Free Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Volume 1 by Jonathan Little Page A

I will cover all three options in this chapter. The key is to always think about how your hand will fare against your opponent’s raising range. Also, take care not to set yourself up to make a huge mistake later in the hand.
     
    In general, you want to call raises when you have a hand that will connect well with the flop. Specifically, hands like suited connectors and pairs are best for calling a raise because you will usually know quickly whether you have a strong hand after the flop. Your hand, your position, your opponent’s position and everyone’s stack sizes are all of the utmost importance when determining whether you can profitably call a raise. As long as everyone is deep-stacked and you will be in position throughout the hand, you can call with suited connectors and pairs basically every time.

    Suppose someone raises UTG and you have 7-6on the button. If you all have over 80BBs or so, you should call this raise every time. While you are certainly behind before the flop, your hand can easily beat your opponent’s under-the-gun raising range if you connect well with the flop. Not only can you out-flop your opponent, you will most likely have huge implied odds, as most under-the-gun raising ranges are made up of big pairs and big cards. So, if the flop comes 7-6-2, you can be confident getting in a lot of money, as your opponent will usually show up with an overpair. You have to be careful though, as you don’t want to get all the money in with one pair and a weak kicker.
     
    If you call with the same 7-6and it comes 7-4-2, you should call a flop bet, but if your opponent fires again on the turn, unless you know him to bluff multiple streets, you should fold, as this usually narrows his range to only hands that can beat top pair, bad kicker.

    Fold hands like K-J and Q-10 to an early-position raise. Those hands perform very poorly against a standard early-position raising range. These are called “trouble hands” for a reason. Playing them only in position and as the aggressor will keep you out of trouble.
     
    You can call with a slightly wider range when someone raises from middle or late position. Hands like 9-6s and J-10o become playable. Your pair outs are usually a bit more live and your opponent’s range will be weaker, giving you more bluff equity. Say a loose opponent raises from middle position and you call on the button with J-10o.

    If it comes J-7-2, you can be pretty happy calling down, as you usually have the best hand. If it comes 8-7-3, you can call, hoping to catch a pair, a gutshot or a chance to bluff later. You can also raise immediately, hoping to pick up the pot right there, with outs if you’re called. Hands like K-J and Q-10 are sometimes playable against a middle-or late-position raiser. Many people open up their ranges significantly in late position, giving you a decent chance to dominate your opponent. Again, be careful when you make just top pair with a bad kicker, because when a lot of money goes into the pot, you are usually beat.

    As long as you do not call with hands like A-8, K-10 and Q-9 when you are out of position, you will tend to be in good shape. Playing hands like these will result in you flopping top pair, only to be beaten by top pair with a bigger kicker. These hands are not unplayable. You should actually be re-raising hands like A-9, K-J, A-K, Q-Q and A-A. If you only re-raise with premium hands, your opponents will quickly realize that you always have a strong hand when you re-raise. To balance this, you should re-raise with some weaker hands as well. I also suggest you re-raise with weaker suited connectors such as 9-6or J-8because most opponents will rarely put these hands in your re-raising range, allowing you to win a lot of chips when they flop well.
     
    Suppose an aggressive opponent raises from middle position and you are on the cutoff. Again, everyone has a fairly deep stack. In this spot, you can re-raise with a very wide range. In fact, your hand