Play any pair in an unraised pot with at least five callers. If you hold a pair you will flop a set about 11.76 percent of the time. This means the odds are 7.5-to-l against you. With five callers you are getting close to proper odds. If you flop a set, you will have a big hand and have the advantage of acting late in the round. If there are six or more players in the hand, you can call one raise. Don't cold call two raises with a small pair, and be careful if the raise came from an early position player. With less than six players, fold if raised in front.

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When you are in late position, or last to act, you have a big advantage. You will have the best position for all four betting rounds. You will have more information about your opponents because they have to act before you do. You can determine the strength of their hands and be able to evaluate how many players you will be up against. You can also enter the pot with weaker starting hands if there have been no raises before it is your turn to act. If you are first to enter the pot, you can sometimes raise with hands that you normally would call with in early position. Late position is the time to raise with Queens and Jacks and unsuited A-K or A-Q if no one else has called the pot. Remember this is done to further limit the field or even win the blinds. If there are callers ahead of you, it will not drive any of them out. In low limit games, once a player enters the pot he will usually call raises to see the flop.

If you find yourself in an unraised pot with many players, you can play the weaker suited connectors very cheaply. In late position there is less of a chance that a player acting after you will raise you. If you hit a flop and make a straight, you will have a good chance of scooping a large pot. If you don't, it has only cost you a single bet. If you must cold call a raise or two, you can easily bail out when you are in late position and save yourself money.

When you are the dealer you are "on the Button" and last to act before the blinds. If you have a playable hand, and no one else has entered the pot, you may be able to steal the blinds with a raise if you don't think the players will defend their blinds. This should not be tried if you have a trash hand. Many players will play any hand on the button. This is a costly mistake. Being last to act does not make your hand any stronger. It just means that you can enter the pot cheaper because the blinds will usually not raise unless they have a big hand. You should be extremely cautious if you are raised from a player in the blinds. This is a sure indication that they have a strong hand.

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K-9s, Q-9sr T-9sr 9-8sr J-9s
These are all drawing hands that you want to play in an unraised pot with many players. They are marginal hands that will require you to hit a big flop to continue. I will play these in late middle position only if there are at least four players in the hand. If there is a wild player to my left who has been raising it up, I will usually pass on these hands. T-9s and 9-8s are connectors that you would almost rather make a straight with than a baby flush.

K-9s and Q-9s have the possibility of making a big flush. When you make a flush, the Ace of your suit will appear on the flop about a third of the time. If the Ace does not appear, and you are raised, you have to be aware that you may be up against the nut flush.
Here is a quick reference for middle position.

Hand Call—# Players If Raised
9-9 Call Call 4 or more
8-8 Call Call 4 or more
7-7 Call Call 4 or more
A-9s Call 4 or more Fold
A-8s Call 4 or more Fold
A-7s Call 4 or more Fold
K-9s Call 4 or more Fold
Q-9s Call 4 or more Fold
J-9s Call 4 or more Fold
T-9s Call 4 or more Fold
9-8s Call 4 or more Fold
A-T Call Fold
K-J Call 4 or more Fold
K-T Call 4 or more Fold
Q-J Call 4 or more Fold
Q-T Call 4 or more Fold
J-T Call 4 or more Fold
"s" denotes that the cards are suited.

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Ace with a suited nine, eight or seven can be added to your starting hands in this position. You are looking to make the nut flush or are hoping for Aces up. If there is an Ace on the flop and you get action, you might find yourself up against a higher kicker. You don't want to play this hand heads up against a player who has raised. You are not getting proper odds for your flush draw and you will end losing more in the long run.

Unsuited big cards, Tens through Kings join the list of middle-position hands. Although these are big cards, if you play them against a few players and flop one pair, you may find yourself up against a higher pair with a weak kicker. These are drawing hands. If there are a lot of players calling in front of you, some of these hands can turn into trouble hands. If the flop contains all big cards, then you must be careful. You would like to flop a straight or a straight draw that utilizes your two pocket cards. If you make two pairs on the flop you still should be aware of the possibility that someone else may have made a straight because other players may also be holding big cards.

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Pocket 9s, 8s, and 7s are considered medium pairs. They are not the strongest pairs you can start with and they require you to play them a little selectively. You have to be extremely careful when the flop brings overcards.

You will usually need to improve these pairs on the flop to have them hold up. When you start with a medium or small pocket pair, your chance for improving is a little more limited. You will need to flop a set in most cases for a winning hand. If the pot has been raised before it is your turn to act, you should probably pass on these medium pairs.

I tend to play conservatively before the flop and will fold this hand if it is raised. If you routinely play this hand, calling two or more bets, then you will lose more in the long run. With these pairs if you don't flop a set or straight draw, you will have to release them if the flop contains overcards and there is a bet. One or more over-cards will flop more than 90 percent of the time.

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In middle position you can obviously play all the early position hands. The additional hands that are playable in middle position are drawing hands. They are not likely to win a pot without some sort of improvement. You also can play a few more hands because you will have more information about your situation. If a player in early position raised, you know there is a potentially strong hand in front of you, and you will need to tighten up your starting requirements. If there has been a re-raise you may want to bail out altogether. In middle position you can also start to judge how many players will be active in the hand.

If everyone has called when it gets to you, then you know you will have a multiway pot. In a ten-handed game, middle position is the player in the 5, 6, and 7 seat after the dealer button. Players 1 and 2 are the blinds, so if you are the number 5 player there are only two players acting before you before the flop. If there is a raise in front of you, it will usually mean you are up against a big hand.

Anytime you call from middle position, you are adding to the pot odds, making it appropriate for callers with weaker hands to enter the pot. Calling a raise will add additional money to the pot and may entice even more players to enter because of the size of the pot. You will be getting better pot odds but you will be up against more players, decreasing your chances of winning.

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Raise and reraise with a pair of Aces and Kings and with A-K suited. If you are in a tight game, and think it will narrow the field, or you are the first to act in late position, you can raise with A-K and also a pair of Queens or Jacks.
Hand Call-Raise If Raised
A-A Raise Reraise
K-K Raise Reraise
A-Ks Raise Reraise
Q-Q Raise- —narrow field/late Call
J-J Raise- —narrow field /late Call
T-T Call Call
A-Q Call Call
A-Js Call Call
A-Ts Call Call
K-Qs Call Call
K-Js Call Call
K-Ts Call Call
Q-Ts Call Call
Q-Js Call Call
J-Ts Call Call
A-K Raise- -narrow field/late Call
A-Q Call Call
A-J Call Call
K-Q Call Call
"s" denotes that the cards are suited.

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