It's usually trial and error that helps us begin early on to start grouping hands into certain categories of value - e.g., 'great,' 'good,' 'so-so,' and 'bad.'įrom there we begin developing our preflop strategy to the point at which we start taking into account the importance of position, too, to help us figure out when and with what hands we should be folding, calling, betting, or raising before the flop.įor those starting hands with which we end up seeing a flop, then, the next step involves learning how to recognize and rate good and bad flops - not just for our hand (normally not difficult to establish), but also for our opponents' hands. Most no-limit hold'em players - even those who are just starting out - tend to get familiar with the relative strength of starting hands quickly.
