Early Positions
Poker is the game where every one wants to chance their luck. If you are going to take risk in poker then you are in with a chance of making your dreams come true.
If your image is tight-aggressive and you are playing against several loose and easy-to-outplay opponents, you may add hands such as J- 10 suited, 10-9 suited, and medium high pairs. Medium pairs and medium-high suited cards of adjacent ranks can be played from early positions if opponents tend to be loose but not aggressive (they call often but seldom raise). Note well the dangers of being either outgunned or out-positioned (or both) when you play AQ, AJ, or A- 10 from early positions (even in loose games where these hands may be profitable). Even when your opponents in later position have lesser hands than you, their superior positions may give them an overall advantage. Why play at a disadvantage? You should not voluntarily enter into situations where you rate to be an underdog.
As the early positions become less early, you will be tempted to add a few more hands to your arsenal of playable holdings. There are frequent arguments over whether you should first add AQ, AJ suited or 10-10. But here is a key fact about hold ‘em. None of those hands are really profitable from a very early position jfyou are facing sophisticated aggressive competition.
Structural imbalance
Hold ‘em is a game of late position! Hold ‘em is not structurally balanced. If you must make yourself visible for psychological reasons by adding hands to your early position power grouping, do not expect to make a profit specIcally on those added hands.
Extending the spectrum of hands you are willing to play from an early position is justified mostly for image and psychological reasons! Obviously, if your opponents know that you only play super top-notch hands, your playing effectiveness greatly decreases.
But note well that however loose the game and however weak the opposition, it is clear from all perspectives that non-paired, non-suited, medium-quality hands should not be played from an early position. And in many normal to “good” hold ‘em environments, you should not play the following unsuited hands (and anything worse) from early position: A- 10, KJ (play AJ only in normal to weak games). Yes, we know many of you consider these to be “good hands” and perhaps “raising hands!” Only in very loose games!
