Playing Big Hands in Early Position

Players are at a decided disadvantage when they are in early position.  Not only do they have to act behind everyone else, but the pressure is also on them when making calling and raising decisions.  Of course there is one thing that can make playing in early position easier: being dealt a big hand such as AA or KK.

The only problem with playing hands like these is that they can get you into a lot of trouble since you’re dealing with a dichotomy.  The dichotomy is that you have a hand which is best for big pots, but you are in a position where it’s best to keep the pot as small as possible.  Seeing as how there is no easy way to play a huge hand in early position, you’re going to have to know the people you are playing against.

Raising

The most universal way to handle this situation is by raising.  When you raise in early position you not only build the pot, but you also get loose players to call your big hand with a weaker hand which needs help from the board.  The only problem with this technique is that it might only succeed in stealing blinds on a very tight table since everyone will know you have a big hand.

Calling and Reraising

Calling then reraising relies on an aggressive player to make the initial raise so you can reraise when the action comes back around.  This is a great way to get more money into the pot, but it’s also dangerous because somebody with AA might go all-in (dangerous assuming you have KK or less). One more problem is that a limp/reraise will leave you playing out of position the whole hand if somebody actually does hang in there.

Calling a Raise

If you simply call the big blind then there’s a good chance somebody will make a raise later in the hand.  The benefit of this is that nobody will know you have a monster hand when you call the raise.  On the other hand there is no guarantee that a raise will be made, and if it isn’t then you’ll be in a multi-way pot where several limpers have a chance to beat your hand.  This move should only be used when you can safely assume somebody is likely to make a raise.