Worst. Such hands have an expectation of profitability over the long term and can stand aggression from three-bets. In Texas Holdem, broadway two cards that form a pair have the biggest amount of equity. The beginner usually plays WAY more hands than allowed by his/her skills and basically by the general poker strategy - and this is the main cause for the beginner's loses. These two are the lowest possible cards that cannot make a straight. If you have a pair, you're looking at the dividing line going diagonally. From the flop,. Royal Flush: Ace, King, Queen, Jack and a Ten of the same suit, e. Pot Limit. 2. Definition. Most online and live poker rooms have limits on how much or how little you can bring to the table from the start. The 20 Best Starting Poker Hands. ’ There is some disagreement among poker players as to which starting hands are the best, but few would dispute the value of the first of our three main groups, Aces and Kings. It looks like a great starting hand, and it’s good. It only has 12. You go to the flop three-handed. Starting hand selection is one of the first skills poker players learn. 2. These small pocket pairs don’t play well at early position for a beginner player, wait until you get more experienced before playing them. 9 Common Mistakes in Limit Texas Hold'em. Each hand is followed by its long-term winning percentage (out of 100, of course) against a specific number of opponents holding random cards. Ace/Ace: the strongest starting hand in the game. Our Texas Holdem review features the best poker sites to play your favorite game. Bill Chen is also the guy that wrote The Mathematics of Poker. As a rule of thumb, with round numbers:Definition of ‘no-limit’. The best example is preflop pocket aces. The good hands will come, eventually, and you'll be in a better position to take advantage of them if you don't waste your chips trying to get something out of nothing. Play begins when all seats at the table are full. In traditional Texas Hold’em this is the worst starting hand, and almost completely unplayable. Other well known poker variations you can play online include: Pot-Limit Omaha; Omaha Hi-Lo;. As a professional poker player myself for over 10 years now, these are my top 21 Texas Holdem tips that most pros don't want you to know about! 1. Roughly speaking, you need to be able to separate good cards from bad ones, fold trash hands and play with stronger ones. Of course, we all know the power of AA, KK and QQ, but JJ-TT are also premium hands. A pair of aces, also known as “pocket rockets” (and sometimes “American Airlines”) is the best starting hand for Texas Hold ‘Em. Choosing the best starting hands in Texas Hold'em involves considering various determining factors. The differences in the three types of Hold’em are only in the way you can bet your chips. . VARIETY – Play poker free and however you want! Join a Sit n Go game or a casual online poker game for free, and win generous in-game payouts! 5 player or 9. So how do you play Texas hold'em?. All other starting hands are in the offsuit category, like A♠8 ♦, 7♣5 ♥ and K ♥ 9 ♦. Even the loosest preflop players (if they’re winning players) fold before the flop around 70 percent of the time. 1. For players at different levels, their poker strategies in the same scenario might differ. But if you really want to become a good poker player, you should stop this practice immediately. Nicknames for Poker Hands in Texas Holdem. This Cheat Sheet covers every kind of starting hand and gives you easy-to-follow instructions on how to play them in every betting round. All these numbers can be a good starting point, so have it at hand or even print it out until you. Computer Hand: Poker Hand Nickname. Using Chart #1, we want to call to encourage additional players to enter the pot. New Hand Ranking In Six Plus Hold’em, a Flush beats a Full House, because it is mathematically more difficult to hit, but still has to consist of 5 cards of the same suit. This is a big concept and one that we will not be addressing deeply, but I am going to give you a quick list most common Texas Holdem hands and how many outs you have to improve a specific hand until next street: Gutshot – 4 outs; Two overcards – 6 outs; Open-ended straight draw – 8 outs; Flush draw – 9 outs; Flush draw & gut-shot. To enter each player's hand, click on the respective suit in the. The worst starting hands include the dreaded 7-2 offsuit combination, with. Two of the most critical concepts in playing winning Hold ’em are understanding table position—the position of every player at the table in relationship to the dealer button—and learning how to evaluate your two pocket cards, or starting hand. Place the blinds (starting bets) or "ante up. That term is why some refer to folding a hand. You stand to get a pocket pair once every 17 hands, a non-suited unpaired hand 12 