The Big Three: Simple Rules For Winning Poker

When leading poker coach Alex Fitzgerald and I began writing our latest strategy book, we wanted a set of straightforward, easy-to-remember principles that recreational players could lean on at the tables. A bedrock for winning poker.

Whenever possible, we will . . .

1) Play pots in position.
2) Play with the betting lead.
3) Play pots heads up.

That’s it.

Today’s training materials would have you believe that playing hold’em is slightly more complicated than flying the space shuttle. That might be correct if you’re battling Phil Ivey, but for recreational players like the rest of us, our adversaries make mistakes left and right. If you avoid those errors and do a few simple things well, you can have a decided advantage over nearly everyone you’ll face.

Don’t make the game harder than it needs to be. A player who consistently executes a straightforward strategy will destroy competitors who mangle something more complicated. The Big Three are the ideal starting point.

Playing In Position

Most players understand the importance of playing in position. On each street, the out-of-position player must act first, operating in the dark and revealing information about their own hand. The person in position gets that information before they act and can use it to make better decisions.

But this matters even more than the casual observer would ever believe. To adapt the words of Daniel Negreanu, every time you check, bet, or raise, you convey information. Information is power in poker. And while that power might be modest for any particular decision, once you compound it street-after-street and hand-after-hand, someone who routinely plays in position will gain a nearly insurmountable edge.

Too many players accept position as something that “just happens” rather than treating it as an aspect of poker they can influence. Take a step back. You know where you are seated at the table. You know the tendencies of the players behind you. Put that knowledge to work.

If a strong player is probably calling behind you, you don’t have to join the fray with a borderline hand. At a different table, a larger opening size or an unexpected three-bet might clear out those pesky players on your left. If you think first and utilize all your options, including folding, chips will flow your way over time.

Playing With The Betting Lead

‘Check to the raiser’ is often proper advice, but it obscures a more important truth. It’s better to be the raiser than the one doing the checking.

As a hand progresses, the player who took the last aggressive action on the previous round has the “betting lead.” If you raise preflop and the big blind calls, you have the betting lead going to the flop. But if the big blind check-raises your flop bet and you then call, the big blind takes the lead to the turn.

Why does this matter? In real-world action, players with the betting lead win far more than their fair share of pots. For better or for worse, players on “defense” regularly defer to ones who have previously bet or raised. The betting lead is poker’s version of “momentum.” The betting player drives the bus while their opponents try not to get run over.

To test this theory, Alex dove into his data. He discovered that, from identical positions, nearly every class of starting hand was more profitable when played from the betting lead rather than by checking and calling.

While this idea is not a license to implode via unbridled discretion, look for spots where you can be the aggressor. Offense beats defense. Whenever possible, play pots against naturally-passive opponents, or in situations where average opponents will play passively (like from the big blind).

The ideal foes are sticky players who love to call bets, but who rarely fight back by raising. They will allow you to dictate the tempo—mostly betting when you want, occasionally checking when you don’t, and running for the hills in the rare instances they fight back. (Spoiler alert: It’s because they have something.)

If you only check and call, your only option is winning at showdown. Playing with the betting lead opens up more paths to victory.

Playing Pots Heads Up

Plain and simple, it’s easier to win against only one opponent.

Anyone can rake in chips when they hit their hand. Even with bluffing, when a player makes a hand against a player who doesn’t, the person with the good cards rakes the pot. And if a sea of players join the action, math dictates that one of them will end up with “something” most of the time.

Heads up, things are different. When only two players are involved, both will miss on a regular basis. When nobody has anything, a smart player can win more than their fair share. Especially in position with the betting lead.

One-on-one, we get to focus on manipulating a single opponent. Whether we want calls or folds, we only need to hit one target. Multiway, it’s difficult to keep all the spinning plates in the air, and there’s no consolation prize for finishing second out of four.

Now, we can hear you protesting. ‘All of my hands go multiway. What planet are you on with these heads-up pots?’

It’s a fair point. Multiway action is difficult to avoid. Finding a heads-up hand feels like spotting Bigfoot, or perhaps a WSOP bathroom with no line. But stay with us here.

“Rare” is not the same as “nonexistent.” Sure, heads-up pots are hard to find, but the idea is that when they do come along, you get to step on the gas. We’re not saying that you should only play hands heads up. But if you play one-on-one more often than your opponents do, you’ll have an edge.

Furthermore, too many players accept multiway action without trying to do something about it. Like we discussed with position, ask yourself if a larger preflop raise might prevent multiple callers. What about three-betting more often preflop? Small raises and preflop flatting invite more players to join. Bigger opens and three-bets not only say “stay away,” both give you a shot at the betting lead.

Pay special attention to the player in the big blind. If you’re facing an aggressive defender, they’ll likely join the party. But most tables have one or two people who regularly fold to preflop aggression. When it’s their turn in the big blind, you can open up your hand selections knowing you have a much better chance of getting heads up.

Putting It All Together

We like to think of the Big Three like a poker barometer — a gauge of the favorability of a situation. Each tenet that’s true is like a light turning from red to green. More green lights equal better conditions for aggression.

Suppose we raise preflop from the cutoff and only get called by the big blind. We’ll head to the flop in position, with the betting lead, and heads up. That’s all of the Big Three — three green lights! The action will usually check to us, where it’s full speed ahead for value bets, c-bet bluffs, and anything in between.

Compare that to calling a raise from the big blind against three opponents. Now all three lights are red! We’re out-of-position, multiway, and lack the betting lead. It’s a much more treacherous spot unless we smash the flop.

Remember that the Big Three don’t just “happen to you” during a hand. You should fight to turn lights green. You have a toolbox of betting maneuvers at your disposal. If a modestly larger bet or raise could earn you position or the chance to play heads up, it will often be worth the extra cost. Before you act, take a few extra seconds to process your options, and make sure you understand why you are doing what you’re doing.

Elite pros can devote hours to reviewing a dizzying array of ranges and solver outputs, far beyond what the rest of us could begin to implement correctly. But anyone can remember the Big Three. When those three factors tilt in your favor, drop the hammer and mash the gas pedal. When they don’t, be more cautious.

If you want to explore these ideas more, Improve Your Poker NOW goes into greater depth to break down these and other key principles in action. ♠

A lawyer and award-winning sports broadcaster, Topher Goggin is a longtime student and collaborator of Alex Fitzgerald’s. Their new book for recreational players, Improve Your Poker Now!, is available now from D+B Poker on Amazon.