whether they are playable under the gun. They are the dividing-line hands.

Inasmuch as we had so much fun looking at under-the-gun calling hands in a full game, what about raising hands? Here are my own standards: For pairs, 9-9 is on the cusp. Sometimes I limp and other times I raise. For suited unpaired cards, I raise with A-J but prefer to just call with K-Q or A-10. If I am not suited, I raise more than half the time with an A-Q, and hardly ever with an A-J.

We have already mentioned some factors that affect your decision on the close hands. The more players dealt in at the start, the tighter you must play. The more passive a game, the more hands you can play. There is another factor worth mentioning – the caliber of your opponents, particularly those who are your desired targets. If you see a delicious meal, there's no sense in acting like it is Lent or Ramadan. You can't eat unless you belly up to the table. Having a guy in the game who will play nearly any hand is a good reason to enter the pot.

One other thing that should be taken into account is your own poker skill. The marginal hands like 7-7, A-J, or Q-J suited are going to obtain a more positive result in the hands of a strong player than a weak one. An attribute of the successful gambler is a realistic appraisal of his own abilities. Before you decide to play an A-J, perhaps you ought to make sure that you are showing a profit with A-Q!

It is possible that you are doing well with a lot of hands that are worse than the ones I have mentioned. It is possible that you are not wrong in playing them, but don't conclude that I am wrong for suggesting they not be played. I write primarily for the middle-limit hold'em player in a large cardroom. If you play low-stakes poker in a small cardroom, I am sure that you can get away with a lot more than someone who plays in a $20-$40 game in a big casino. Against very weak players, the kind who rarely raise or fold, some really doggy hands may well be playable.

Looking closely at dividing-line hands is a good exercise that should help your poker skills. We'll do it again real soon.