times every 17. The more players involved, the more time it takes for action to reach you. Starting Hand Strategy. Below you will find an example of our starting poker hand charts for No Limit Texas Hold'em. Kalashnikov – Another gun term, this time in reference to the famous machine gun, the AK-47. Don’t just toss in the first single bet to be a part of the action. Standard Equity Post-Flop in No-Limit Hold’em. . These five hands are all good enough to play in most situations, but if you value them too highly, they can cost you money. All suited hands are to their right, while their offsuit counterparts are to the left. On this list you’ll find the Top 10 Starting Hands in Texas Hold’em – these are the ones that can make you the. Determine if we can profitably call. This way of working out the probabilities would be the more accurate way - however, just to note, the probabilities worked out on 5 of 52 are practically the same, and far easier to calculate. Players can use any combination of board and hole cards to make the best five-card hand they can. Pocket Aces has: around 85% chance to win against a random hand; around 82% chance to beat KK; 79% to beat JTs To help you avoid such unfavorable starting hands, here are the top 10 worst starting hands you should steer clear of in Texas Hold 'Em Poker. Some Texas Hold'em examples: Community cards are A-K-Q-6-4: Player A has AJ, and Player B has A 9. Particularly in multi-way pots, this may not be a strong enough holding for you to continue in later betting rounds, or to. There are 1,326 possible combinations for your opening hand in Texas Hold’em poker. Many players are unprofitable at first because they play far too many starting hands. Flop: 10♠ J♠ Q♦. Determine our actual equity; 4. In this article, you'll learn: How to use the poker hand. The rest should be folded. The world's most trusted Texas hold'em poker odds calculator. Be wary of how many other players enter the pot, as more players increase the likelihood of someone beating your aces. There are 10 possible 5 card poker hands: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card. " Some starting poker hands are called by thier nicknames. Texas hold 'em starting hands. The table is a general ranking of hands in Texas Hold'em. If not, ask a floor person before you start. The royal flush is the best hand available in poker. Poker Hands Chart: Top 10 Starting hands in Texas Hold’em. VIEW. It features five consecutive cards, all of the same suit, in order of value. Adapt the right strategy. Say starting cards along the lines of a strong top pair, a straight, or a flush. The casino sites we recommend are reputable and secure. Also briefly touched on are certain hand groups like big pocket pairs, hands with two Broadway cards (i. Players may use two, one, or none of their cards along with the community cards to make the best hand. Exactly the kinds of players mentioned above. Until next time, remember: "Luck comes and goes. In ranked order, the best starting hands in Texas Hold’em are: Pairs from A-A to 10-10; A-K, A-Q, A-J, A-10; K-Q, K-J; Q-J; J-10; 9-10, 8-9, 7-8, 7-6 (suited. Poker Starting Hand Chart (6-Max Cash, 100bb) As such, it’s essential only to raise hands that are going to be +EV to start with (for an open-raise). The goal of a Texas hold'em game is to use your hole cards in combination with the community cards to make the best possible five. g. You'll get a few points from this combination, but not enough to make a. This series will focus on three elements that make up range estimation: 1. Inflate your wallet with these poker "tips and tricks" Upswing Poker. Table selection: only play in games where you have an edge. Poker Hands Chart: Top 10 Starting hands in Texas Hold’em. Ignition Poker – 150% up to $1500. This indicates which player is the nominal dealer for that hand. This is what makes it one of the most exciting card games in the world. Suited hands contain two cards of the same suit, like J♣9♣, A ♥ K ♥, K♠Q♠ and 9 ♦ 3 ♦. Playing before the flop is your first opportunity to voluntarily put money in the pot. A good heads-up poker player will assess the opponents mindset. A pair of aces is the best pre- flop hand in Texas Hold'em Poker. When heads-up against an opponent, a poker player must rewire the ideology on what hands are playable. Not folding modest hands. This means that Player A with AJ wins the pot. QQ – Great strength preflop but becomes difficult to play post-flop when overcards hit. Small: 40 big blinds or less. Holding 2 and 7 off suit is considered the worst hand in Texas Hold'em. Before the dealer begins, the. There are 10 possible 5 card poker hands: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card. 6 min. There are 169 distinct starting hands in Texas Hold'em, but they are not created equally. Play proceeds hand-for-hand with the blinds rising incrementally at set intervals. The two cards that you are dealt at the start of a hand in Texas Hold'em are your weapons. You should 3-bet and 4-bet in Texas Holdem i f you’re dealt these hole cards:This starting hand calculator does not compute odds, but is rather a tool to recommend how to play your starting hands. Premium Pairs (JJ-AA): The highest pairs are the most the valuable starting hands to have in Texas Hold’em. Texas Hold'em Starting Hands Cheat Sheet; 100% up to $1000 and $8 free . 