Stop Donating Chips Before the Flop
A practical starting-hand system for folding trouble, raising with purpose, and reaching the flop with a plan.
Your cards are only half the decision
The quickest way to make poker expensive is to judge every hand by the two cards in front of you. A tempting hand can become a costly second-best hand when several players remain to act.
From early position, favor strong pairs, strong aces, and high connected cards. From the cutoff and button, responsibly add suited aces, suited connectors, and broadway combinations because position gives you more information after the flop.
Do not pay to be curious
Calling only to see what happens feels inexpensive. Across a session, it becomes one of the easiest ways to leak chips. Open-raising can win immediately and forces opponents to make the uncomfortable decision.
- Raise a consistent size instead of revealing hand strength.
- Tighten your range when an early-position player has raised.
- Avoid large calls with easily dominated hands.
- Use stack depth to judge speculative hands.
The profitable-looking move is often the fold
Better preflop play is not about entering more hands. Refuse marginal spots that create expensive guesses later, then save aggression for hands that support it.