Preflop hand categories
In Texas Hold’em, understanding preflop hand categories is essential for beginners, as it sets the stage for the rest of the hand. Preflop, the…
Facing a preflop 4-bet
Someone raised, you 3-bet, and then they 4-bet. The rest have folded. Decide your next move confidently with Poker Trainer’s beginner’s guide to facing a preflop 4-bet!
Bet sizing
It is recommended to normally raise all-in when raising. There are exceptions to this, especially at deep stack depth or when playing a more advanced strategy. For more information, see Preflop bet sizing.
When to call
Hands that sometimes want to call are:
- Medium pocket pairs
- Suited broadways and some suited aces
- Suited connectors
When to re-raise (5-bet)
Hands that often 5-bet are very strong hands, like JJ-AA and AK. Sometimes hands with blocking effects are 5-bet as well, like AQo, A5s.
Blockers
A blocker means you hold card(s) that reduce the likelihood of the opponent having a strong hand.
When you have for example AQ you reduce villains strong combos:
- AK: 16 → 12 combos
- AQ: 16 → 9 combos
- QQ: 6 → 3 combos
BB vs BTN 4-bet, MTT 100 bb stack
It is challenging to memorize all the different charts just by looking at them. It is also hard to know if you remember correctly. We strongly recommend practicing preflop ranges in the preflop exercise to help you commit them to memory and get feedback on mistakes.
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5 drills to master poker!