5-9 Not the worst of the 10 worst starting hands, but not one to get really happy about, either. Royal Flush. PokerNews StaffWorking out hand combinations in poker is simple: Unpaired hands: Multiply the number of available cards. Each of these starting hands can be double-suited, single-suited or rainbow. It will put you in tricky spots post-flop,. A fundamentally sound preflop strategy sets you up for success in all subsequent betting rounds. 2. 2. You will learn poker quickly and use this app to improve your poker skills to become a real pro. There are 6 different ways to form a specific pair (e. A lot of success in poker comes from choosing the right hands to play. 29: Twiggy. As a player, you have to navigate the psychology of other players which changes between games and even as the conditions in a single poker game change. Player A's five-card hand is A-A-K-Q-J, whereas Player B has A-A-K-Q-9. 7/30. Anything that doesn't have a number, don't play. There are 1,326 possible 2 card starting hands in Texas Hold'em. , 7 7 7 7 4. Everything is built around the Big Blind. This means folding AJ in first position, KT in middle position and QT in late position. The key starting hand concept of the game. IE, $5/$10. The 19 starting hands apply to no limit ring games. Sitting at the very top of the poker hierarchy, you’ll find the royal flush. These two hands are only 71% favorites over a random four-card hand, whereas in Hold’em you would be an 82% favorite over any two. That’s nothing. Play Good Cards and You Will Win. Every position at the poker table has a certain range of starting hands that can be profitably shoved at a given stack depth. Texas Hold'em is a game in which it's easy to learn the basics - covered in this starting hands guide - but difficult to master. 78 non-paired suited. 2. 4. Pocket Jacks, also known as fish hooks, are among the most complained about starting hands in poker. Hands with the letter “o” next to them represent offsuit hands, AKo for instance could be A♣ K♦. 1%. I know that 169 by itself doesn't mean anything, but if there are 13 pairs, then that would mean that there ~7% chance of drawing a pair (13/169). Four cards of the same value. There are 167 different hole cards you can be dealt in Texas Hold'em. was using what is called a Hand Matrix. Feeling flush?. Then, we ranked and ordered the starting hands from the best to worst in the table and chart below. Take 1 away from that number, multiply those two numbers together and divide by 2. From the flop, until the final betting round after the river has been dealt. That’s why our go-to play with them is 3-betting. " In poker, bets are placed at the beginning of the game in one of 2 ways. There are. 5 cards of the same suit in sequential order. 5 / 10 points. Both players have the same starting hands as before 9 8 vs. 1. King-King, or Pocket Kings,. For example, if you’re playing Texas Hold’em, A-K is a strong starting hand. Yes, 55 is a good hand to try to get a cheap look at the flop with. This means folding AJ in first position, KT in middle position and QT in late position. Here’s a. Texas Hold’em online poker is a community card game. Using our poker odds calculator engine, we first calculated the "fixed-preflop, post-river" winning probability of all 169 types of starting hands. A pair of aces is statistically the best hand to be dealt in Texas Hold'em Poker. In Texas Hold’em, the best poker players fold 75 percent or more of all starting hands before the betting even begins. Learn to apply creative, logical thinking to poker, not parrot a starting hand chart. Variance is the difference between the mathematically expected result and the actual result. As you might expect, 6-Max poker games feature a maximum of six players at a table. Below you'll find a list of Texas Hold'em starting hands organized by relative strength. Yes, that means if they had A2o UTG, they would play it!The best possible starting hand in Texas Holdem is pocket aces, which is a favorite to win against every other hand with a significant margin. By understanding the probabilities of different starting hands and avoiding the worst ones, you can play more strategically and increase your chances of success in the long run. Loose Ends - Pocket Pairs. ) To mix up your play, occasionally play A-4 and A-5 suited if the other two cards also work well with the hand. Starting Hands. So how do you play Texas hold'em?. These are made hands already and there is less chance of one of your opponents holding a higher pocket pair. Every player starts by learning the basic rules of the game and the appropriate starting hand selection, which is what we'll give you here. Key Strategy for No-Limit Texas Hold'em. Everyone starts with two cards, known as hole cards. PROFESSIONAL. The figure: does not refer to what you. Playing too many starting hands (see Starting Hand Guide). Basically, you should only play hands that are dark green, blue, or purple. For beginner players, the pre-flop starting hands at early position are group 1-3 hands plus any pocket pairs, except 22, 33, and 44. 