Number of Players

[altoray]

I have a question about charts that show the power of starting hands against one to nine players to the river. For example, if you start a hand in the small blind against nine other players and six fold before the flop, which number do you use---nine or three? If you are the first to act after the BB, do you anticipate how many will be in against you (9 max) or what? In other words, what do these numbers really mean?

[Dreamchaser]

Hiya Altoray and welcome to the boards.

I assume you are referencing the starting hand recommendations based off of what position you are in (early, middle, late) in which case, you would still keep track of all players in determining what your position is. That is, if you are a couple of spots in front of the small blind in a 9 person game and everyone folds to you, you do not suddenly become a later position.

One of the important things to know is that "Big Cards" (High Pairs and two Face Cards) are strongest against a few players. The more players that enter the hand, the more chances that one of them can catch a hand that will beat you. On the other side of the coin, smaller pairs and suited connectors (cards one apart in rank like the 9 of hearts and 8 of hearts) do best against a larger amount of opponents. The larger pots that result from many opponents help in giving you the odds you need to make calls in an attempt at completing your flush, straight, etc...

That is at the very basic level. I have heard rumors that there are many intermediate and advanced strategies based off of the various scenarios players find themselves in. For instance, in the above situation when you are the first player to not fold, you might raise with a hand that you would normally just call with in an attempt to steal the blinds. Some of these strategies involve what you mentioned about anticipating what a player will do. Suppose that you are in early position and judging from the way players have been behaving, you are quite sure that there will be a lot of raising taking place... you would not want to call with a mediocre hand that you might have without such knowledge.

But for those of us just getting started with Hold'em, it is best to stick to the charts until we have a better understanding of the thought process that goes into the decisions already made for us.

Forgive the long response. I got started and suddenly couldn't stop.

If you have some time, you may want to introduce yourself at the new members forum and maybe head on over to the book review group if you need any ideas for a nice place to start your education.

This is a great community and if you are new to the game, an excellent place to begin you poker studies.