Apu's Too-Good-To-Be-True Pre-Flop Folding Strategy

Based on 4,000,000,000 runs
Use at your own risk

These tables tell you when to fold cards that have a lesser than average chance of winning (including ties). If the blinds are high, you might want to play tighter.

In an n-player game, with hole cards XY (where Y is the higher card), Look at the column for Y and the row for n. For example, let's say you're in a 5 player game. If your hole cards are suited, refer to the first table. If your highest card is a 9, then the table tells you that your lower card must be at least a 5. If your hole cards are unsuited, refer to the second table. If your highest card is a T (ten), then your lowest card must be at least a 7. A "*" means that all low cards are playable, and is equivalent to 2. For example, always play hole cards with an A. A "-" means you should fold. For example, fold suited cards with high card 3 if there are 8 or fewer players.

Suited, low card for specified high card

\	A	K	Q	J	T	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	

10	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	3	3	*	*	*	
9	*	*	*	*	*	*	3	3	3	*	*	*	
8	*	*	*	*	*	3	4	3	3	*	*	-	
7	*	*	*	*	*	4	4	4	4	3	3	-	
6	*	*	*	*	3	5	5	4	4	3	-	-	
5	*	*	*	*	4	5	5	5	5	4	-	-	
4	*	*	*	3	5	5	5	5	5	-	-	-	
3	*	*	*	3	5	6	6	6	-	-	-	-	
2	*	*	*	*	5	6	7	-	-	-	-	-	

Unsuited, low card for specified high card

\	A	K	Q	J	T	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2

10	*	6	8	8	7	7	7	7	6	5	4	3	2
9	*	6	8	8	7	7	7	7	6	5	4	3	2
8	*	6	7	8	7	7	7	7	6	5	4	3	2
7	*	4	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	5	4	3	2
6	*	4	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	5	4	3	-
5	*	4	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	5	4	-	-
4	*	3	6	7	7	7	7	7	6	5	4	-	-
3	*	*	5	7	7	8	8	7	6	5	4	3	-
2	*	*	3	6	7	8	8	7	6	5	4	3	2

So in summary, here's a reasonable folding strategy in my opinion for low blinds (you have to tighten up depending on the blinds and your stack):

Unsuited - Stay in if both cards are 7 or better, although 10 or better is preferable. Play all pairs
Suited - Stay in if you have any card that is a 10 or better, otherwise if the cards are "close enough" (the lower the cards, the closer they need to be)
Play lame hands once in a while or if blinds are really low

These statistics are © Apu Kapadia, 2005

Back Home