5% of all possible hands dealt to you. By Greg Walker. (e. Because only two cards are dealt to each player, it is easy to characterize all of. Royal Flush. , 9 8 7 6 5. Take a minute just to browse the hands in each group, you don’t need to memorise these, as you can use the chart to refer to, and once you have used it for a while, you will start to remember which hands are in which. Trouble Hands. docx Author: Bob Created Date: 11/2/2023 5:46:09 PM. Ace-Ace. With reference to suit, there are as many as 1,326 different combinations of hole cards. If you want to. This is a Hand Matrix. $1/$2 is the smallest No-Limit game run in most casinos and for that reason the games are very, very soft. 10 ♠ J ♠ Q ♠ K ♠ A ♠. Poker starting hand percentages allow you to see the hypothetical and theoretical strength of your hole cards against two to nine players. Particularly in multi-way pots, this may not be a strong enough holding for you to continue in later betting rounds, or to. They are not as strong as the very best starting hands but offer lots of straight and flush potential. Assessing Your Table Position and Starting Hand. Some perform well regardless of your position at the table, others should only be played in late position, while others should be ditched at the first opportunity. The above 3 sets of hands add up to form the common answer of 169 Texas Hold’em starting hands. Starting hands should have four cards (9+) for high hand. After learning the poker hand rankings new poker players often ask which hands they should play. Learn hand rankings, table positions & the best poker tips all from one. Paired hands: Find the number of available cards. Texas hold’em is a game of strategy, like any poker game. But there. . You remember that preflop, he defends with 30. Last updated Jan 3, 2023. They’re the best starting hand in Texas hold’em. Step 5 – Deal Texas Hold’em Turn Card. Before we focus on starting hand recommendations, let’s take a quick look at how poker. After all, there are four cards between 2 and 7. Texas holdem Poker is the most popular poker game in the world. Before we focus on starting hand recommendations, let’s take a quick look at how poker. FAIR PLAY – Zynga Poker™ is officially certified to play like a real table experience. Much like pocket aces, pocket kings are a hand you want to get as much money in before the flop as you can, going as far as putting your entire stack in most of the time. (By playability, we mean the possibility of making straights and flushes ). Texas Hold'em Starting Hands Infographic. 78 non-paired suited. Some others, like “Barry Greenstein”, refer to one specific card hitting the table in a specific situation. You must play pre-flop raise on. Texas Hold’em Omaha 6+ Short Deck. Texas Hold'em Starting Hands This article discusses starting hand charts for advanced No-Limit Texas Hold'em Poker players. g. Best Poker Hands – Texas Hold’em Starting Hands: In the realm of Texas Hold’em, certain starting hands hold a distinct edge, offering superior chances of success compared to others. Hole cards are kept face down throughout the game, and can only be seen by the player holding them. This should help you to not only make fewer mistakes yourself. AA – The strongest preflop starting hand in Texas Hold’em. A straight flush is the second strongest hand in poker. Most lists are based on a starting hands all-in equity against a table of random hands. It displays all the possible hands you could be dealt preflop without accounting for individual suits. 2. Ace-queen suited is another strong drawing hand. 2. 2nd Worst. The Big Blind is last to act pre-flop but one of the first to act post-flop. Many fishes. The second big difference is that the suitedness of starting hands plays a bigger role in PLO than in No-Limit Hold'em. Poker and Casino Games with No Limits. Many Texas Hold’em players prefer 6-Max poker, as it allows you to play more hands per hour and there are. Strong starting hands win against weaker hands in at least three times out of four. The. What makes Texas Hold’m poker attractive is largely the uncertainty that lies within it. You make the best five. Pre-flop, Pocket Aces is the best starting hand. 8%) or set (12%) to the odds of an overcard coming on the flop when. Texas Holdem Rankings for All 169 Starting Hands Eight, Nine Suited and Jack, Eight Suited. The worst hands in Texas Hold’em are 2-7 offsuit, 2-8 offsuit, and 3-8 offsuit, and you should avoid playing them if possible. In Texas Hold ‘Em each player plays the 5 best cards between the table and your hole cards. 