Preflop Recomendations for Loose Fixed Fimit Games

This is David Sklansky's hand table to crush loose games and amature opponents. This is the loose version which is applicable when there are an average of 6-8 players seeing the flop. When comparing it to the version which treats tighter games it is apparent that a number of hand groups become profitable when that many players regularly see the flop. The table and its explanation may at first be overwhelming. That is only natural as there is a lot of information that has been squeezed into a compact table. However, studying and using it, is rewarding.

The information given in this article is the same as is given in David Sklansky's book “Small Stakes Hold'em – Winning Big With Expert Play”. However the advice is portrayed in a different manner. There are other points of views and the graphics makes it easier to use while playing.

This article "only" presents what action to take for every possible situation preflop. Why these actions should be taken and a deeper understanding comes from the following articles and of course implementation of the guidelines, there is no true substitution to experience.

Which hands to play ...													... and which to raise with
AA	R R R	AK	R R R	AQ	R R	AJ	R R E M	AT	R	A9	R L	A8	R L	A7		A6	A5		A4	A3	A2
	R R R		R R R		R R		R R E M		R		R L		R L
AK	R R	KK	R R R	KQ	R R E M	KJ	R	KT	R L	K9	R L	K8		K7		K6	K5		K4	K3	K2
	R R		R R R		R R E M		R		R L		R L
AQ	R R L B	KQ	R B	QQ	R R R	QJ	R L	QT	R L	Q9		Q8		Q7		Q6	Q5		Q4	Q3	Q2
	R R L B		R B		R R R		R L		R L
AJ	R B	KJ		QJ		JJ	R R	JT	R L	J9		J8		J7		J6	J5		J4	J3	J2
	R B						R R		R L
AT		KT		QT		JT		TT	R R	T9		T8		T7		T6	T5		T4	T3	T2
									R R
A9		K9		Q9		J9		T9		99	R R L B	98		97		96	95		94	93	92
											R R L B
A8		K8		Q8		J8		T8		98		88	R L	87		86	85		84	83	82
													R L
A7		K7		Q7		J7		T7		97		87		77		76	75		74	73	72

A6		K6		Q6		J6		T6		96		86		76		66	65		64	63	62

A5		K5		Q5		J5		T5		95		85		75		65	55		54	53	52

A4		K4		Q4		J4		T4		94		84		74		64	54		44	43	42

A3		K3		Q3		J3		T3		93		83		73		63	53		43	33	32

A2		K2		Q2		J2		T2		92		82		72		62	52		42	32	22


		EP		MP		LP		SB		BB

													R R R	- Rereraise				R	- Raise
													R R R	- Rereraise				R	- Raise
R													R R	- Reraise				R L	- Raise, but only from LP
													R R	- Reraise				R L	- Raise, but only from LP
RR														R R L B	R R E M	-Reraise, but not from EP& Blinds or from EP& MP respectively etc.
														R R L B	R R E M

The table summarizes what action to take preflop for all 169 possible starting hands. All the pairs constitute a dividing diagonal line. The hands above this diagonal are the suited hands. The lower triangel depicts the unsuited hands (which seem less playable). The information on how to act is conveyed in two different formats: one is in colored boxes for which hands to play and the other is in text for which hands to raise.

Which hands to play
The main information lies in the colored boxes which surrounds the hands that are deemed playable. What the color means is explained in the key below. In this key the horizontal axis shows the position you are in (Early Position = The first three seats to the left of the blinds, Middle Position = The three seats to the left of early position, Late Postion = One of the button and the button, Small Blind, and Big Blind) The vertical axis shows what you are facing, a raise (R), a reraise (RR) or the most beneficial situation that there has not been any raises before it is your turn to act ( ).

For instance the bottom line clearly shows that - regardless of position - only the hands with boxes colored in red are playable when there has been a raise and a reraise before it is your turn to act. For the other cases, position does matter. The darker the color, the earlier they are playable. The hands that are marked with the darkest blue are playable already in early position if there hasn't been any raises. Of course all hands higher in the hierarchy should also be played. The hands in the palest blue should only be played from the small blind if there hasn't been any raising.

Except for the square boxes, there are two more elements. The sidebars means that these hands should be added; if there is a sidebar in the key then the hands with that color sidebar should be played in addition to the hands indicated by the box colors. The only exceptions to also playing all hands higher in the hierarchy, are the yellow dots. The hands with the yellow should be folded from the big blind against a raise despite the fact the other coloring indicates that they sholuld be played.

Which hands to raise with
If a hand is good enough to raise with, then there are letters at the right side of that hand that explains when these raises should be made. If there is only one R, then it is good enough to bring in the first raise with, but not strong enough to reraise with. The hands with RR, are strong enough to reraise with. If there are 3 R's to the right of a hand, then keep jamming the pot. If the R's are accompanied by red letters, then you shouldn't go that far from the positions indicated by those red letters. The green letters are the other way around, then you only have "green light" to go through with the raise if you are in that position.

Added 2005-11-28 15:54:03