169 is for the two dealt cards of Texas Hold-Em. This should be obvious for anyone who has played at least a few. You will rarely (if ever) see this hand. Game conditions must always be taken into account. Here are some common names for Texas Hold'em starting poker hands. This matrix lists out all 169 possible starting hands (13×13 = 169) and is the universal way that poker players visualize ranges. . This combination can be beaten by AA, but you should almost always raise on this during pre-flop. This is the best starting hand in hold’em poker and can be played from any position-early, middle and late positions. To further clarify. IE, you can go all in. Limit Hold’em – Pre-Flop Play. 2. Reading the chart: If your hand is unsuited, match your hole cards in the lower left half of the table. Make good decisions by following the advice given in this lesson and stick to our recommended starting hand requirements until you gain more experience. The Top 10 starting hands will be your so-called headliners in No Limit Holdem, no matter what stakes you play. 4% equity against AA, 30. 7-2 - This is widely considered to be the worst starting hand in Texas Hold 'Em. From a pair of aces — the strongest starting hand — to a 2 and a 7, knowing the strength of your starting hand is an important part of your success at the table. Odds and probability of AA vs KK happening. When AQ is suited, it makes the odds of winning 20%. These are also known as pocket kings, King Kong, or cowboys. I suppose you are interested in the most popular no limit mode. , ace through ten), and suited hands, all of which can be playable given your position and. Each time cards are dealt (start, flop, turn, and river), players bet on winning the round with chips. A royal flush is the absolute best possible hand in the game of Texas Hold'em. Some perform well regardless of your position at the table, others should only be played in late position, while others should be ditched at the first opportunity. 42o. With blinds 25/50 there's $75 in the pot you can win. Straight Flush: 5 cards of sequential rank, all of the same suit, e. The best hand from our chart, A A K K, is 33% to win, 41% to tie, and 26% to lose to the second-best hand, A A T J. Connected off-suit cards become playable hands pre-flop, while J♦️3♣️ or 9♦️4♣️ become candidates for play depending on the opponent and current chip stack. The second time Doyle got it in good on the turn after turning a higher. Everyone starts with two cards, known as hole cards. The very best hand, of course, is pocket Aces (A-A). To help you out, I have provided for you an attractive printable or downloadable “cheat sheet” for both 5 card hand rankings as well as top 24 pre-flop starting hands. When starting out do not slow-play your big pocket pairs. 1, or a 19. There are 169 different starting hands you can be dealt in Texas Hold'em. Like other forms of poker, the best overall hand is an ace-high straight flush, also known as a royal flush. Spread limit Hold'em is stated as 2/10 or something similar. Five community cards are also dealt into play. e. Royal Flush: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and a Ten of the same suit, such as A♣ K♣ Q♣ J♣ T♣. Each of these starting hands can be double-suited, single-suited or rainbow. Best and Worst Starting Hands in Texas Hold'em Poker . The goal of a Texas hold'em game is to use your hole cards in combination with the community cards to make the best possible five. The only hand that dominates it is pocket aces, and if you play long enough you’re going to have kings when an opponent has aces. Pot. The reason why they are the best starting hands is because they are statistically most likely to. The correct 6-max poker strategy is to play looser than you would in a full ring game (open 20% of hands) and make more bluffs and wider call downs. FLHE Starting Hands Chart. Now if we stick with this set of 10 starting hands we should definitely by on the right track to winning some. Besides pairs, the next best thing will be to have. Let’s take a closer look at how a Texas Hold’em hand is played, from start to finish. The best five-card poker hand, out of seven cards, wins the pot. Some of the top hands to start with are: AA and KKThe following table lists some interesting and valuable hold’em math: Many beginners to poker overvalue certain starting hands, such as suited cards. In NLH, players can wager up to the size of their stack as they’d like at any point. The best hands to play in Texas Holdem are: Big pocket pairs: AA-TT; Big suited connectors: AK, AQ, AJ, KQ;. P = 1/1326. Get Your Miniature (Credit Card Sized) Texas Holdem Starting Hands Cheat Sheet; Poker Odds Cheat Sheet (for Texas Hold'em) How To Use This Pot Odds Cheat Sheet – Facing River Bet Example. Here is a list of the ranking order of all 10 possible hands that one can hold followed by the best starting hands in Texas Hold’em. It was created by Bill Chen for use in the book Hold’em Excellence by Lou Krieger. Big: 91 big blinds or more. (e. . Four of a Kind: 4 cards of the same rank, e. Starting. Deep: 200 big blinds or more. Given that there are 169 different hands in Texas Hold'em poker,. For 1/2 limit Texas Hold’em CASH GAMES ONLY and below. Split Pots in Texas Hold'em. It is also known as Pocket Rockets and Bullets because of its strength. If you stick to the starting hand requirements mentioned above, you would probably find that you are folding too often and missing out on opportunities to win money. Learn about poker starting hands and how to play pairs, suited connectors and. Work out pot odds; 2. Video: No-Limit Starting Hands with Lou Krieger; You should now have an understanding of what starting hands to play in no-limit hold’em based on hand strength and your position. The above 3 sets of hands add up to form the common answer of 169 Texas Hold’em starting hands. 2. Aokrongly discusses these 19 starting hands in his ring game strategy. During the final 2 rounds of the hand, your bets must be in increments of $6. In poker, players form sets of five playing cards, called hands, according to the rules of the game. Pocket jacks is known as a big danger hand in Texas Hold’em. Queen-Queen. There are 169 different combinations of starting hands. On. They are the lowest two cards you can have that cannot make a straight (there are five cards between 2 and 7). From a. Determine our actual equity; 4. Until next time, remember: "Luck comes and goes. Despite going into preflop behind any pocket pair, this hand gives you a ton of top pair potential, flush/straight draw potential, and puts you ahead of all the other unpaired hands going into the flop. Pocket Jacks (Fishhooks) – Many players claim paired jacks are the most difficult top 10 starting hand to play. These days, even the most casual of poker fans who might happen upon a WSOP broadcast during the summer knows that the best Texas Hold’em starting hand is pocket aces. No-limit Texas Hold'em Top Advice. You are allowed to raise to any amount between 2x the big blind and your entire stack. Forget about all these Pre Flop Charts to get the precise winning odds of your Hole Cards in Texas Hold'em Poker: The PreFlopper Poker Calculators are simple-to-use applications that will help you develop a solid pre-flop playing strategy for Texas Hold'Em, Omaha, Omaha HiLo, Stud and Razz Poker. Shortcuts. It’s important to notice that there are still two cards to come so the draw. Learn to Play Poker in no time: poker tutorial is a great way to learn the card g. Royal Flush :Focus on specific parts of your game – there is a lot of information on the table to take in and aspects of your game to concentrate on, so start simple and try to focus on one part of your game. Royal Flush. Limit Hold’em – Pre-Flop Play. The PokerStrategy. Starting hands in poker are important in Texas Hold’em because they form the foundation for making strategic decisions throughout a hand. You may calculate them in any of the following formats: Hand vs Hand: Two known poker hands going up against each other. com Starting Hands Chart for No Limit Texas Hold'em shows you which hands you should play and how you should play them. Ace-Ace. Pocket Aces are clearly the best, but what are the worst possible hands in poker? Let's take a look. QQ – Third on the podium, a premium holding. You might be dealt a really terrible starting hand, or you might get lucky and receive a pair of aces. There is a limit on how many starting hands you can play before the flop in No Limit Texas Hold'em, even for the world's best players. Take your online poker games anywhere and know that you’re getting the true Vegas-style game. #2. The five best starting hands in Texas Hold'em poker are pairs of aces, kings, queens, jacks, and the ace-king combination. While there's always a chance that you. What follows is a guide on starting poker hands in Texas Hold'em. Using Chart #1, we want to call to encourage additional players to enter the pot. The best starting hands in poker are AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, AK, AQ, AJ, KQ, KJ and more holdings like this. The list is roughly listed from best to worst, but hand values change somewhat based on the level of competition, the makeup of the game, and your ability to play well after the flop.